Unit 0- AP Psych Research Methods Vocab

american psychological association

a professional organization that represents psychologists, sets ethical standards and guielines for research, therapy, and other practices

case study

an in depth analysis of an individual or group to understand their behavior or circumstances over time

confidentiality

the ethical principle of protecting the privacy and personal information of reseach participants

confirmation bias

the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms pre existing beliefs

confounding variable

an extraneous variable that influences the relationship between the inependent and dependent variables

control group

the set that does not receive the treatment and is used as a benchmark to measure how other test subjects do

correlation

the statistical relationship between two variables

coorrelation coefficient

measures the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables on a scatterplot

cross sectional study

a type of observational research that analyzes data form a population at one specific point in time

debriefing

a process after an experiment where participants are provided with information regarding the purpose, procedure, and findings of the study

deception

the act of misleading to participants about the true purpose or nature of a study

dependent variable

what changes when the independent changes

description research

a type of study that aims to observe, describe, an document aspects of a situation as it naturally occurs

double blind study

a research design where both the participants and the researchers are unaware of who is receiving the treatment or placebo

experiment

a type of research method where the researchers manipulate a variable to determine its effect on another variable

experimenters bias

the possibility that a researchers expectations might skew the results of an experiment

experimental group

a set of participants in a study that receives the treatment being tested

falsifiable hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction about a studys outcome that can be proven false through abservation or experimentation

frequency distribution

how often something happens within certain ranges or intervals for a set of data points

normal distribution

symmetrical graph where most scores cluster around the mean with frequencies decreasing equally as toward extreme

bimodal distribution

dataset with two distinct peaksp

positive skew

type of distribution where values are more spread out on the right

negative skew

more data falls to the right

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

hypothesis

an educated guess made as a basis for reasoning or research without any assumption of its truth

independent variable

the factor in an experiment that a researcher manipulates to see if it has any effect on the outcome

informed consent

an ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

IACUC

a self regulating entity that must be established by institutions that use lab animals for research or instructional purposes to oversee and evaluate all aspects of the institutions animal care and use program

local IRB

an institutional committee that ethically reviews and approves human participant research

longitudinal study

a research method in which data is collected from the same group of participants over an extended period of time to examine changes that occur over time

measures of central tendency

statistical indicators that identify the center of a data set

mean

representing the numerical average of a dataset

median

the midpoint of a distribution when ordered from least to greatest

mode

representing the most frequently occuring value

range

distance between the highest and lowest value

standard deviation

measures data variability

naturalistic observation

a research method where behavior is observed in its natural selection without any manipulations by the researchers

non falsifiable hypothesis

a statement that cant be tested or proven false through scientific observation or experimentation

operational definition

how to measure a variable or define a term

p value

represents the probability of obtaining results as extreme or more extreme than the observed data

placebo effect

a psychological phenomenon where a person experiences an improvement in their condition or symptoms after receiving a placebo

population

all individuals who share characteristics and can be considered part of a larger group from which samples are drawn

random assignment

method used in experiments to ensure that each participant has an equal chance of being placed into any group

random sample

a subset of individuals randomly selected by researchers from a larger population

replication

the process of repeating a research study to determine if the findings can be consistently reproduced

scatterplot

a graph that visually represents the relationships between two variables

single blind study

a study design in which the participants are unaware of which treatment they are receiving but the researchers are aware of the participants assigned conditions

statistical significance

whether any difference observed between groups being studied are real or if theyre due to chance

survey

research method that involves asking many participants a fixed set of questions

theory

a well substantiated explanation of the natural world that is acquired through the scientific method and repeatedly tested

kenneth clark and mamie phipps clark

main contribution was administering the Doll Test that prove psychological harm of segregation to black children and was later used as evidence in Brown v. Board