AP Psych Unit 0

critical thinking

thinking that does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions, but rather examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

hindsight bias

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

peer reviewers

scientific experts who evaluate a research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy

theory

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

hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

falsifiable

the possibility that an idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment

operational definition

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

replication

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

case study

a non-exp technique in which one indv or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observation

a non-exp technique of observing and recording beh in nat occurring sitc’s w/out trying to manipulate or control the sitc

survey

a non-exp technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or beh’s of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

social desirability bias

bias from ppl’s responding in ways they presume a researcher expects or wishes

self-report bias

bias when ppl report their beh innaccurately

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

random sample

a sample that fairly reps the pop bc each member has an = chance of being chosen

population

all those in a group being studied

correlation

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

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship betw 2 variables (from -1.00 to +1.00)

variable

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

scatterplot

a graphed cluster of dots, each which represents the values of two variables…the slope of the pts suggests the direction of the relationship betw 2 the variables…the amt of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation

illusory correlation

perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back toward the average

experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more variables to observe the effect on some beh or mental processes

experimental group

in an exp, the group exposed to the treatment

control group

in an exp, the group NOT exposed to the treatment

random assignment

assigning participants to exp and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting diff’s betw the 2 groups

single-blind procedure

an exp procedure in which the research participants are ignorant abt whether they have received the treatment or a placebo

double-blind procedure

an exp procedure in which both the research staff and the research participants are ignorant abt whether the participants have received the treatment or a placebo

placebo effect

exp results caused by expectations alone…any effect on beh caused by the admin of an insert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

independent variable

in an exp, the factor that is manipulated

dependent variable

in an exp, the outcome that is measured

validity

the extent to which a test or exp measures or predicts what it is supposed to

quantitative research

a research method that relies on quantifiable, numerical data

qualitative research

a research method that relies on in-depth, narrative data that are not translated into numbers

informed consent

giving potential participants enough info Abt a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

debriefing

the postexp explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups; include measures of central tendency and measures of variation

histogram

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

mode

the most frequently occuring scores in a distribution

mean

the arithmetic avg of a distribution

median

the middle score in a distribution

percentile rank

the % of scores that are lower than a given score

skewed distribution

a representation of scores that lack sym around their avg val

range

the diff betw the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

normal curve

a sym, bell-shaped curve that describes the dist of many types of data (2 - 13 - 34 - 34 - 13 - 2)

inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize—to infer from sample data the probability of smth being true of a pop

meta-analysis

a statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that a result occurred by chance

effect size

the strength of the relationship betw 2 variables. the larger the effect size, the more one variable can be explained by the other