AP Psych Unit 0 Vocab

Psychodynamic perspective

Focuses on unconscious processes and childhood experiences affecting behavior.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to groups by chance to minimize preexisting differences

Evolutionary perspective

Examines how natural selection of traits promotes survival of genes.

Behavioral perspective

Studies observable behavior and explains it through principles of learning.

Biological perspective

Investigates how biological structures and processes impact behavior.

Cognitive perspective

Explores how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.

Socio-cultural perspective

Looks at how social and cultural environments influence behavior.

Biopsychosocial perspective

Considers combined influences of biological, psychological, and social factors.

Confirmation bias

Tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one’s beliefs.

Hindsight bias

Belief that one could have predicted an outcome after knowing it occurred.

Overconfidence

Tendency to overestimate one’s abilities and knowledge.

Theory

Explanation of phenomena based on observations and reasoning.

Hypothesis

Testable prediction derived from a theory.

Falsifiability

Ability of a hypothesis to be proven false.

Operational definition

Precise description of how variables are measured or manipulated.

Replication

Repeating a study to see if the results can be duplicated.

Variable

Any factor that can change and is measurable.

Sample

Subset of individuals selected from a population for a study.

Population

Entire group of individuals a researcher is interested in.

Representative sample

Sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of a population.

Random sampling

Every member of a population has an equal chance of being selected.

Convenience sampling

Selecting participants based on availability and convenience.

Sampling bias

Systematic error due to a non-random sample of a population.

Survey

Research method that involves asking people questions.

Self-report bias

Participants may not provide accurate or truthful responses.

Social desirability bias

Tendency to respond in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others.

Generalizability

Extent to which research findings apply to settings or groups beyond the sample studied.

Case study

In-depth analysis of a single individual or group.

Naturalistic observation

Observing subjects in their natural environment without interference.

Experiment

Research method involving manipulation of variables to establish cause and effect.

Random assignment

Assigning participants to experimental or control groups by chance.

Correlation

Measure of the relationship between two variables.

Correlation coefficient

Numerical representation of the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.

Scatterplot

Graph that shows the relationship between two variables using dots.

Independent variable

Variable that is manipulated by the researcher.

Dependent variable

Variable that is measured and affected in an experiment.

Confounding variable

Variable other than the independent variable that could influence results.

Experimental group

Group that receives the treatment in an experiment.

Control group

Group that does not receive the treatment; used for comparison.

Placebo

Inactive substance or treatment given to the control group.

Single-blind

Participants do not know if they are in the experimental or control group.

Double-blind

Both researchers and participants do not know who is in the experimental or control group.

Control

Group used as a baseline to compare results.

Experimenter bias

Unconscious influence of researchers’ expectations on the study’s outcome.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Committee that reviews and approves research involving human participants.

Informed consent

Participants’ agreement to take part in a study after being informed of its purpose and procedures.

Informed assent

Agreement from a minor to participate in research, in addition to parental consent.

Protection from harm

Ensuring participants are not harmed physically or psychologically.

Confidentiality

Keeping participants’ data and identity private.

Deception

Misleading participants about the true purpose of a study.

Debriefing

Informing participants about the true purpose of the study after it concludes.

Descriptive statistics

Methods used to summarize and describe main features of a data set.

Histogram

Bar graph that represents the frequency distribution of a data set.

Mode

Most frequently occurring score in a data set.

Mean

Average of a data set.

Median

Middle score in a data set.

Percentile rank

Percentage of scores in its frequency distribution that are equal to or lower than it.

Skewed distribution

Distribution that is not symmetrical and has scores clustered to one side.

Range

Difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data set.

Standard deviation

Measure of how spread out the scores are in a data set.

Normal curve

Bell-shaped curve representing a distribution of scores.

Inferential statistics

Techniques used to determine if results can be generalized to a larger population.

Meta-analysis

Combining data from multiple studies to draw a broader conclusion.

Statistical significance

Likelihood that a result is not due to chance.

Effect size

Magnitude of a relationship or effect in a study.