Chapter 2 Vocab

Question 1

hindsight bias

Answer 1

tendency to believe after learning an outcome that one would have forseen it

‘i knew it all along’

Question 2

critical thinking

Answer 2

thinking that doesn’t blindly accept arguments and conclusions…

Question 3

theory

Answer 3

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

Question 4

hypothesis

Answer 4

a testable prediction often implied by a theory

Question 5

operational definition

Answer 5

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables.

i.e. a human intellignce may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Question 6

replication

Answer 6

repeating the essence of a research study

usually with different participants in different situations to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

Question 7

case study

Answer 7

an observation techniqu in which one person is studied in depth in the hopes of revealing universal principles

Question 8

survey

Answer 8

technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group

usually by questioning a rep., random sample of the group

Question 9

population

Answer 9

all the cases in a group being studied

from which samples may be drawn

Question 10

random sample

Answer 10

a sample that fairly represents a population b/c each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Question 11

naturalistic observation

Answer 11

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations w/out trying to manipulate and control the situation

Question 12

correlation

Answer 12

measure of the extent to which 2 factors vary togthr, and thus of how wll either factor predicts the other

Question 13

correlation coefficient

Answer 13

a statistical index of the relationship between two things

Question 14

scatterplot

Answer 14

a graphed cluster of dots

each of which represents the values of 2 variables

the slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the 2 variables

the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation

Question 15

illusory correlation

Answer 15

perception of a relationship where none exists

Question 16

experiment

Answer 16

research method in which an investigatory manipulates one+ factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Question 17

random assignment

Answer 17

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

Question 18

double-blind procedure

Answer 18

experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the resarch staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treament or a placebo

drug-evalution

Question 19

placebo effect

Answer 19

experimental results caused by expectations alone;

any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inhert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

Question 20

experimental group

Answer 20

the group exposed to the treament (independent variable)

Question 21

control group

Answer 21

group that is not exposed to the treament

and contrasts with the experimental groups and servse as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Question 22

independent variable

Answer 22

experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

Question 23

confounding variable

Answer 23

factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment

Question 24

dependent variable

Answer 24

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Question 25

mode

Answer 25

most frequently occuring scores in a distribution

Question 26

mean

Answer 26

average of a distribution

Question 27

median

Answer 27

middle score in a distribution

Question 28

range

Answer 28

diff. between highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Question 29

standard deviation

Answer 29

computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Question 30

normal curve

Answer 30

symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data

most scores fall near the mean

Question 31

statistical significance

Answer 31

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occured by chance

Question 32

culture

Answer 32

enduring behaviors ideas and attitudes values and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Question 33

informed consent

Answer 33

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable thm to choose whether they wish to participate

Question 34

debriefing

Answer 34

postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants