AP Psych unit 0 quiz

hindsight bias

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

overconfidence

the tendency to think we know more than we do

theory

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

hypothesis

a testable predicition often implied by a theory

falsifiability

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

operational definiton

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

replicate

repeating the research study

non-experimental

• case study

• naturalistic observation

• survey

• correlation study

experiments

• only method which determines cause and effect

• correlation does not equal causation

case study

descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

strengths of a case study

allow for examination of rare or unusual behavior

weakness of case study

• results from one study may not be generalizable to the larger group

• cannot determine cause and effort

naturalistic observation

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

naturalistic observations strengths

subjects are undisturbed and behave “normally” outside of a lab setting

weaknesses of naturalistic observations

can’t determine cause and effect

surveys

descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a random sample group

strengths of surveys

able to take a “quick pulse” of peoples beliefs, behaviors, or opinions

weaknesses of surveys

• response bias

• wording effects can skew the outcome

social desirability bias

people answering in a way they think will please the researcher

self-report bias

when people don’t accurately report or remember their behaviors

random sample (survey)

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

population

all those in group being studies from which samples may be drawn

sampling bias

flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

representative sample

has the same distribution of demographic qualities in it as the population as a whole

correlation

how well eith factor predicts the other, not cause and effect

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between 2 variables

positive correlation

2 sets of data tend to rise or fall together; measured from r=0.1 to +1.0

negative correlation

1 set of data rises while the other falls; measured from r=-0.1 to -1.0

3rd variable problem

a confounding variable affects both variables to make them seem causally related when they are not

directionality problem

its impossible to conclude which variable causes changes in the other

correlation does not equal causation

more fire hydrants → more dogs, more icecream bc its hot → higher death rates

experiments

manipulating one factor in a situation to determine its effect on some behavior of mental process. can determine cause and effect

experiment group

subjects require the treatment

control group

subjects do not receive the treatment

confounding variable

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

placebo

an inert treatment

placebo effect

causes experimental results simply from expectations or assumptions that medication is being taken

single blind

the participants in the study are uninformed about the treatment, if any, they are receiving

double blind

the participants and the researcher are uninformed about which group receives the treatment and which does not

independent variable (IV)

the factor that os manipulated

dependent variable

the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the IV is manipulated

mode

the most common level/number/score

mean (average)

sum of the scores, divided by the number of scores

median (middle)

number/level that half of the people scored above and half of them below

skewed distribution

a representation os scores that lack symmetry around their average value

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score, shows whether scores are packed together (similar) or dispersed (different)

measures of variation

a bell-shaped curve that describes a distribution of many types of data

inferential stats

numerical methods used to determine whether research data supports a hypothesis or whether results were due to chance

statistical significance

how likely it is that a result occurred by chance. typically reported as a p value. A p value of .05 or less means that it is 95% likely the results did not occur by chance