unit 0 // ap psych

5 pillars of psychology

biological, cognitive, developmental, social & personality, mental & physical health

theory

a testable explanation for a set of facts or observations

5 research methods

experiment, correlational study, naturalistic observation, case study, meta-analysis

experiments

the researcher controls and manipulates the conditions, including the IV

the scientific method

5 step process for empirical investigation of a hypothesis

basic research

explores questions that we may be curious about, but is not intended to be immediately used; less practical application

applied research

has clear, practical applications

extraneous variable

a variable not being investigated that can possibly affect the dependent variable in a study

confounding variable

affects the dependent variable but is also related to the independent variable; a type of extraneous variable

directionality problem

the situation in which it is known that two variables are related, although it is not known which is the cause and which is the effect 

random selection

each person in the population being studied has an equal chance of being chosen to participate in the experiment

random sample

a sample group of subjects selected by chance, or without biased selection techniques

representative sample

a sample obtained in such a way that it reflects the distribution of important variables in the larger population in which the researcher is interested

group matching

ensure that experimental and control group are equivalent on some criterions

problems in experiments

placebo effect, overconfidence, hindsight bias, confirmation bias, experimenter bias, & social desirability bias

placebo effect

the act of doing something produces an effect if the person believes something will happen as a result of that action

overconfidence

humans tend to think we know more than we actually do

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that “I knew it all along”

confirmation bias

the tendency to only seek out information that supports one position or idea

experimenter bias

the unintentional influence of the experimenter’s expectations, beliefs, or preconceived notions on the outcome of a study or research experiment

social desirability bias

the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others

single blind procedure

the participants do not know if they are receiving a particular treatment

double blind procedure

neither the participants or the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment

correlational study

a study in which researchers try to show the relationship or correlation between two variables (coincidence)

naturalistic observation

a method by which subjects are observed in their natural environment

case studies

provide a detailed picture of one or a few subjects; just descriptive research

meta-analysis

a quantitative, formal, epidemiological study design used to systematically assess the results of previous research to derive conclusions about that body of research

ex post facto (research)

research in which we choose subjects based on a pre-existing condition

longitudinal study

one group/subject is studied for an extended period of time to observe changes in the long term

cross-sectional study

look at a cross section of the population and study them at one point in time