ap psych unit 0.2 : research methods

hindsight bias

tendency upon hearing new things to believe you knew it all along

confirmation bias

the tendency to pay more attention to information that supports our preexisting ideas

overconfidence

to be overly confident

applied research

research with a clear practical application

basic research

research that explores questions, not intended for immediate, real-world use

quantitative research

research that uses numerical measures

qualitative research

research that uses textual responses

falsifiable

able to be proven false

operational definition

explains how a variable will be measured in a study. specifies exact procedures, tools, and criteria

sample

a group of subjects

goal of a sample

for it to be representative of a larger population, representative sample

random sampling

every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

stratified sampling

divides the population into non-overlapping strata, then takes a random sample from each stratum

random assignment

process of dividing participants into equally likely groups

experimenter bias

unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming the researchers' hypothesis.

double-blind study

neither the participants nor the researcher can affect the outcome of the research

single-blind study

only the participants do not know to which group they have been assigned

response or subject bias

tendency for participants in a study to behave in certain ways

social desirability bias

the tendency to try to give answers that reflect well upon oneself

experimental group

gets the treatment (independent variable)

control group

gets none of the independent variable

placebo method

uses an inactive treatment to test if a real drug works, by comparing outcomes in groups receiving the real treatment versus the placebo

positive correlation

one variable goes up with the other (0.5-1)

negative correlation

one variable goes up, the other goes down

likert scales

scale of reaction

directionality problem

the confusion over which of two related variables causes the other, or if they influence each other bidirectionally, because a correlation only shows association, not causation

third variable

influences both the independent variable and the dependent variable

spurious correlation

false correlation

naturalistic observation

observing participants in their natural habitats without interacting with them at all

structured interview

a survey in which there is a fixed number of questions asked in a set order

case study

an in-depth examination of a specific subject (individual, group, event, organization) in its real-world context