ch 1 pt 2

Question 1

hindsight bias

Answer 1

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it (I knew it all along)

Question 2

theory

Answer 2

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Question 3

hypothesis

Answer 3

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Question 4

operational definition

Answer 4

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. for example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Question 5

replication

Answer 5

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced

Question 6

case study

Answer 6

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Question 7

naturalistic observation

Answer 7

a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

Question 8

sampling bias

Answer 8

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Question 9

correlation

Answer 9

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

Question 10

correlation coefficient

Answer 10

a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1.00 to +1.00)

Question 11

experimental group

Answer 11

is an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

Question 12

control group

Answer 12

in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Question 13

double-blind procedure

Answer 13

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 a placebo. commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.

Question 14

placebo (latin for i shall please)

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

independent variable

Answer 15

in an experiment, the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

Question 16

confounding variable

Answer 16

a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s results

Question 17

dependent variable

Answer 17

in an experiment, the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Question 18

validity

Answer 18

the extent to which a text or experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Question 19

mean

Answer 19

the arithmetic average of distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores

Question 20

median

Answer 20

the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it

Question 21

mode

Answer 21

the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution

Question 22

standard deviation

Answer 22

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Question 23

normal curve (normal distribution)

Answer 23

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68% fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes

Question 24

inferential statistics

Answer 24

numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Question 25

statistical significance

Answer 25

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance