psych unit 0 vocab

hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

theory

a well supported explanation of mental processes or behavior through scientific methods and observations

overconfidence

operational definition

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

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants and situation to weather findings can be reproduced

case study

examine individual or group in depth in hopes of reveling things that are true of us all

naturalistic observation

recording the natural behavior of many individuals. no manipulation

survey

asking people questions

social desirability bias

bias from people responding in way they presume a researcher expects or wishes

self-report bias

bias when people report their behavior inaccurately

sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

random people

a sample that fairly represents a population

population

all those in a group being studied

correlation

relationships between two variables indication how they change together

correlation coefficient

measures (-1 to +1) that quantifies the strength of the linear relationships between variables

single- blind procedure

participants are blind about whether they have received the treatment or a placebo

double- blind procedure

participants and researcher are blind on weather it was the treatment or placebo

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

confounding variable

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

experimenter bias

bias caused when researchers may unintentionally influence results to confirm their own beliefs

validity

extent to which a test or study accurately measures what it is intended to measure

quantitative research

a research method that relies on quantitative, numerical data

qualitative research

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

informed consent

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

debriefing

the post experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and want deception, to its participants

mode

the value that appears most frequently in a data set

mean

arithmetic average of a data set

median

middle score in a data set when arranged from smallest to largest

standard deviation

measures of how much a score or value vary from average of data

normal curve

bell shaped graph that shows a distribution of data most of which is in the middle

meta- analysis

a statistical procedure to summarize the results of multiple studies for strong conclusion

statistical significance