Studied by 21 people
Control group
Subjects in a study who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group
Extraneous variables
Any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific experiment
Confounding variables
A condition that exists whenever two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects
Random assignment
A procedure in which all subjects in a study have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition
Correlation
A correlation exists when two variables are related to each other
Naturalistic observation
A descriptive research method in which the researcher engages in careful, usually prolonged, observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects
Reactivity
Alteration of a subject’s behavior due to the presence of an observer
Case study
An in-depth investigation of an individual subject
Survey
A descriptive research method in which researchers use questionnaires or interviews to gather information about specific aspects of participant background, attitudes, beliefs, or behavior
Replication
The repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated
Meta-analysis
A research analysis of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated
Sample
The collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study
Population
The larger collection of animals/people from which a sample is drawn and that researchers want to generalize about
Sampling bias
A problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn
Placebo effect
Occurs when subjected expectations lead them to experience some change even though they receive an empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment
Social desirability effect
A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself when responding to surveys
Halo effect
Phenomenon that occurs in self-reports when someone’s overall evaluation of person, object, or institution spills over to influence more specific ratings
Double-blind study
A research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters knows which subjects are in the experimental or control groups
Statistics
The use of mathematics to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical data
Frequency distribution
An orderly arrangement of scores indicating the frequency of each score or group of scores
Histogram
A bar graph that presents data from a frequency distribution
Frequency polygon
A line figure used to present data from a frequency distribution
Descriptive statistics
Statistics that are used to organize and summarize data
Median
The score that falls exactly in the center of a distribution of events
Mean
The average of the scores in a distribution
Mode
The score that occurs most frequently in a distribution
Negatively skewed distribution
A distribution in which most scores pile up at the high end of the scale
Positively skewed distribution
A distribution in which most scores pile up at the low end of the scale
Variability
The extent to which the scores in a data set tend to vary from one another and from the mean scores
Standard deviation
An index of the amount of variability in a set of data
Normal distribution
A symmetric, bell-shaped curve that represents the pattern in which many characteristics are dispersed in the population
Percentile score
A figure that indicates the percent of people who score at or below the score any one individual has obtained
Correlation coefficient
A numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables
Scatter diagram
A graph in which paired X and Y scores for each subject are plotted as single points
Coefficient of determination
The percentage of variation in one variable that can be predicted based on the other variable
Inferential statistics
Statistics that are used to interpret data and draw conclusions
Null hypothesis
In inferential statistics, the assumption that there is no true relationship between the variables being observed
Statistical significance
The condition that exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low
Note
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