Chapter 2 Flashcards
Theory
Organized system of assumptions and principles that appears to explain a specified set of phenomena and their interrelationships.
Hypothesis
Statement that attempts to predict or to account for a set of phenomena.
Confirmation bias
The tendency to look for or pay attention only to that confirms one’s own belief.
Representative sample
A group of individuals selected from a population to be studied, which matches the population on important characteristics like age or sex.
Descriptive methods
Methods that yield descriptions of behavior but not necessarily casual explanations.
Case study (case history)
A detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated.
Observational study
A study in which a researcher carefully and systematically observes and records behavior with the behavior; may involve natural or laboratory observation.
Psychological tests
Procedures used to measure and evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and values.
Standardize
In test construction, to develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test.
Norms
In test construction, established standards of performance.
Reliability
In test construction, the consistency of scores derived from a test, from one time and place to another.
Validity
The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure.
Surveys
Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions.
Volunteer bias
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.
Correlation
A measure of how strongly two variables are related to another.
Correlation study
A descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena.
Variables
Characteristics of behavior or experience that can be measured or described by a numeric scale.
Positive correlation
An association between increases in one variable and increases in another - or between decreases in one and in another.
Negative correlation
An association between increases in one variable and decreases in another.
Correlation coefficient
A measure of correlation that ranges in value from -1.00 to +1.00
Experiment
A controlled test of a hypothesis in which the researcher manipulates one variable to discover its effect on another.
Independent variable
A variable that an experimenter manipulates.
Dependent variable
A variable that an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable.
Control condition
In an experiment, a comparison condition in which participants are not exposed to the same treatment as in the experimental condition.
Placebo
An inactive substance or fake treatment used as a control in an experiment given by a medical practitioner to a patient.
Single-blind study
An experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in an experimental or a control group.
Experimenter effects
Unintended changes in study participants’ behavior due to cues that the experimenter inadvertently conveys.
Double-blind study
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.
Field research
Descriptive or experimental research conducted in a natural setting outside the laboratory.
