Research Methods-Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

Unit 2 of the Textbook, The need for psychological science, The scientific method and description, Correlation and experimentation, Research design and ethics in psychology, Statistical reasoning in everyday life

Hindsight Bias

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

Theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behavior or events

Hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Operational Definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study

Replicate

repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced

Case Study

one individual or group is studied with hopes of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic Observations

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to control the situation

Survey

Obtaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a group

Sampling Bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Population

all those in the group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

Random Sample

a sample that fairly represents the population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Correlate

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and how either factor predicts the other

Correlation Coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things

Variables

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

Experimental Group

the group exposed to the treatment

Control Group

the group not exposed to the treatment

Independent Variable

the factor being manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

Confounding Variable

a factor other than the factor being studied that could influence a study’s results

Dependent Variable

the outcome that is measured, the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Validity

the extent to which is test measures or predicts what it’s supposed to