chapter 2 vocab/notes ( Principle of Psychology)

variables

Factors, either events in the environment or other behaviors, that often change along with the behavior of interest

observation

The careful noting and recording of events that occur over time.

descriptive method

Making observations with the goal of accurately and impartially describing and cataloging behaviors without any attempt to influence them.

case study

A careful, intensive observation of one or a few individuals, typically people who display a particular behavior.

Surveys

A means of gathering data about behavior by having people answer questions about their behavior, thoughts, or opinions

covary

Vary together in a predictable fashion; generally said of two variables.

Correlation coefficient

A quantitative, statistical measure of how closely two variables fluctuate together.

Spurious correlation

Instances when two variables covary not because there is any causal relationship between them, but because they are both being affected by some other variable.

Confounding variable

A third factor that affects both variables of interest, causing them to covary even though neither has any causal effect on the other.

Hypothesis

a tentative explanation for a relationship between two or more variables.

Occam’s razor

A principle that when choosing between competing hypotheses, the simpler one, requiring the fewest assumptions, is usually better.

Clever Hans

A horse in early-twentieth-century Berlin that seemed to understand mathematics, but was actually using cues from his owner to answer questions.

Experimentation

A scientific approach of deliberately manipulating a variable to then observe weather and how other variables are altered in response.

Independent variable

The variable that is deliberately manipulated in an experiment.

Dependent variable

The variable that you suspect might be affected when you manipulate the independent variable in an experiment.

Experimental group

The group of individuals for whom you have manipulated the independent variable in an experiment.

Control group

A group of individuals who closely resemble those in the experimental group but did not receive the experimental manipulation.

Replication

The repeating of an experiment to determine if the results are comparable to the original finding.

Meta-analysis

A careful review of many studies that tries to gauge whether there really is an effect of the manipulation on the behavior of interest.

Strong inference

A prescribed method for conducting scientific inquiry that consists of repeatedly disproving hypotheses.

theory

A group of hypotheses about a particular phenomenon that have survived all current testing and that are all compatible with one another.

population

the entire set of individual we want to understand.

Sample

The subset of the population selected for actual study.

representative sample

A sample that accurately reflects the total population of interest.

Random Samples

Samples in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected, and the selection of one person has no influence on who is selected next.

Study population

the group from which we can actually draw our sample.

Mean

The average measure for a group calculated by adding up all the scores and dividing that sum by the number of individuals in the group

Measure of central tendency

An indication of where the scores in a sample cluster

Outlier

A score that is either much greater or much smaller than the others.

median

A measure of central tendency is the value that falls in the middle of all the scores such that half the scores are higher and half are lower.

Mode

A measure of central tendency is the single score that is most commonly found among the participants.

Frequency Distributions

Graphs in which a score is noted on the x-axis while the number of people who have each score is noted on the y-axis.

Inferential Statistics

Mathematical procedures to help infer what the population is like based on a sample.

Range

The highest and lowest scores are used as a rough gauge of variability.

Variance

A statistical measure of the amount of variability in a population or sample

Standard Deviation

The average amount that each individual score falls above or below the mean, used to express variance.

p-value

The probability that the difference between two samples could occur by chance alone.

Statistically significant

A p-value is chosen by convention as indicating that the difference is not likely due to chance. In Psychology, this is generally that p is less than 0.05.

Reliability

The degree to which your measurement tool produces consistent, repeatable results.

Validity

The extent to which a test actually measures the trait it is intended to measure.

Psychological test

A way of measuring a psychological event or process.

Unconscious bias

(AKA implicit bias) An inclination to prefer one type of person, object, or idea over others without being consciously aware of that preference.

Placebo

A pill or other treatment that has no known medical effect.

Double-blind

The best form of assessment for evaluating drug effectiveness is in which patients are randomly assigned to either the drug or placebo treatment, and neither the patient nor the person evaluating his progress knows which group he is in.

Tuskegee syphilis study

A study in which the U.S Public Health Service and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention followed the progression of syphilis in hundreds of poor African American men in Tuskegee, Alabama, without providing them with a known cure for the disease.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A group of individuals convened by an institution to ensure studies involving humans meet ethical standards.

Informed consent

The process of informing Participants in a study about what they’ll be doing and any risks they face, then getting their active agreement beforehand. This is required by IRBs.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

A group of individuals convened by an institution to review and approve the proposed research with animals before it can begin.