Chapter 2 Vocab - General Psychology

Three primary goals of science

description, prediction, and explanation (DPE)

Research

the careful collection, analysis, and interpretation of data

Data

measurements gathered during the research process

Scientific Method

A systematic and dynamic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena

Theory

a model of how a phenomenon works

Hypothesis

a specific, testable prediction, narrower than the theory it’s based on

Variable

something in the world that can vary and that the researcher can manipulate (change), measure (evaluate), or both

Operational Definition

qualifies (describes) and quantifies (measures) a variable so the variable can be understood objectively

Replication

Repetition of a research study to confirm or contradict the results

False Positive

A result that occurs when there is no real effect, but a study produces a statistically significant result by chance

Questionable research practices

Practices that unintentionally make the research less replicable

HARKing

“Hypothesizing After the Results are Known” instead of generating a theory before running the study and analyzing the results

p-hacking

Testing the same hypothesis using statistical tests in different variations until one produces a statistically significant result

Preregistration

Documenting a study’s hypotheses, methods, and analysis plan ahead of time and publishing it on a time-stamped website

Meta-analysis

a “study of studies” that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion

Underreporting null effects

causes readers to draw invalid inferences because entire studies or hypothesis tests are missing

Null effect

Finding no difference between conditions or no relationship between variables

Case Study

A descriptive research method that involves the intensive examination of an atypical person or organization

Descriptive research

Research methods that involve observing behavior to describe that behavior objectively and systematically

Naturalistic observation

A type of descriptive study in which the researcher is a passive observer, separated from the situation and making no attempt to change or alter ongoing behavior

Participant observation

A type of descriptive study in which the researcher is involved in the situation

Self-report methods

Methods of data collection in which people are asked to provide information about themselves, such as in surveys or questionnaires

Correlational Studies

A research method that describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or assign causation between them

Scatterplot

A graphical depiction of the relation between two variables

Correlation Coefficient

A descriptive statistic that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables

Directionality problem

A problem encountered in correlational studies; the researchers find a relationship between two variables, but they can’t determine which variable may have caused changes in the other variable

Third variable problem

A problem that occurs when the researcher can’t directly manipulate variables; as a result, the researcher cannot be confident that another, unmeasured variable isn’t the actual cause of differences in the variables of interest

Dependent variable

The variable that is measured in a research study

Experiment

A research method that tests causal hypotheses by manipulating and measuring variables

Independent variable

The variable that is manipulated in a research study

Control group

The participants in an experiment who receive no intervention or who receive an intervention that is unrelated to the independent variable being investigated

Experimental group

The participants in an experiment who receive the treatment

Confound

Anything that affects a dependent variable and that may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study

Sample

A subset of a population

Population

Everyone in the group that the experimenter is interested in

Random assignment

Placing research participants into the conditions of an experiment in such a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any level of the independent variable

Random Sample

A sample where every member of the population of interest is equally likely to be included

Convenience Sample

A sample taken from a subgroup of the full population that happens to be available

Culturally sensitive research

Studies that take into account the role that culture plays in determining thoughts, feelings, and actions

Belmont Report

Describes the three key ethical principles that should guide all research using human participants (Respect for Persons, Beneficence, Justice)

Beneficence

Researchers have an ethical obligation to weigh the potential benefits of a study against its risks and to minimize risks as much as possible

Confidentiality

Personal, identifying information about participants can’t be shared with others

IRB

(Institutional Review Board) A group of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standards of science and provides for the physical and emotional well-being of research participants

Justice

Everyone should have an equal chance to participate in and benefit from research

Respect for Persons

People who participate in research must retain their autonomy when deciding to participate and throughout the duration of the psychological study

Experimentation averse

A tendency for people to prefer to receive an untested treatment rather than participate in a randomized study to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment

Construct validity

The degree to which variables measure what they’re supposed to measure

Accuracy

The degree to which an experimental measure is free from error

Descriptive statistics

Statistics that summarize the data collected in a study

Central tendency

A measure that represents the typical response or the behavior of a group as a whole

External validity

The degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations

Internal validity

The degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not to confounds

Mean

A measure of central tendency that is the arithmetic average of a set of numbers

Median

A measure of central tendency that is the value in a set of numbers that falls exactly halfway between the lowest and highest values

Mode

A measure of central tendency that is the most frequent score or value in a set of numbers

Variability

How widely dispersed the values are from each other and from the mean in a set of numbers

Reliability

The degree to which a measure is stable and consistent over time

Standard deviation

A statistical measure of how far away each value is, on average, from the mean

Inferential statistics

A set of procedures that enable researchers to decide whether differences between two or more groups are probably just chance variations or whether they reflect true differences in the populations being compared

Descriptive statistics

Statistics that summarize the data collected in a study

Bayesian statistics

A class of statistics that combines existing beliefs (priors) with new data to update the estimated likelihood that a belief is true (posterior)

Replication

Repetition of a research study to confirm or contradict the results

Theory

A model of interconnected ideas that explains what is observed and makes predictions about future events

Statistical significance

an observed result is unlikely to have occurred by random chance, suggesting a real effect or relationship exists

Between-Ss design

an experimental method where different groups of participants are exposed to different conditions or levels of an independent variable, allowing researchers to compare outcomes between these separate groups

Random selection

the process of choosing individuals or items from a population where every member has an equal chance of being picked

Reactivity

altering behavior because you know you're being watched (research setting) or responding impulsively to emotions/stress (emotional context), often in a fight/flight way, rather than responding thoughtfully

Within-Ss design

a research method where the same participants experience every condition or level of an independent variable, allowing researchers to compare their performance or responses across different situations, treatments, or time points