Chapter 1 Flashcards
overconfidence
tending to think we know more then we do
Hindsight bias
the tendency to believe after learning an outcome that one would have foreseen it
critical thinking
thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. rather it examines assumptions, evaluates evidence, and accesses conclusions
scientific method
makes observations and questions, form theories and refine them
theory
an explanation of using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
hypothesis
a testable prediction often inspired by theory
operational definition
a statement of the procedures used to define research variables. allows us to measure variables
replicate
repeating the essence of a research study with different participants. Sees whether basic findings extend to other participants and circumstances
case study
an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
survey
a technique for ascertaining the self reported attitudes or behaviors of people by questioning
false consensus effect
the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behoaviors
population
all the cases in a group from which samples may be drawn for a study
random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
naturalistic observations
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to control situation
correlation
a measure of how two factors vary together and how well either factor predicts the other
coefficient statistics from -1 to 1
scatterplots
a graphed cluster of dots which represent the value of two variables, suggest correlation
illusory correlation
a perceived nonexistent correlation that we believe we see a relationship
wording effects
the way surveys are worded have an impact on how the people will vote
experiment
a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observes the effect on some behaviors or mental process
double blind procedure
an experimental procedure in which both the research participant and staff and ignorant about treatment
placebo effect
experimental results caused by expectations alone, any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition which is assumed to an active agent
Experimental condition
the participants who are exposed to the treatment (one variable of it)
control condition
the participants that serve as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment
random assignment
assigning participants to experimental and control groups be change, minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to different groups
independent variable
the experimental factor that is manipulated
dependent variable
the outcome factor, the variable that may change in response to manipulations
mode
most frequently occurring score in a distribution
mean
the arithmatic average of a distribution, add them and divide by the number of them
median
the middle number in a distribution
range
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
standard deviation
a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score
statistical significance
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance
culture
the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
