Key Terms

Question 1

Confirmation Bias

Answer 1

a tendency to search for information that confirms a preconception

Question 2

Critical thinking

Answer 2

used to examine assumptions, discern hidden values, evaluate evidence, and assess conclusions

Question 3

Participant bias

Answer 3

a tendency for research participants to behave in a certain way because they know they are being observed

Question 4

Naturalistic observation

Answer 4

observing and recording behaviors without manipulating or controlling the situation

positive: how people actually react
negative: people change when surrounded socially

Question 5

Case study

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Correlational study

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Survey method

Answer 7

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…

Question 8

Random sample

Answer 8

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member of the population has an equal chance of being included

Question 9

Longitudinal studies

Answer 9

to follow the same group of individuals over a long period of time

Question 10

Cross-sectional studies

Answer 10

compare different people of different ages at one time

Question 11

Heritability

Answer 11

the degree to which traits are inherited

Question 12

Temperament

Answer 12

a person’s characteristic emotional excitability

Question 13

Neuroscience

Answer 13

scientific study of the nervous system

Question 14

Descriptive methods

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Experimental methods

Answer 15

introduce a manipulation in order to help the establish cause and effect

naturalistic observation

Question 16

Experiment

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Hypothesis

Answer 17

a testable prediction about the outcome of research

first thing to do in experiment

Question 18

Operational definitions

Answer 18

explanations of the exact procedures used to define research variables

Question 19

Independent variable

Answer 19

the variable that should cause something to happen, systematically manipulated by the experimenter

Question 20

Dependent variable

Answer 20

the variable that should show the effect or the outcome of changing the independent variable

Question 21

Experimental group

Answer 21

the participants are exposed to the treatment

Question 22

Control group

Answer 22

participants are not exposed to the treatment

Question 23

Random assignment

Answer 23

participants are placed in groups randomly

each member of the sample has an equal chance of ending up in any group/treatment

Question 24

Confounding variables

Answer 24

variables other than the IV that could produce a change in the DV

Question 25

Double blind procedure

Answer 25

both the data collectors and the research participants do not know the expected outcome of the experiment

Question 26

Placebo

Answer 26

an inactive pill that has no known effect

used when drugs are the iv

Question 27

Positive correlation

Answer 27

if one variable increases, the other variable also increases

Question 28

Negative correlation

Answer 28

if one variable increases, the other decreases

Question 29

Control measures

Answer 29

what you put in place to eliminate confounding variables

Question 30

Single blind experiment

Answer 30

when the participants can’t be biased because they are unaware of the group they are in