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Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it, often termed the ‘I knew it all along’ phenomenon.

Overconfidence

The tendency to overestimate our knowledge and abilities.

Richard Goranson Study

A study showing that people predicted they would take seconds to unscramble words, but it took an average of three minutes.

Perceiving Order in Random Events

The human tendency to seek patterns in random events.

The Scientific Attitude

A mindset characterized by curiosity, skepticism, and humility.

Critical Thinking

Thinking that evaluates arguments and conclusions by examining assumptions, discerning values, and assessing evidence.

Theory

An explanation that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction often implied by a theory.

Operational Definition

A carefully worded statement that defines the exact procedures used in a research study.

Replication

Repeating a research study to see if the results are consistent across different participants and situations.

Case Study

A descriptive technique studying one individual or group in depth to reveal universal principles.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without manipulation.

Survey

A technique for ascertaining attitudes or behaviors of a group by questioning a sample.

Population

The entire group being studied, from which a sample is taken.

Sampling Bias

A flawed sampling process that results in an unrepresentative sample.

Correlation

A measure of how two factors change together and how well one predicts the other.

Correlation Coefficient

A statistical index of the relationship between two variables, ranging from -1.0 to +1.0.

Scatterplot

A graph that shows the relationship between two variables with a cluster of dots.

Illusory Correlation

The perception of a relationship where none exists.

Experiment

A research method in which one or more factors are manipulated to observe effects on behavior.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment exposed to the treatment or independent variable.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that is not exposed to the treatment.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to groups by chance to minimize preexisting differences.

Blind Procedure

A method where participants do not know which group they are in (single-blind).

Double-Blind Procedure

An experimental procedure where both research participants and staff are unaware of group assignments.

Placebo Effect

A phenomenon where participants' expectations influence the outcomes of an experiment.

Independent Variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated in a study.

Dependent Variable

The outcome factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is intended to assess.

Descriptive Statistics

Numerical data that describe characteristics of groups, including measures like mean, median, and mode.

Histogram

A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution.

Mean

The average score in a distribution, calculated by dividing the total scores by the number of scores.

Median

The middle score in a distribution, with half the scores above and half below.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score in a distribution.

Skewed Distribution

A distribution lacking symmetry around its average value.

Standard Deviation

A measure of how much scores vary around the mean.

Normal Curve

A bell-shaped curve representing the distribution of many types of data, where most scores fall near the mean.

Inferential Statistics

Numerical data that allow for generalizations from sample data to a population.

Statistical Significance

A statistical statement about the likelihood that a result occurred by chance.

Informed Consent

An ethical principle requiring that research participants be fully informed before participating.

Debriefing

The post-experimental explanation of a study's purpose and deceptions to participants.

Culture

The shared behavior, ideas, attitudes, and traditions of a group, transmitted from one generation to the next.