Chapter 2- Methods Flashcards
hindsight bias
people have the tendency upon hearing research findings (and many other things) to think that they knew it all along
applied research
research that has clear practical applications
basic research
research that explores questions that are of interest to psychologists but is not intended to have immediate, real-world applications
hypothesis
expresses a relationship between two variables
dependent variable
depends on the independent variable
independent variable
manipulated by the researchers, effects the dependent variable
theory
aims to explain some phenomenon and allows researchers to generate testable hypotheses with the hope of collecting data to support the theory
operational definition
an explanation of how you will measure a variable
validity
measures what it set out to measure
reliability
can be replicated, consistent
sampling
the process by which participants are selected for research
sample
the group of participants
population
includes anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be in the sample
representative sample
representative of the characteristics of the larger population
random sampling
every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected, best done using a computer, a table of random numbers, or picking names out of a hat
stratified sampling
a process that allows a researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population on some criteria
laboratory experiment
experiments conducted in a laboratory, a highly controlled environment
field experiment
experiments conducted out in the world
confounding variables
any difference between the experimental and control conditions, except for the independent variable, that might affect the dependent variable
participant-relevant confounding variables
differences between the experimental and control groups that are due to the participants (ex. they choose which group to be in)
situation-relevant confounding variables
differences between the experimental and control groups that are due to the situational differences (to control these, the situation must be the same for all participants)
random assignment
each participant has an equal chance of being placed in to any group
controls
making everything in an experiment the same except for the independent variable
group-matching
a process used to ensure that the experimental and control groups are equivalent on some criterion
experimenter bias
the unconscious tendency for researches to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis, not a conscious act
double-blind procedure
occurs when neither the participants nor the researcher are able to affect the outcome of the research
single-blind procedure
occurs when only the participants do not know to which group they have been assigned