Unit 0: SCI1, SCI2, SCI3, SCI4 All Terms

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it; "I-knew-it-all-along" phenomenon

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments

cultural norms

a group of shared beliefs, values, expectations, and behaviors that are considered typical for a specific society or culture

hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

falsifiable

a scientific hypothesis that can be disproven by an experimental observation or empirical test

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, to see whether the basic findings extend to other participants and circumstances

peer review

evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by others working in the same field

population

all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study

sample

a small group of individuals selected from a larger population to be included in a study

representative sample

sample that resembles a population

random sampling

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

convenience sampling

research sampling strategy that involves selecting participants based on their accessibility and availability to the researcher

generalizability

a measure of how useful the results of a study are for a larger group of people or situations

qualitative research/measures

a method of research that produces descriptive (non-numerical) data, such as observations of behavior or personal accounts of experiences

structured interviews

a research method that uses a predetermined set of questions asked in a specific order to all interviewees

case study

an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observation

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

quantitative research/measures

a method of research that uses numerical data to analyze statistical relationships and describe, understand, and predict phenomena

likert scales

a psychometric tool that's often used in psychology questionnaires to measure attitudes, behaviors, and personality (ex - a range of responses from strongly agree to strongly disagree)

social desirability bias

a tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself; a possible challenge to self-report surveys

experimental group

a subject or group of subjects in an experiment that is exposed to the factor or condition being tested

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance; minimizes effect of possible confounding variables

control group

the group not exposed to the factor or condition being tested; serves to evaluate the effect of the treatment

independent variables (IV)

the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

confounding variables

in an experiment, a variable, other than the independent variable, that could influence the dependent variable

dependent variables (DV)

the experimental factor that is being measured; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the IV

operational definitions

a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, to see whether the basic finding extend to other participants and circumstances

placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone; effect caused by administration of inert substance/condition

placebo

a harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect

single-blind study

a clinical trial design where only one party, either the researcher or the participant, is unaware of which treatment or intervention the participant is receiving

double-blind study

both the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or placebo

experimenter bias

any systematic errors in the research process or the interpretation of its results that are attributable to a researcher's behavior, preconceived beliefs, expectancies, or desires about results

correlation

the extent to which two factors vary together; of how well either factor predicts the other

positive Correlation

a relationship between two variables in which both rise and fall together

negative Correlation

a relationship between two variables that move in opposite directions

scatterplot

a type of data display that shows the relationship between two numerical variables

correlation coefficient

a statistical measure of the strength of a linear relationship between two variables. Its values can range from -1 to 1

effect sizes

way to measure the magnitude of a difference between groups or the significance of a relationship between variables in sampled data

statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

directionality problem (in correlation)

a limitation of correlational research that occurs when it's unclear which variable influences another

third variable problem (in correlation)

when a third variable causes a correlation between two other variables, making it seem like they have a causal relationship when they don't

meta-analysis

a statistical method that combines and analyzes the results of multiple studies on a topic to draw an overall conclusion