UNIT ZERO

This is the final, high-speed list of 93 terms. I have added [TRIGGER WORDS] in brackets for the terms that need associations—especially p-value and statistical significance—so you know exactly what to look for on the exam.

Unit 0: Foundations, Science, & Methods

  1. Curiosity: An appetite to explore and understand without being misled.

  2. Skepticism: Doubting conclusions until supported by hard evidence.

  3. Humility: Admitting you might be wrong and staying open to new perspectives.

  4. Critical Thinking: [BIAS HUNTER] Examining assumptions and evaluating sources rather than accepting conclusions .

  5. Peer Review: [QUALITY CONTROL] Experts checking a study for accuracy before it's public .

  6. Falsifiability: [CAN BE PROVEN WRONG] The requirement that a hypothesis must be capable of being disproven.

  7. Scientific Method: A self-correcting process of observing, testing, and analyzing.

  8. Theory: [BIG PICTURE] A broad explanation that organizes observations and predicts future outcomes .

  9. Hypothesis: [PREDICTION] A specific, testable "If/Then" statement about the relationship between variables .

  10. Operational Definition: [REPLICATION RECIPE] Precise procedures used to measure variables so others can repeat the study .

  11. Replication: [REPEATABLE] Repeating a study to see if the original findings hold up with different participants.

  12. Defensible Claim: A statement regarding a psychological concept that can be supported by evidence .

  13. Scientifically Derived Evidence: Facts and data gathered specifically through the scientific method.

  14. Refute/Modify: Using new data to disprove or change a previously held claim.

The Cognitive Biases (The Brain's Mistakes)

  1. Cognitive Biases: Illogical errors in thinking often caused by mental shortcuts .

  2. Hindsight Bias: [I-KNEW-IT-ALL-ALONG] Tendency to believe we predicted an outcome after it happened .

  3. Overconfidence: Thinking we know more than we do or overestimating our abilities .

  4. Heuristics: [MENTAL SHORTCUTS] Quick rules of thumb used to process info and make fast decisions .

  5. Confirmation Bias: Searching only for info that supports your current beliefs.

  6. Authority Bias: [THE DOCTOR SAID SO] Believing someone purely because of their status or position .

  7. Illusory Correlation: [FAKE LINK] Perceiving a relationship between two things when none exists .

  8. Wording Effect: How specific phrasing of questions influences a participant's response.

Research Design (Cause vs. Predict)

  1. Experiment: [CAUSE & EFFECT] The ONLY method that proves one thing caused another.

  2. Independent Variable (IV): [THE CAUSE] The factor the researcher intentionally manipulates .

  3. Dependent Variable (DV): [THE EFFECT] The outcome factor being measured .

  4. Confounding Variable: [THE SPOILER] An unintended factor that skews results.

  5. Random Assignment: [SORTING INTO GROUPS] Placing participants into groups by chance to reduce bias.

  6. Experimental Group: [GETS THE IV] The participants who receive the real treatment.

  7. Control Group: [THE BASELINE] The participants who get no treatment; used for comparison.

  8. Single-Blind Study: [PARTICIPANT IS CLUELESS] Participants don't know if they are in the experimental or control group.

  9. Double-Blind Procedure: [EVERYONE IS CLUELESS] Neither participants nor researchers know who got treatment .

  10. Placebo: [FAKE TREATMENT] An inactive substance (like a sugar pill) given to the control group .

  11. Placebo Effect: [MIND OVER MATTER] Results caused by expectations alone rather than an active ingredient .

  12. Correlational Study: [PREDICTION ONLY] Measures how well two variables vary together; NO cause .

  13. Case Study: [ONE SUBJECT] An in-depth investigation of an individual that cannot be generalized .

  14. Naturalistic Observation: [THE WILD] Recording behavior in real-world settings without interference .

  15. Hawthorne Effect: [BEING WATCHED] The tendency for people to act differently when being observed.

  16. Meta-Analysis: [STUDY OF STUDIES] Combining and analyzing results from many different studies .

  17. Longitudinal Study: [LONG TERM] Research that follows the same group of people over many years .

  18. Quasi-Experiment: A study that resembles an experiment but lacks random assignment .

  19. Survey: [SELF-REPORT] Collecting data on opinions and experiences through questionnaires .

  20. Directionality Problem: [WHICH CAME FIRST?] Uncertainty in correlation about which variable causes the other.

  21. Third Variable Problem: [OUTSIDE FACTOR] When a correlation is actually caused by a separate, unmeasured factor.

Sampling (Picking the People)

