Unit 0 - Psychology and Research Methods

APA (American Psychological Association)

a nonprofit organization representing psychologists in the United States

Behaviorism

conditioning; observable behaviors and responses

Bimodal Distribution

when there are two modes, or two distinct clusters of data, in a data set

Biopsychosocial

an approach that considers the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors in understanding and explaining human behavior and health

Case Study

examines one individual or social unit in depth

Central Tendency

mean, median, and mode of a distribution

Cognitive

mental activities involving thinking, knowing, remembering, perception, language, and memory

Confederates

aide(s) of researcher who poses as a participant but whose behavior is rehearsed prior to the actual experiment

Confidentiality

anonymity must be protected unless subjects give permission to identify them

Confirmation Bias

the tendency to gather evidence that supports pre-existing expectations; seeks out supporting evidence while dismissing or failing to seek contradictory evidence

Confounding Variables

any factors other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent value in a specific study

Control Group

subjects who do not receive treatment given to the experimental group

Convenience Sampling

sampling method that involves selecting a sample of people or cases that are close by or easily accessible

Correlation

studies that show how two factors increase or decrease together

Correlation Coefficient

a statistical measure that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables

Causation

determining the reason for something (not proved by correlation)

Cross Sectional Study

different groups are studied at the same time; shows effects of time and environment on many different individuals

Cultural Norms

the shared expectations and rules that guide behavior within a specific culture or society

Debriefing

provides full explanation of goals and procedures and allows for participant feedback; can help mitigate protentional psychological harm and ensures necessary support and resources for participants after the study

Deception

may be used if it is deemed essential and benefits outweigh risks

Dependent Variable (DV)

aspect of behavior thought to be affected by the independent variable

Directionality Problem

when it is uncertain which variable manipulates the other variable and which variable is being manipulated; makes it difficult to find a correlation

Double-Blind Study

eliminates both experimenter and subject bias by having research participants and research staff be blind about experimental and control condition

Effect Sizes

indicate the practical significance of a research outcome (larger it is, the more practical and smaller it is, the more limited)

Empirical Evidence

evidence gained and verified through objective observation, measurement, and experimentation

Evolutionary

AKA Darwinian Perspective; natural selection and adaptive behaviors=better survival and reproduction

Experimental Group

participants who receive special treatment (exposed to the independent variable)

Experimental Method

a type of research method where the researcher manipulates one variable (IV) to determine its effect on another variable DV)

Experimenter Bias

unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental or control groups differently to increase their chance of confirming their hypothesis

Falsifiable

how well a hypothesis is able to be proven wrong using the scientific method

Generalizing

how the results of a study are applied to different types of people/samples/test subjects

Hawthorne Effect

merely selecting a group of people on whom to experiment has been determined to affect the performance of that group; knowing that the subject is being observed affects their behavior (usually in a positive way)

Hindsight Bias

the tendency, after an event has occurred, to overestimate the extent to which the outcome could have been foreseen

Humanistic

individual choice and free will; humans are rational beings that have potential for growth and self-actualization

Hypothesis

testable prediction of a theory; relationship with two variables using an “If/Then” statement

Independent Variable (IV)

condition or event being studied and manipulated by the experimenter to examine its impact on the dependent variable

Informed Assent

for participants who are unable to provide legal consent (children, disabled peoples, etc), it must be obtained in addition to parent/guardian consent to participate

Informed Consent

participants are informed of risks of study and choose to participate

Institutional Review

ethical oversight for human and animal studies; approval process for experiment

Likert Scales

rating scale that uses a range of options from extreme to neutral

Longitudinal Study

the same group is studied over time; shows these effects on the same people

Mean

arithmetic average of a data set

Median

score that falls in the middle of a data set

Meta-Analysis

combines results from multiple studies and offers a comprehensive view of research on a specific topic; increases the conclusions’ validity as they’re based on a wider range

Mode

occurs most frequently in a data set

Naturalistic Observation

observing and recording overt behavior as it occurs in its natural setting; provides data to which we can generalize

Negative Correlation

indicate that as one factor increase, the other decreases

Negative Skew

when a distrubution includes an extreme score that is very low and skews the curve

Normal Curve

when most data points cluster in the middle of a range while the rest of the data is spread out symmetrically on either side of the middle

Operational Definitions

the quantification of a variable that allows it to be measured

Overconfidence

putting too much certainty into estimates, beliefs, decisions, current knowledge, etc

Peer Review

the process of having other experts in the field evaluate the study before it gets published

Percentile Rank

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

Placebo

fake substance

Placebo Effect

a response to a placebo caused by the subjects’ belief that they are being exposed to the “real” thing

Population

a group that is being studied; samples may be drawn from these groups

Positive Correlation

indicate that two factors increase or decrease together

Positive Skew

when a distribution includes an extreme score that is very low and skews the curve

Protection From Harm

physical safety must be guaranteed and researchers must minimize psychological distress, embarrassment, etc

Psychoanalytical

childhood, past experiences, unconscious, dream analysis, word association

Qualitative Research/Measures

structured interviews provide in-depth, descriptive data

Quantitative Research/Measures

Likert scales offer numerical data for statistical analysis

Random Assignment

process by which subjects are put into groups - experimental and control; each subject has an equal chance of being placed into any group

Random Sampling/Selection

method by which subjects are chosen - each member of the group has an equal chance; makes sample representative of the population being studied

Range

lowest subtracted from the highest in a data set

Regression Toward the Mean

a statistical phenomenon describing how variables much higher or lower than the mean are often much closer to the mean when measured a second time

Replication

repeating a study in order to fact-check results

Representation of Participants

when researchers generalize samples by randomly selecting participants from a large population into a sample

Representative Sample

allows researchers to generalize

Sample

selecting your subjects randomly from the population you wish to study

Scatterplot

used to graph correlations: the closer the points come to falling on a straight line, the stronger the correlation

Single-Blind Study

either the research staff or the participant are uninformed

Social Desirability Bias

responses are based on society’s expectations

Standard Deviation

the average distance of any score in the distribution from the mean

Statistical Significance

AKA probability value (p-value), the lower it is, the better the data because there is less chance and more statistical evidence

Structured Interviews

involves a set of predetermined questions that are presented in the same order to every participant

Third Variable Problem

occurs when an unmeasured variable is manipulating the two variables that are being studied

Validity

applicability and legitimacy

Variation

a measure of how spread out the scores are in a sample