Psych U1

Intro to Psych, Research & Stats

Pyschology

the scientific study of mind and behavior

WEIRD samples

research participants from western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic backgrounds

Psychological science

study of pyschology

Pseudoscience

a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly thought to be based on valid science

Evidence

the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid

Empirical

based on astute observation and accurate measurement

Critical thinking

purposeful, reasoned, and goal-directed process of exploring a situation or problem

Evolutionary perspective

the psychological perspective on behavior that seeks to identify how humans’ evolutionary past shapes certain cultural universals that all human beings share, such as the preference for fairness

Cultural perspective

the psychological perspective that seeks to understand how cultural context affects people’s thoughts & preferences

Culture

the rules, values, customs, & beliefs that exist within a group of people who share a common language & environment. it passes from generation to generation as children learn it from their parents, caregivers, and the larger society

Cognitive perspective

the psychological perspective that studies the mental processes that underlie perception, thought, learning, memory, language, and creativity

Emotional perspective

the psychological perspective to understand how our capacity to feel, express, and perceive emotions plays an important role in decision making, behavior, and social relationships

unconscious

the part of our mental life that influences our thoughts, feelings, and actions that we cannot directly observe and of which we are unaware

biological-neuroscience perspective

the psychological perspective that seeks to understand the biological underpinnings of how humans think, act, and behave

developmental perspective

the psychological perspective that studies how people change physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally as they change

personality perspective

the psychological perspective that seeks to understand aspects of human behavior that are relatively stable over time and situation

social psychological perspective

the psychological perspective that studies how immediate social contexts influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, independent of personality

clinical perspective

the psychological perspective that focuses on the causes and treatments of psychological disorders, with the goal of improving human well-being, daily functioning, and social relationships

growth mindset

the belief that human personality and behavior can be changed

positive psychology

the scientific study of the factors that make people happy, keep them healthy, and help them manage stress

metacognition

an awareness and understanding of your own thought processes

overconfidence effect

tendency to be overly sure of what we know

confirmation bias

tendency to seek out, pay attention to, and believe only evidence that supports what we already are confident we know

scientific method

the process of basing one’s confidence in an idea on systematic, direct observations of the world, usually by setting up research studies to test ideas

theory

a set of propositions explaining how and why people act, think, or feel

hypothesis

a specific prediction stating what will happen in a study if the theory is correct

data

a set of empirical observations that scientists have gathered

replication

when a study is conducted more than once on a new sample of participants, and obtain the same basic results

journals

a periodical containing peer-reviewed articles on a specific academic discipline, written for a scholarly audience

variables

something of interest that varies from person to person or situation to situation

measured variables

a variable whose values are simply recorded

manipulated variables

a variable whose values the researcher controls, usually by assigning different participants to different levels of that variable

operational definitions

specific ways of measuring or manipulating an abstract variable in a particular study

descriptive research

a type of study in which researchers measure one variable at a time

population of interest

the full set of cases the researcher is interested in

sample

the group who participated in research, and who belonged to the larger group that the researcher is interested in understanding

random sampling

a way of choosing a sample of participants for a study in which participants are selected without bias

naturalistic observation

an observational research method in which psychologists observe the behavior of animals and people in their normal, everyday worlds and environments

observational research

a descriptive research method in which psychologists measure their variable of interest by observing and recording what people are doing

case study

an observational research method in which researchers study one or two individuals in-depth, often those who have a unique condition

correlational research

a type of study that measures 2 or more variables in the same sample of people and then observes the relationship between them

scatterplot

a figure used to represent a correlation

third variable problem

for a given observed relationship between two variables, an additional variable that is associated with both of them, making the additional variable an alternative explanation for the observed relationship

experimental research

a study in which one variable is manipulated, and the other is measured; it can provide evidence that one variable causes another

independent variable

the manipulated variable in an experiment

dependent variable

the measured variable in an experiment

random assignment

a procedure used in experimental research in which a random method is used to decide which participants will receive each level of the independent varaible

experimental group

in an experiment, a group or condition in which some proposed cause is present

control group

in an experiment, a group or condition in which some proposed cause is not present

placebo condition

in an experiment, a group or condition in which people expect to receive a treatment but are exposed only to an inert version, such as a sugar pill

