AP Psychology Unit 1: Modules 4-8

Hindsight Bias

“I knew it all along”

Overconfidence

We think we know more than we do

Confirmation Bias

Paying attention to things that confirm your opinions.

Theory

Explanation of something after observation.

Hypothesis

Testable prediction

Operational Definitions

Carefully worded statement of exact procedure

Replication

repeating the essence of an experiment to see if results can be reprodcued

Descriptive Research

Describes behavior using case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys.

Case Studies

Individual is studied in depth

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in nature without control/manipulation.

Survey

Obtains self reported behaviors or attitudes of a group.

Sampling Bias

Flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Population

All those in a group being studied

Radom Sample

Fairly reps population

Correlation

How well one factor predicts the other

Correlation Coefficient

Statistical index of relationship (-1—>1)

Variables

Anything that varies

Scatterplots

Graphed cluster to rep two variables

Illusory Correlation

Perceived nonexistent correlation

Regression toward the mean

Extreme data point falls back to average.

Experiment

Manipulation to observe behavior or processes

Experimental Group

Group exposed to treatment

Control Group

Group not exposed to treatment

Random assignment

Assign

Double-blind Procedure

Both participants and researchers are ignorant of who is receiving treatment vs no treatment.

Placebo Effect

The power of expectations.

Independent Variable

Factor that is being manipulated.

Dependent Variable

Outcome that is measured.

Confounding Variable

An outside influencing factor.

Validity

Extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to.

Informed Consent

Participants have enough info to choose whether or not they will continue.

Debrief

After experiment explanation of how participants were deceived during treatments.

IRB (Institutional Review Board)

Ethics committee

Descriptive Statistics

Numerical data used to measure characteristics of groups.

Histogram

Mode

Most frequently occurring score

Mean

Average

Median

Middle score

Skew

Lack of symmetry around average va

Range

Difference between highest and lowest scores.

Standard Deviation

Variation around mean score

SD Formula

√sum of (deviations)²/ # of scores

Normal Curve

Bell Shaped curve

Inferential Statistics

Numerical data that we generalize to a population.

Statistical Significant

Likelihood that result occurred by chance (5%)

Mean is lower than median

Negatively skewed

Mean is higher than median

Postively skewed