AP Psych Unit 2 Flashcards
What is hindsight bias? Give a real-world example
the tendency to believe that after learning the outcome, one would have foreseen it
Define overconfidence and give an example.
confidence in knowledge is greater than objective accuracy
What are the characteristics of critical thinking? How would we apply critical thinking to our analysis of psychological research?
Not accepting arguments or conclusions at face value. Develop an understanding of why/how ideas are presented. Lastly, be willing to change beliefs when proper evidence is presented.
What is the characteristic of the scientific attitude?
curiosity, skepticism, humility
What are the different steps of the scientific method?
Ask a question -> background research -> connect to hypothesis -> test with experiment -> analyze data -> results do/do not align with hypothesis -> communicate results
What are wording effects?
the way you present the question may alter the subjects answer
What is a population? A random sample? Why is it important that a sample is truly random?
meant to be an unbiased representation of a group.
What is a correlation? What does it allow researchers to do? What does it NOT allow researchers to
to see if a relationship between two or more variables exists, but the variables themselves are not under the control of the researchers. It cannot proven that changing one variable will change another
What are positive and negative correlations?
positive: values of variables rise and fall together
negative: value of one variable increases while the other decreases
What is the correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r)? Understand the various values.
r is a measure of any linear trend between two variables. The value of r ranges between −1 and 1. When r = zero, it means that there is no linear association between the variables.
What are illusory correlations?
a perceived nonexistent relationship
What is experimentation? What does it allow researchers to determine?
Only research method that can determine cause/effect
What are some of the disadvantages of this type of research? (experiment specifically, meaning what can go wrong in it)
Confounding variables: factors other than the IV that influence the DV can be avoided if you aren’t bad at planning.
Experimenter bias - expectations set by the experimenter that may influence the results of the interpretation of data
What is a double-blind study? Single-blind?
Double-blind study: the subjects and researchers are unaware of the treatment they receive. Single-blind is when only the issue is unaware
Explain the placebo effect.
when experimental groups are affected due to expectations, not an actual treatment
How do you create an experimental condition?
- Participants
- Variables- factors that can have different values
- Operational definitions- describes procedure used to determine presence of variable
- Independent Variable- what the experimenter is manipulating
- Dependent Variable- what is being affected by the independent variable
What is the role of the random assignment of subjects?
enhances the validity of the study
What is the role of controlled conditions?
a condition that does not involve exposure to the treatment or intervention under study.and prove factors are not specific to the experimental intervention
What are the components of an experiment: Independent group and Dependent variables and Experimental and control groups
Independent variable: what the experimenter is manipulating
Dependent Variable: what is being affected by the independent variable
Experimental group: receives the treatment whose effect researchers Control:a control group does not
Statistical Reasoning
the way people reason with statistical ideas and make sense of statistical information.
Descriptive Statistics
summarizes data
Define mean, median, and mode. Practice calculating from this data set (6,3,8,1,1,5,3,3,6,1,3,8).
mean: the average of the data set
Median: the midmost value of the data set
Mode: The most commonly recurring value of the data set
What is the most meaningful measure of central tendency in a normal distribution?
median
What is an outlier?
an extreme observation or measurement, that is, a score that significantly differs from all others obtained
When is it more appropriate to rely on the median for the most accurate data on central
when your data set is skewed
tendency
a likelihood of behaving in a certain way
What is a normal distribution? What is a skewed distribution?
Normal distribution: a normal distribution of data
Skewed distribution: a distribution that is skewed due to outliers
What is standard deviation and what two things does it tell us about our data?
measures the average distribution of numbers around the mean
Low standard deviation means data are clustered around the mean, and high standard deviation indicates data are more spread out
What three principles allow us to determine if differences in data are reliable?
over time (test-retest reliability), across items (internal consistency), and across different researchers (inter-rater reliability).
Possibility of making a “false positive” ( a difference does exist when there is none) and indicates that the results are statistically significant.
a p-value of 5% or lower
What are the most important considerations for experimentation using human subjects?
informed consent is given, and debriefing
What are the most important considerations for experimentation using animal subjects?
Follow all state/federal laws
Supervised by a psychologist who has appropriate training with animals
Minimize pain and discomfort
Use appropriate anesthesia and sterilization techniques
Kill animals quickly and painlessly (if necessary)
Define and differentiate between hypothesis and theory.
A hypothesis is an assumption made before any research has been done. It is formed so that it can be tested to see if it might be true. A theory is a principle formed to explain the things already shown in data.
What does replication entail? Why is it important?
When studies are replicated and achieve the same or similar results as the original study, it gives greater validity to the findings. If a researcher can replicate a study’s results, it means that it is more likely that those results can be generalized to the larger population.