validity

the appropriateness or accuracy of a conclusion or decision

construct validity

the specific assessment of how accurately the operationalizations used in a study capture the variables of interest

reliability

the degree to which a measure yields consistent results each time it is administered

external validity

the degree to which it is reasonable to generalize from a study’s sample to its population of interest

internal validity

the ability of a study to rule out alternative explanations for a relationship between two variables; one of the criteria for supporting a casual claim

confounds

alternative explanations for a relationship between two variables; specifically, in an experiment, when two experimental groups accidentally differ on more than just the independent variable, which causes a problem for internal validity

descriptive statistics

graphs or computations that describe the characteristics of a batch of scores, such as its distribution, central tendency, or variability

frequency distribution

a descriptive statistic that takes the form of a bar graph in which the possible scores on a variable are listed on the x-axis and the total number of people who had each score is plotted on the y-axis

mean

a measure of central tendency that is the arithmetic average of a group of scores

median

a measure of central tendency that is the middlemost score; it is obtained by lining up the scores from smallest to largest and identifying the middle score

mode

a measure of central tendency that is the most common score in a batch of scores

variability

the extent to which the scores in a batch differ from each other

standard deviation

a variability statistic that calculates how much, on average, a batch of scores varies around its mean

effect size

a numerical estimate of the strength of the relationship between two variables. form of a correlation coefficient or, for an experiment, the difference between two group means divided by the standard deviations of the two groups

inferential statistics

a set of procedures used to estimate whether a pattern of results represents a true relationship or difference in the population

statistical significance

a process of inference that applies rules of logic and probability to estimate whether the results obtained in a study’s sample are the same in a larger population

meta analysis

a process in which researchers locate all of the studies that have tested the same variables & mathematically average them to estimate the effect size of the entire body of studies

false positives

a statistically significant finding that does not reflect a real effect

HARKing

a questionable research practice known as “hypothesizing after the results are known,” in which researchers create an after-the-fact hypothesis about an unexpected research result, making it appear as if they predicted it all along

P-hacking

a family of questionable data analysis techniques, such as adding participants after the results are initially analyzed, looking for outliers, or trying new analyses in order to obtain a p value of just under 0.5, which can lead to nonreplicable results

open science

the practice of sharing one’s data, hypotheses, and materials freely so others can collaborate, use, and verify the results

pre-registration

a researcher’s public statement of a study’s expected outcome before collecting any data

IRB

a local panel of researchers, teachers, citizens, and others who determine whether a research study lives up to the community’s ethical standards

informed consent

an application of the ethical principles of autonomy, in which a researcher explains the procedures of a study, including its risks and potential benefits, to the potential participants, who then decide whether to take part

blind to condition

participants are unaware of the specific conditions or treatments being administered in a study to prevent bias

correlation coefficient

a statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two variables fluctuate together

P value

the probability that observed results occurred by chance; used to determine statistical significance

peer reviewers

experts who evaluate the quality, validity, and significance of research before publication

falsifiable

a hypothesis that can be disproved by empirical evidence

survey

a research method that involves collecting data from participants through questionnaires or interviews

social desirability bias

the tendency of participants to respond in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others

self-report bias

distortion in participants’ responses due to inaccurate or dishonest self-assessment

experimenter bias

the influence of the researcher’s expectations on the outcome of an experiment

sampling bias

a non-random sample that does not accurately represent the population

convenience sampling

selecting participants based on availability, which may not represent the entire population

representative sample

a sample that accurately reflects the demographics of the larger population

regression toward the mean

the tendency for extreme scores to move closer to the average on subsequent measurements

likert scales

a rating scale used to measure attitudes or opinions, usually with a range of agreement levels

informed assent

agreement to participate in research by minors or those unable to give legal consent, with guardian approval

protect from harm

ensuring participants are not exposed to physical or psychological harm during research

confidentiality

keeping participants’ data private and ensuring it is not disclosed without permission

research confederates

individuals who pretend to be participants but are actually part of the experiment (an actor)

debriefing

explaining the true purpose of the study to participants after it concludes

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a dataset

percentile rank

the percentage of scores in a distribution that fall below a particular score