Psych - Chapter 2 Key Terms

  1. Theory: Well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena; generally accepted.

  2. Hypothesis: Tentative and testable statement (prediction) about the relationship between two or more variables.

  3. Falsifiability: Capable of being proven wrong.

  4. Case study: Focus on one individual, typically in an extreme or unique psychological circumstance.

  5. Naturalistic observation: Observation of behavior in its natural setting.

  6. Surveys: A list of questions that can be delivered in many ways to gather a large amount of data from a sample.

  7. Archival research: Uses past records or data sets to answer various research questions.

  8. Longitudinal research: Studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time.

  9. Cross sectional research: Compares multiple segments of a population at a single time (such as different age groups).

  10. Correlation: Relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does.

  11. Positive Correlation: Two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller.

  12. Negative Correlation: Two variables change in different directions, with one becoming increases as the other decreases.

  13. Confounding variable: Unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest.

  14. Illusory correlation: Seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists.

  15. Confirmation bias: Tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs.

  16. Experimental group: The participants that experience the manipulated variable (group designed to answer the research question).

  17. Control group: Participants that do not experience the manipulated variable; serve as a basis for comparison.

  18. Placebo effect: People’s expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation.

  19. Independent variable: Variable that is influenced/controlled by the experimenter.

  20. Dependent variable: Variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had.

  21. Sample: Subset of individuals selected from the larger population.

  22. Population: Overall group of individuals that the researcher is interested in.

  23. Random sample: Subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

  24. Random assignment: Method of experimental group assignment in which all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group.

  25. Reliability: Consistency and reproducibility of a given result.

  26. Validity: Does the test measure what it is meant to measure?.

  27. Informed consent: Process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment and obtaining consent.