Unit 0 Vocab
Cultural Norms: The shared principles and values that influence the behavior of a group or society.
Confirmation Bias: The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one’s preconceptions.
Hindsight Bias: The inclination to see events as having been predictable after they have already occurred.
Overconfidence: A cognitive bias characterized by a person's subjective confidence in their judgments being greater than the objective accuracy of those judgments.
Independent Variables: Factors that are manipulated in an experiment to observe their effect on a dependent variable.
Confounding Variables: External factors that can affect the results of an experiment and lead to erroneous conclusions.
Dependent Variables: The outcomes or responses measured in an experiment, which are affected by independent variables.
Random Assignment: A method used to assign participants in a study to different groups in a way that eliminates bias.
Case Study: An in-depth analysis of an individual, group, event, or situation to explore complex issues in real-life context.
Correlation: A statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two or more variables fluctuate together.
Positive Correlation: A relationship where an increase in one variable corresponds with an increase in another variable.
Negative Correlation: A relationship where an increase in one variable corresponds with a decrease in another variable.
Meta-analysis: A statistical technique that combines the results of multiple studies to identify patterns and general conclusions.
Naturalistic Observation: A research method that involves observing subjects in their natural environment without any manipulation by the researcher.
Hypothesis: A testable prediction about the relationship between variables.
Falsifiable (as it pertains to hypotheses): The ability to be disproven by experimental results.
Operational definitions: Clear, precise definitions that outline how variables will be measured or identified in a study.
Replication: The act of repeating a study to see if the same results can be obtained.
Central tendency: A statistical measure that identifies a single score as representative of an entire distribution (mean, median, and mode!)
Variation: A measure of the diversity or spread of a set of values.
Percentile rank: A measure that indicates the relative standing of a value within a distribution. If something is in the 99th percentile, then 99% of other data is below it.
Mean: The average of a set of numbers, calculated by adding them all together and dividing by the count of numbers.
Median: The middle value in a data set when the numbers are arranged in ascending or descending order.
Mode: The value that appears most frequently in a data set.
Range: The difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set.
Normal Curve: A bell-shaped curve that represents the distribution of scores in a population.
Positive Skew: A distribution that has a long tail on the right side, indicating that a larger number of values are concentrated on the lower end.
Negative Skew: A distribution that has a long tail on the left side, indicating that a larger number of values are concentrated on the higher end.
Bimodal Distribution: A distribution with two different peaks or modes.
Standard Deviation: A measure that quantifies the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values.
Regression Towards the Mean: The phenomenon where extreme values in a data set tend to be closer to the mean on subsequent measurements.
Sample: A subset of individuals selected from a larger population used for statistical analysis.
Population: The entire group of individuals that researchers are interested in studying.
Representative Sample: A subset that accurately reflects the characteristics of the larger population.
Random Sampling: A technique where every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample.
Convenience Sampling: A sampling method that involves selecting individuals who are easiest to reach rather than using random selection.
Generalizing: The process of applying findings from a study to a broader population.
Experimental Group: The group in an experiment that receives the treatment or intervention being tested.
Control Group: The group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment and is used as a benchmark to measure the effects of the treatment.
Placebo: An inactive substance or treatment used as a control in an experiment.
Placebo Effect: The phenomenon where patients experience real changes in their health after receiving a placebo, due to their expectations.
Single-Blind Study: An experimental design where participants do not know whether they are receiving the treatment or a placebo.
Double-Blind Study: An experimental design where both participants and researchers are unaware of who is receiving the treatment to eliminate bias.
Experimenter Bias: When a researcher's expectations influence the outcome of a study.
Social Desirability Bias: The tendency for participants to respond in a manner that they think the researcher wants to hear
Self-Report Bias: people reporting behavior incorrectly (generally to look good)
Qualitative Research/Measures: Research that focuses on understanding concepts, thoughts, or experiences through subjective data.
Structured Interviews: A method of data collection where all participants are asked the same questions in the same order.
Quantitative Research/Measures: Research that focuses on quantifying relationships between variables using statistical methods.
Likert Scales: A rating scale used to measure attitudes or opinions, with options ranging from strong disagreement to strong agreement.
Representation of Participants: The extent to which a sample reflects the demographics of the larger population it is drawn from.
Peer Review: An evaluation process by which other experts assess the quality and validity of research before publication.
Scatterplot: A graph that depicts the relationship between two numerical variables.
Correlation Coefficient: A statistical measure of the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.
Effect Sizes: A quantitative measure of the magnitude of a phenomenon.
Statistical Significance: A determination of whether observed effects in data are likely due to chance or represent a true effect.
Directionality Problem (in correlation): The issue of not being able to determine which of the two correlated variables influences the other.
Third Variable Problem (in correlation): The possibility that a third, unmeasured variable influences both of the correlated variables.
Institutional Review: A process that ensures research involving human subjects is conducted ethically and safeguards participant welfare.
Informed Consent: The process of obtaining voluntary agreement from participants to partake in a study, ensuring they understand the research and its implications.
Informed Assent: Informed agreement by individuals who cannot fully consent, like children.
Protection from Harm: Ethical guideline ensuring participants are not exposed to undue risk or harm during research.
Confidentiality: The ethical principle of keeping participants' information private and secure.
Deception: Misleading participants about the true nature of a study, typically conducted when necessary for valid results.
Debriefing: The process of informing participants about the true purpose and nature of a study after its completion, addressing any misconceptions.
Cross-Sectional Study: data collected from groups of participants at DIFFERENT AGES and compared to make conclusions about age differences
Longitudinal Study: data collected from the same group of people over a period of time to determine how feelings/behaviors change
Survey Method: self-reported attitudes or behaviors, usually by questioning a representative random sample
Illusory Correlation: Perceiving a relationship (or a stronger-than-actual relationship) where none exists
Hawthorne Effect: Just the fact that you know that you’re in an experiment can cause change in results
Validity: extent to which a test or experiment measures/predicts what it’s supposed to
Reliability: extent to which findings can be replicated
Histogram: a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution, often used to show data of descriptive statistics
Inferential Statistics: numerical data that allows us to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population
P-Value: If a P-Value is .05 or lower, then a study is statistically significant (5% or less likely the results are due to chance)
Perspectives in Psychology
Biological Perspective: perspective that all feelings and behaviors have an organic root (body, brain, neurotransmitters, etc)
Evolutionary Perspective/Darwinism: we inherit behaviors from our ancestors to ensure survival
Psychodynamic Perspective: focuses on the unconcious mind, need to bring forward repressed feelings to get better
Behavioral Perspective: focuses on observable behaviors while putting feelings too the side, belief that we behave in certain ways because we were conditioned to
Humanist Perspective: we strive to be the best we can be- “self-actualization,” happiness is defined by the distance between our “self-concept” and our “ideal self”
Cognitive Perspective: focuses on how we think/encode information (often paired with behavioral)
Socio-Cultural Perspective: believe that much of your behavior and feelings are dictated by the culture you live in
Biopsychosocial Approaches: incorporates biological, psychological, and socio-cultural levels of analysis for a more holistic view
Positive Psychology: the scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths/virtues that help people thrive
Ethics
Animal Research Ethics: Humane and healthful conditions, minimize discomfort
Human Research Ethics: obtain informed consent/assent, protection from harm/discomfort, anonymity/confidentiality, debrief post-study