Ch. 2: The Tools of Psychological Research

Question 1

case study

Answer 1

a descriptive research technique in which the effort is focused on a single case, usually an individual

Question 2

confidentiality

Answer 2

the principle that personal information obtained from a participant in research or therapy should not be revealed without the individual’s permission

Question 3

confounding variable

Answer 3

an uncontrolled variable that changes along with the independent variable

Question 4

correlation

Answer 4

a statistic that indicates whether two variables vary together in a systematic way; correlation coefficients vary from +1.00 to -1.00

Question 5

debriefing

Answer 5

at the conclusion of an experimental session, informing the participants about the general purpose of the experiment, including any deception that was involved

Question 6

dependent variable

Answer 6

the behavior that is measured or observed in an experiment

Question 7

descriptive research

Answer 7

methods designed to observe and describe behavior

Question 8

descriptive statistics

Answer 8

mathematical techniques that help describe their data

Question 9

double-blind study

Answer 9

neither participants nor research observers are aware of who has been assigned to the experimental and control groups; it’s used to control for both participant and experimenter expectancies

Question 10

experimental research

Answer 10

a technique in which the investigator actively manipulates the environment to observe its effect on behavior

Question 11

external validity

Answer 11

the extent to which results generalize to other situations or are representative of real life

Question 12

independent variable

Answer 12

the aspect of the environment that is manipulated in an experiment. It must consist of at least two conditions

Question 13

inferential statistics

Answer 13

mathematical techniques that help researchers decide whether data are representative of a population or whether differences among observations can be attributed to chance

Question 14

informed consent

Answer 14

the principle that before consenting to participate in research, people should be fully informed about any significant factors that could affect their willingness to participate

Question 15

internal validity

Answer 15

the extent to which an experiment has effectively controlled for confounding variables; internally valid experiments allow for the determination of causality

Question 16

mean

Answer 16

the arithmetic average of a set of scores

Question 17

median

Answer 17

the middle point in an ordered set of scores; half of the scores fall at or below the median score, and half fall at or above the median score

Question 18

mode

Answer 18

the most frequently occurring score in a set of scores

Question 19

naturalistic observation

Answer 19

a descriptive research technique that records naturally occurring behavior as opposed to behavior produced in the laboratory

Question 20

operational definitions

Answer 20

definitions that specify how concepts can die observed and measured

Question 21

placebo

Answer 21

an inactive, or inert, substance that resembles an experimental substance

Question 22

random assignment

Answer 22

a technique ensuring that each participant in an experiment has an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions in the experiment

Question 23

random sampling

Answer 23

a procedure guaranteeing that everyone in the population has an equal likelihood of being selected for the sample

Question 24

range

Answer 24

the difference between the largest and smallest scores in a distribution

Question 25

reactivity

Answer 25

when behavior changes as a result of the observation process

Question 26

scientific method

Answer 26

a multistep technique that generates empirical knowledge–that is, knowledge derived from systematic observations of the world

Question 27

single-blind study

Answer 27

experimental participants do not to which condition they have been assigned (e.g., experimental versus control); it’s used to control for participant expectancies

Question 28

standard deviation

Answer 28

an indication of how much individual scores differ or vary from the mean

Question 29

survey

Answer 29

a descriptive research technique designed to gather limited amounts of information from many people, usually by administering some kind of questionnaire

Question 30

variability

Answer 30

a measure of how much the scores in a distribution of scores differ from one another