correlational research: The study of the naturally occurring relationships among variables

culture: The enduring behaviours, ideas, attitudes, traditions, products, and institutions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

demand characteristics: Cues in an experiment that tell the participant what behaviour is expected.

dependent variable: The variable being measured, so called because it may depend on manipulations of the independent variable.

experimental realism: Degree to which an experiment absorbs and involves its participants

experimental research: Studies that seek clues to cause–effect relationships by manipulating one or more factors (independent variables) while controlling others (holding them constant)

field research: Research done in natural, real-life settings outside the laboratory

hindsight bias: The tendency to exaggerate, after learning an outcome, one’s ability to have foreseen how something turned out; also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon

hypotheses: Testable propositions that describe relationships that may exist between events

independent variables: Experimental factors that a researcher manipulates.

informed consent: An ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.

mundane realism: Degree to which an experiment is superficially similar to everyday situations.

naturalistic fallacy: The error of defining what is good in terms of what is observable: For example, what’s typical is normal; what’s normal is good.

observational research methods: Where individuals are observed in natural settings, often without awareness, in order to provide the opportunity for objective analysis of behaviour.

random assignment: The process of assigning participants to the conditions of an experiment such that all persons have the same chance of being in a given condition

random sample: Survey procedure in which every person in the population being studied has an equal chance of included

social neuroscience: An integration of biological and social perspectives that explores the neural and psychological bases of social and emotional behaviours.

social psychology: The scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another

social representations: Socially shared beliefs; widely held ideas and values, including our assumptions and cultural ideologies. Our social representations help us make sense of our world

theory: An integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events