Research Methods in Psychological Science

Vocabulary flashcards on psychological research methods, scientific inquiry, and study designs.

Hindsight bias

A person's tendency to believe that they knew what would happen and that they could have predicted an event after it took place.

Overconfidence

A person's tendency to overestimate their own abilities, made up of two primary components: the 'better-than-average' effect and the 'miscalibration' effect.

Gambler's fallacy

Occurs when a bet is placed upon the inaccurate belief that a small minority of results represents the whole, causing people to believe that past events affect the probability of something happening in the future.

Peer reviewers

Individuals who check an article for accuracy and assess the validity of the author's research.

Single-blind review

The most common type of peer review, where the names of the reviewers are not known to the author of the article.

Double-blind review

A peer review process where both the names of the reviewers and the name of the author are not known to each other to prevent bias.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

Hypotheses/hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Falsifiable

Describes a scientific statement, theory, or hypothesis that can be proven wrong by an observation, experiment, or data.

Operational definitions

A detailed statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study.

Replicate

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations to see whether the basic findings can be reproduced.

Descriptive research

Any research method that naturally observes and records behaviors without manipulating variables.

Case study

A descriptive research method where a single individual or a small group is studied in extreme depth over a long time.

Naturalistic observation

A descriptive research method where psychologists watch and record behavior in real-world, naturally occurring environments without trying to manipulate or control the situation.

Survey

A data collection technique used to gather self-reported attitudes, opinions, or behaviors from a specific group of people, typically by asking questions through questionnaires or interviews.

Social desirability bias

The tendency of survey or interview respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others, hiding their true beliefs or actions to look good.