AP Psych Unit 0A-0C

August 13, 2025

cultural norms

what is normal or allowed in a culture, opposite of taboo

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe after learning an outcome

overconfidence

when humans think we know more than we do

experimental method

a research method where you manipulate one factor to observe the effect

non-experimental methods

methods that do not prove causation; case studies, surveys, and natural observation

case study

a non-experimental technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth

correlational study

shows how 2 variables vary together, DOES NOT PROVE CAUSATION

meta analysis

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

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations

hypothesis

a testable prediction; often implied by a theory

falsifiable

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

operational definition

statement of exact procedures used in a research study

replication

repeating the essence of a research study

independent variable

the variable getting manipulated

dependent variable

the outcome that is measured changed by the independent

confounding variable (third variable)

a factor other than the one being studied

participants

people in the experiment

sample

a part of the population used

population

all those in a group being studied from which random samples may be drawn

representative sample

can be used as a good representation for the larger population

random sampling

it fairly represents a population because each member has or equal chance of inclusion

convenience sampling

when experts pick an inaccurate sample so the data is bias/skewed

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

generalizability

the results are accurate for the larger population

experimental group

the group exposed to the treatment