Chapter One Flashcards
hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon.)
Why, after friends start dating, do we often feel that we knew they were meant to be together?
We often suffer from hindsight bias—after we’ve learned a situation’s outcome, that outcome seems familiar and therefore obvious.
theory
an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.
The scientific method
A self-correcting process for asking questions and observing nature’s answers.
hypothesis
a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
operational definition
a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.
replication
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced.
What does a good theory do?
It organizes observed facts. 2. It implies hypotheses that offer testable predictions and, sometimes, practical applications. 3. It often stimulates further research.
Why is replication important?
When other investigators are able to replicate an experiment with the same (or stronger) results, scientists can confirm the result and become more confident of its reliability.
case study
a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.
We cannot assume that case studies always reveal general principles that apply to all of us. Why not?
Case studies involve only one individual or group, so we can’t know for sure whether the principles observed would apply to a larger population.
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
A second descriptive method records behavior in natural environments. These naturalistic observations range from watching chimpanzee societies in the jungle, to videotaping and analyzing parent-child interactions in different cultures, to recording racial differences in students’ self-seating patterns in a school lunchroom.
naturalistic observation definined
a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
A natural observer
“Observations, made in the natural habitat, helped to show that the societies and behavior of animals are far more complex than previously supposed,” chimpanzee observer Jane Goodall noted (1998).
What are the advantages and disadvantages of naturalistic observation, such as Mehl and his colleagues used in this study?
These researchers were able to carefully observe and record naturally occurring behaviors outside the artificiality of a laboratory. However, outside the lab they were not able to control for all the factors that may have influenced the everyday interactions they were recording.
survey
a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.
random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
population
all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (Note: Except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population.)
What is an unrepresentative sample, and how do researchers avoid it?
An unrepresentative sample is a group that does not represent the entire population being studied. Random sampling helps researchers form a representative sample, because each member of the population has an equal chance of being included.
correlation
a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.
correlation coefficient
a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from −1.00 to +1.00).
variable
anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure.
