AP Psychology Unit 2 Terms Flashcards
Refers to the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have forseen it
Hindsight Bias
Careful reasoning that examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
Critical Thinking
An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
Theory
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory; testing it helps scientists to test the theory
Hypothesis
A precise statement of the procedures used to define research variables
Operational Definition
The process of repeating an experiment, often with different participants and in different situations, to see whether the finding generalizes to other people and circumstances
Replication
An observation technique in which one person is studied in great depth, often with the intention of revealing universal principles
Case study
A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a representative, random sample of people
Survey
All the members of a group being studied
Population
One that is representative because every member of the population has an equal chance of being included
Random sample
Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
Naturalistic Observation
A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
Correlation
A statistical measure of the relationship; it can be positive or negative (from -1 to +1)
Correlation Coefficient
A depiction of the relationship between two variables by means of a graphed cluster of dots
Scatterplot
The perception of a relationship where none exists
Illusory Correlation
A research method in which a researcher directly manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process; make it possible to establish cause-effect relationships
Experiment
The procedure of assigning participants to the experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups
Random Assignment
An experimental procedure in which neither the experimenter nor the research participants are aware of which group is receiving the treatment. It is used to prevent experimenters’ and participants’ expectations from influencing the results
Double-blind Procedure
When the results of an experiment are caused by expectations alone
Placebo Effect
A group in an experiment in which participants are exposed to the independent variable being studied
Experimental Group
Part of an experiment in which the treatment of interest is withheld so that comparison to the experimental condition can be made
Control Group
The factor being manipulated and tested by the investigator
Independent Variable
Any factor other than the independent variable that might affect the factor being measured in an experiment
Confounding Variable
In an experiment it is the factor being measured by the investigator; the factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable
Dependent Variable
The most frequently occurring score in a distribution; it is the simplest measure of central tendency to determine
Mode
The arithmetic average; the measure of central tendency computed by adding the scores in a distribution and dividing by the number of scores
Mean
Another measure of central tendency that is the score that falls at the 50th percentile, cutting a distribution in half
Median
A measure of variation computed as the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
Range
A computed measure of how much scores in a distribution deviate around the mean. Because it is based on every score in the distribution, it is a more precise measure of variation than the range
Standard Deviation
The symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution describing many types of psychological data, in which most scores fall near the mean, with fewer and fewer at the extremes
Normal Curve
An obtained result, like the differences between the averages of two samples, very likely reflects a real difference rather than sampling variation or change factors. Tests help researchers decide when they can justifiably generalize from an observed instance
Statistical Significance
The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
Culture
The ethical principle that research participants should be told enough about an experiment to enable them to decide whether they wish to participate
Informed Consent
When participants are fully informed about an experiment’s purpose and procedures once the study has concluded
Debriefing