  1. Population: [THE WHOLE TARGET] The entire group a researcher wants to understand.

  2. Sample: [THE PARTICIPANTS] The small selection of the population actually being studied.

  3. Representative Sample: [THE MINI-MAP] A sample that accurately reflects the population's characteristics.

  4. Random Sample: [EQUAL CHANCE] Every member of the population has an equal chance to be chosen.

  5. Stratified Sampling: [SUB-GROUPS] Dividing the population into strata (like grades) then picking.

  6. Convenience Sampling: [LOW EFFORT] Choosing participants who are easiest to find.

  7. Sampling Bias: [UNFAIR PICK] A flawed process resulting in a sample that doesn't represent the population.

  8. Generalizability: [APPLIES TO ALL] How well results from a sample apply to the whole population.

Statistics & Data (The Math)

  1. Quantitative Data: [NUMBERS] Objective data that is statistical in nature .

  2. Qualitative Data: [FEELINGS] Subjective data describing thoughts and opinions.

  3. Descriptive Statistics: [SUMMARY] Numerical data used to organize group characteristics .

  4. Inferential Statistics: [PREDICTIONS] Numerical data used to generalize from a sample to a population .

  5. Mean: [AVERAGE] The sum of scores divided by the total number of scores .

  6. Median: [THE MIDDLE] The middle score; also called the 50th percentile .

  7. Mode: [MOST COMMON] The score or scores that occur most frequently .

  8. Bimodal: [TWO MODES] A distribution with exactly two most-frequent scores.

  9. Multimodal: [MANY MODES] A data set containing more than one mode.

  10. Range: [GAP] The difference between the highest and lowest scores .

  11. Standard Deviation: [SPREAD] A standardized measure of how much individual scores vary from the average.

  12. Normal Distribution: [BELL CURVE] Symmetrical curve where the mean, median, and mode are the same.

  13. Z-Score: [STANDARD SCORE] Number of standard deviations a point is from the mean.

  14. Percentile Rank: Percentage of scores equal to or lower than yours .

  15. Positive Skew: [TAIL TO THE RIGHT] Distribution with scores bunched at the low end.

  16. Negative Skew: [TAIL TO THE LEFT] Distribution with scores bunched at the high end.

  17. Regression Toward the Mean: [BACK TO NORMAL] Extreme scores falling back toward the average over time.

  18. Correlation Coefficient (r): [STRENGTH & DIRECTION] Number (-1 to +1) measuring relationship .

  19. Null Hypothesis: [NO EFFECT] The "no relationship" prediction; the starting point of a test .

  20. Alternative Hypothesis: [REAL EFFECT] The prediction the researcher actually wants to support .

  21. Statistical Significance: [NOT LUCK] Statement that results are unlikely to have occurred by chance.

  22. p-value: [SIGNIFICANCE NUMBER] If $p < 0.05$, the results are statistically significant .

  23. Effect Size: [IMPACT] Measures the practical magnitude of a significant result .

Ethics & Bias (The Rules)

  1. Institutional Review Board (IRB): [THE ETHICS POLICE] Group ensuring studies are safe/ethical.

  2. Informed Consent: [I AGREE] Participants agreeing to join after hearing the study plan.

  3. Informed Assent: [MINOR AGREES] A minor's agreement to participate after parental consent.

  4. Confidentiality: [PRIVATE] The ethical requirement to keep participant data secret.

  5. Debriefing: [THE REVEAL] Explaining the truth and any deceptions after the study.

  6. Deception: [THE LIE] Misleading participants; must be justified and debriefed.

  7. Confederate: [THE SPY] A research team member pretending to be a participant.

  8. Self-Report Bias: Lying on surveys to look better to researchers.

  9. Social Desirability Bias: [LOOKING GOOD] Answering questions to be viewed favorably by others.

  10. Likert Scale: [1 TO 5 RATING] Scale measuring intensity of agreement.

The Big Perspectives

  1. Biopsychosocial: [ALL-IN-ONE] Integrating biological, psychological, and social factors .

  2. Psychodynamic: [UNCONSCIOUS] Focuses on unconscious drives and childhood drama.

  3. Behavioral: [LEARNED] Focuses on observable actions and environment.

  4. Biological: [BRAIN & GENES] Focuses on physiological causes of behavior.

  5. Cognitive: [THINKING] Focuses on mental processes like memory and perception.

  6. Evolutionary: [SURVIVAL] How natural selection promoted specific genes.

  7. Humanistic: [GROWTH] Emphasizes personal growth and free will .

  8. Social-Cultural: [SITUATION] How culture and situations influence us.

  9. Nature vs. Nurture: [GENES VS. RAISED] Debate over contributions of biology vs. experience.

Lock-In Countdown: 15 Minutes. These are ready for Knowt. Get them in, run one drill, and you're set for Unit 0.

Ready for the 5-minute graph lightning round? I can explain skew and scatterplots with one-sentence "Triggers" right now.