Key Terms Flashcards
Confirmation Bias
a tendency to search for information that confirms a preconception
Critical thinking
used to examine assumptions, discern hidden values, evaluate evidence, and assess conclusions
Participant bias
a tendency for research participants to behave in a certain way because they know they are being observed
Naturalistic observation
observing and recording behaviors without manipulating or controlling the situation
positive: how people actually react
negative: people change when surrounded socially
Case study
study single individuals in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
an intensive examination of a phenomenon in a particular individual, group, or situation
Correlational study
research project designed to discover the degree to which two variables are related to each other
measures the degree to which one variable is related to another
tests predictions or hypothesis by measuring the correlation between variables
Survey method
a research technique that questions a sample of people to collect information about their attitudes or behaviors
involves asking people questions in order to obtain descriptions of their behavior, attitudes, beliefs, etc…
Random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member of the population has an equal chance of being included
Longitudinal studies
to follow the same group of individuals over a long period of time
Cross-sectional studies
compare different people of different ages at one time
Heritability
the degree to which traits are inherited
Temperament
a person’s characteristic emotional excitability
Neuroscience
scientific study of the nervous system
Descriptive methods
used to describe and predict behavior and mental processes without manipulating situations
surveys
people can be different over the phone…
PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT IN SOCIAL SURROUNDINGS
Experimental methods
introduce a manipulation in order to help the establish cause and effect
naturalistic observation
Experiment
only method that allows us to draw conclusions about cause and effect relationships
situations when a researcher manipulated one variable and then observes the effect of the manipulation on another variable
Hypothesis
a testable prediction about the outcome of research
first thing to do in experiment
Operational definitions
explanations of the exact procedures used to define research variables
Independent variable
the variable that should cause something to happen, systematically manipulated by the experimenter
Dependent variable
the variable that should show the effect or the outcome of changing the independent variable
Experimental group
the participants are exposed to the treatment
Control group
participants are not exposed to the treatment
Random assignment
participants are placed in groups randomly
each member of the sample has an equal chance of ending up in any group/treatment
Confounding variables
variables other than the IV that could produce a change in the DV
