Vocab:

0.1: Critical thinking: doesn’t automatically accept arguments/conclusions, healthy skepticism

0.2: hindsight bias: after learning the outcome, thinking that you knew what it was going to be

• overconfidence, finding patterns in random sequences (relieves stress)

0.3: peer reviewers: other scientists that evaluate work. part of the scientific method

0.3: theory: explains behaviors by offering ideas that organize observations (summary). can bias hypotheses (we see what we want to see)

0.3: hypotheses: testable prediction, implied by theory

0.3: falsifiability: possibility that something can be disproven. marks scientific strength for a hypothesis

0.3:operational definitions: a statement of the exact procedures taken during a study

0.3: case study: examines one example in order to find universal principles

0.3: naturalistic observation: non-experimental, recording behavior in natural environments

0.3: survey: a non experimental technique for obtaining the self reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questions a representative, random sample of the group

• Naturalistic observation doesn’t explain behavior, it simply describes it

0.3: social desirability bias: bias from people‘s responding in ways the presume a researcher expects or wishes

0.3:self report bias: bias when people report their behavior inaccurately

0.3: sampling bias: a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

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

0.3: population: all those in a group being studied, from which random samples may be drawn, doesn’t usually refer to a country’s population

0.3: representative sample: a smaller subset of a larger groups that accurately reflects specific characteristics of that population

0.4: correlate: a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together (relate), and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

0.4: correlation coefficient: a statistical index of the relationship between two things from (-1.00 to +1.00). help us figure out how closely things vary together. can help predictions

0.4: variables: anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

0.4: scatterplots: a graphed cluster of dots. each represents values of two variables. slope=direction of relationship. amt of scatter indicates strength

0.4: illusory correlation: perceiving a relationship where none exists or thinking they relate more than they do. If you think dreams are real, you might remember when your dreams came true more often than when they did not come true. feeds the illusion of control in life when it is up to chance

0.4: regression toward the mean: the tendency for extreme/unusual results to regress towards the mean (goes back to average). failure to recognize it can cause superstitious thinking

0.4: experiment: a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effects.

0.4: experimental group: group that receives the treatment

0.4: control group: doesn’t receive treatment in order to compare with the experimental group

0.4: random assignment: assigning participants to different groups by chance. minimizes preexisting differences/ equalizes the two groups

0.4: correlational studies… uncover relationships, complimented by experiments, which manipulate a factor to determine its effect

0.4: Independent variable - the factor that is manipulated, the variable whose effect is being studied

0.4: dependent variable the outcome that is measured, the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated. 

0.4: Single blind procedure - an experimental procedure in which the research participants are ignorant (blind) about whether they have received the treatment or placebo

0.4: Double blind procedure - an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or placebo. Commonly used in drug - evaluation studies 

0.4: placebo effect: the experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

0.4: confounding variables: other factors that can influence a study’s results

0.4: experimenter bias: when researches are biased so they change the results unintentionally - in order to confirm their own beliefs 

0.4: validity: the extent to which an experiment measures/predicts what it is supposed to do (the experiment tests what is is supposed to test )

0.5: Quantitative research: methods that use numerical data to represent degrees of a variable (likert scale)

0.5: Qualitative research: methods that use in depth, narrative data

0.5: informed consent: giving people enough info so that they can decide whether they want to participate or not (minors is informed assent ) happens before the experiment

0.5: debrief: post experimental explanation of a study (purpose, deceptions, etc)

0.6: descriptive statistics: numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups, includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation

0.6: histogram: a bar graph

0.6: mode; most frequent occurring score (1, 2, 4, 4, 7, 12 = 4)

0.6: mean: arithmetic average - total sum divided by number of scores. (1,2,3,3,7,12 = ) 28/6 = 4.67

0.6: median: the middle score in a distribution (1, 2, 4, 4, 7, 12 = 4)

0.6: percentile rank : the percentage of scores that are lower than the given score (90th percentile

0.6: skewed distribution - data that is not symmetrical even around the average/mean

0.6: range: the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

0.6: standard deviation:  a way to measure how much scores vary around the mean 

0.6: normal curve: symmetrical, bell shaped curve that describes the distribution of data. Shows standard deviation

0.6: inferential statistics: numerical data that allows people to apply the probability from a sample to a population

0.6: meta-analysis: statistical procedure for analyzing many studies to come to a conclusion - improves precision

0.6: statistical significance: how likely a result occurred by chance

0.6: effect size: the strength of the relationship between two variables. Large effect size means they can affect each other more