AP Psych Quiz Review Unit 0 Lesson 2

Cognitive Biases

Systematic errors in thinking.

What do Cognitive biases do?

These biases are like shortcuts our brains take to make processing information easier and quicker, but they often lead us to incorrect conclusions or irrational decisions.

Hindsight Bias

After an event has occurred, we believe we predicted it beforehand.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms our preexisting beliefs or opinions.

Overconfidence Bias

Occurs when we overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments.

Perceiving Order in Random Events

This tendency can lead us to see connections and order in random or unrelated events. Our brains love to fin patterns, even when none exist.

Theory

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

Guiding Research

Theories provide a starting point for exploration.

Peer reviewers

Experts who evaluate the quality and validity of research before it gets published. They ensure that the research methods are sound and the conclusions are reliable.

Peer Review

Scientific experts who evaluate a research article's theory, originality, and accuracy.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.

Falsifiability

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

Operational Definition

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures. (Also known as operationalization.

Replication

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.

Non-Experimental research

Research that observes and describes behavior without manipulating variables.

Case Study

In-depth investigation of an individual or group. Provides detailed rich qualitative data, useful for studying rare or unique phenomena, and can generate new hypotheses for further research.

Meta-Analysis

Statistically combines the results of multiple studies on the same topic.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing behavior in its natural setting.

Social Desirability Bias

Bias from people responding in ways they presume a researcher expects or wishes.

Self-report Bias

Bias when people report their behavior inaccurately.

Experimenter Bias

When researcher expectations skew the results of the study.

Population

The entire group that a researcher is interested in studying.

Sample

Smaller group selected from the population to participate in the study.

Sampling Bias

Occurs when the sample is not representative of the population.

Random Sample

It is a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

Convenience Sampling

Collecting research from a group that is readily available, such as your friends at school, rather than a sample that would represent all the students at your school.

Representative Sample

a sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole

Survey

Uses questionnaires or interviews to collect data from a large number of people.

Correlational Study

Examines the relationship between two or more variables.

What is Psychology?

It gives us the tools to decode human behavior and mental processes through scientific study.

Four main goals of Psychology

Describe, Explain, Predict, Change

Cognition

Mental Activities related to thinking, knowing, and remembering. This involves perception, memory, problem-solving, decision-making, and reasoning.