AP Psychology Exam Review

hypothesis

tentative explanation, must be falsifiable (able to be supported or rejected)

operational definition

clear, precise, quantifiable definition of your variables (allows replication and collection of reliable data)

qualitative data

descriptive data

quantitative data

numerical data, ideal and necessary for statistics

population

everyone the research could apply to

sample

the people (or person) specifically chosen for the study

double-blind

where neither the participant or the experimenter are aware of which condition people are assigned to

single-blind

only participant blind, used if experimenter can’t be blind

confound

error/flaw in the study that is accidentally introduced

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

correlation

identify relationship between two variables

directionality problem

which direction does the correlation go?

confounding variable/third variable problem

a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

positive correlation

variables increase and decrease together

negative correlation

as one variable increases the other decreases

experiment

purposefully manipulate variables to determine cause/effect

independent variable

the thing that is being manipulated in an experiment; the variable whose effect is being studied

dependent variable

measured variable

experimental group

the group that is exposed to the treatment in an experiment

control group

the group that is not exposed to the treatment in the experiment, baseline

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

naturalistic observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

case study

studies one person or group in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

meta-analysis

combines multiple studies to increase sample size and examine effect sizes

descriptive stats

show shape of the data

mean

average (used in normal distribution)

median

middle number (used in skewed distribution)

mode

number that occurs most often

bimodal distribution

has two modes

skews

created by outliers

negative skew

mean is to the left, mode is to the right

positive skew

mean is to the right

range

distance between smallest and biggest numbers

standard deviation

average amount the scores are spread from the mean

inferential statistics

establishes significance (meaningfulness)

statistical significance

results not due to chance, p < .05

effect size

data has practical significance (bigger = better)

confidentiality

the identity of participants in a research study must not be revealed publicly

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

informed assent

minors and their parents must agree to be part of the study

debriefing

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

survey

a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

self-report bias

the tendency for people to provide inaccurate or incomplete information about their own behaviors, attitudes, or experiences

social desirability

the tendency for individuals to give answers to surveys or interviews that present them in a more favorable light, rather than providing their true thoughts or behaviors

wording effects

how you frame the question can impact the answers

random sample

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

representative sample

sample mimics the general population

convenience sample

select participants based on availability (less representative and less generalizable)

sampling bias

a type of survey bias that occurs when a research study does not use a representative sample of a target population

cultural norms

behaviors of a particular group can influence research results

experimenter bias/participant bias

experimenter/participant expectations influences the outcome

cognitive bias

bias in thinking/judgement

confirmation bias

finding information that supports our preexisting beliefs

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (“I knew it all along”)

overconfidence

the psychological tendency to overestimate one's own abilities, knowledge, or the accuracy of one's beliefs

Hawthorne effect

people change behavior when being watched