Chapter 2 Flashcards
A statement that attempts to predict or to account for a set of phenomena; scientific hypotheses specify relationships among events or variables and are empirically tested
Hypothesis
An organized system of assumptions and principals that purports to explain a specified set of phenomena and their interrelationships
Theory
A precise definition of a term in a hypothesis,which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process or phenomenon being defined
Operational Definition
The principle that a scientific theory must make predictions that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation; that is, the theory must predict not only what will happen but also what will not happen
Principal of falsifiability
The tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms one’s own belief
Confirmation Bias
repeat studies to verify-or challenge-the findings
Replicate
Scientists are expected to submit their results to professional journals, which send the findings to experts in the field for evaluation before deciding whether to publish them. An effort to ensure that the work lives up to accepted scientific standards
Peer Review
A group of individuals, selected from a population for study, which matches the population on important characteristics such as age and sex
Representative Sample
Methods that yield descriptions of behavior but not necessarily causal explanations
Descriptive Methods
A detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated
Case Study
A study in which a researcher carefully and systematically observes ad recorded behavior without interfering with the behavior; it may involve either naturalistic or laboratory observation.
Observational Study
Purpose if to find out how people or animals act in their normal social environments
Naturalistic Observation
Researchers have more control of the situation; Observations made in a laboratory setting
Laboratory Observation
Procedures used to measure and evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and values
Psychological Tests
In test construction, to develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test
Standardize
In test construction, established standards of performance
Norms
In test construction, the consistency of score derived from a test, from one time and place to another
Reliability
The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure
Validity
measured by giving the test twice to the same group of people and comparing the two sets of score statistically
Test-retest reliability
Computed by giving different versions of the same test to the same group on two separate occasions
Alternate-forms reliability
The items broadly represent the trait in question
Content validity
Ability to predict independent measures, or criteria, of the trait in question
Criterion Validity
Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences; the volunteers may differ fro those who did not volunteer
Surveys
A shortcoming of findings derived from a sample of volunteers instead of a representative sample; the volunteers may differ from those who did not volunteer
Volunteer Bias
A descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena
Correlational Study
A measure of hoe strongly tow variables are related to one another
Correlation
Characteristics of behavior or experience that can be measured or described by a numerical scale
Variables
An association between increase in one variable and increase in another- or between decrease in one and in decrease in another
Positive Correlation
An association between increases in one variable and decreases in another
Negative correlation
A measure of correlation that ranges in value from -1.00 to +1.00
Coefficient of correlation
apparent associations between two things that are not really related
Illusory Correlations
A controlled test of a hypothesis in which the research manipulates one variable to discover its effect on another
Experiment
A variable that an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable
dependent variable
In an experiment, a comparison condition in which participants are not exposed to the same treatment as in the experimental condition
Control Condition
Studies in which participants are assigned are called what type(s) of group(s)
Experimental and Control Group
A procedure for assigning people to experimental and control groups in which each individual has the same probability as any other of being assigned to a given group
Random Assignment
An inactive substance or fake treatment used as a control in an experimental or given by a medical practitioner to a patient
Placebo
An experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in a n experimental or control group
Single-Blind Study
Unintended changes in study participants’ behavior due to cues that the experimenter inadvertently conveys
Experimenter Effects
An experiment in which neither the people being studied nor the individuals running the study know who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group until after the results are tallied
Double-Blind Study
Descriptive experimental research conducted in a natural setting outside the laboratory
Field Research
Statistical procedures that organize and summarize research data
Descriptive Statistics
An average that is calculated by adding up a set of quantities and dividing the sum by the total number of quantities in the set
Arithmetic Mean
A commonly used measure of variability that indicates the average difference between scores in a distribution and their mean
Standard Deviation
Statistical procedures that allow researchers to draw inferences about how statistically meaningful a study’s results are
Inferential Statistics
Statistical tests that show how likely it is that a study’s results occurred merely by chance
Significance test
A good probability that the difference we got in our study is real
Statistical Significance
A statistical measure the provides, with a specified probability, a range of values within which a population mean is likely to lie
Confidence Interval
The probability of obtaining a test statistic at least as extreme as the one that was actually observed, assuming that the null hypothesis is true
p value
A study in which people (or animals) of different ages are compared at a give time
Cross-sectional study
A study in which people (or animals) are followed and periodically reassessed over a period of time
Longitudinal Study
An objective, standardized way of describing the strength of independent variable’s influence on the dependent variable
Meta-Analysis
Statistics that involve a formula for calculating the likelihood of a hypothesis being true and meaningful, taking into account relevant prior knowledge
Bayesian Statistics
The doctrine that anyone who participates in human research must do so voluntarily and must know enough about the study to make an intelligent decision about whether to take part
Informed Consent
Used to compare the risk in two different groups of people
Relative Risk
Uses the actual numbers to find the risk
Absolute Risk
