chap 2 Flashcards
naturalistic observation
research method in which the psychologist observes the subject in a natural setting without interfering
case study
research method that involves an intensive investigation of one or more participants
longitudinal study
research method in which data are collected about a group of participants over a number of years to assess how certain characteristics change or remain the same during development
cross-sectional study
research method in which data are collected from groups of participants of different ages and compared so that conclusions can be drawn about differences due to age
correlation
the measure of a relationship between two variables or sets of data
experimental group
the group to which the independent variable is applied
control group
the group that is treated in the same way as the experimental group except that the experimental treatment is not applied
self-fulfilling prophecy
a situation in which a researcher’s expectations influence that person’s own behavior, and thereby influence the participant’s behavior
single-blind experiment
an experiment in which the participants are unaware of who received the treatment
double-blind experiment
an experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment
placebo effect
a change in a participant’s illness or behavior that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect rather than from the actual treatment
descriptive statistics
the listing and summarizing of data in a practical, efficient way
-THROUGH CHARTS AND GRAPHS
frequency distribution
an arrangement of data that indicates how often a particular score or observation occurs
normal curve
graph of frequency distribution -
shaped like a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve
a graph of normally distributed data
central tendency
a number that describes something about the “average” score of a distribution variance
