Pyschology Chapter 1 Flashcards
any action that can be directly observed (e.g., walking, talking, crying, or smiling).
behavior
a distribution of scores that has two modes.
bimodal distribution
an experiment that tests whether a clinical treatment (e.g., a specific form of psychotherapy) is effective.
clinical outcome study
a commonly used method for calculating effect size.
Cohen’s d
anything that causes confusion in terms of what the results of a study might mean.
confound
a variable held constant across all conditions of an experiment so as not to influence its results.
control variable
choosing a sample based on convenience
convenience sampling
a relationship between two variables.
correlation
a measure of how precisely one variable (e.g., X) can be predicted when all that is known is another variable (e.g., X).
correlation search
a research design that attempts to determine whether two or more variables are related to each other.
correlational research
any aspect of a study that clues participants to how they are expected to think, feel, or behave.
demand characteristics
the variable that is measure in an experimental design; hypothesized to be affected by the independent variable.
dependent variable
a research design most commonly used in psychology to describe a population of people (or animals depending on the type of research) in terms of a variable.
descriptive research
the difference between an individual’s score and the mean
deviations
This type of experiment contains two major protections against confounds: (1) a placebo-control experimental condition and (2) procedures that make participants and experimenters “blind” to which experimental condition participants are assigned.
double-blind placebo-control experiment
How strongly the experimental manipulation affected the dependent variable in an experiment
effect size
How strongly the experimental manipulation affected the dependent variable in an experiment
experimental condition
occurs when experimenters’ expectations influence study results
experimenter bias
the belief in something regardless of what the objective evidence suggests.
faith
a graph showing how many people in a sample reported each possible value of a variable.
frequency plot
a factual statement that can be objectively tested.
hypothesis
the variable that is manipulated or changed in an experimental design; is hypothesized the change the dependent variable
independent variable
changing an independent variable to determine whether doing so causes something to happen to the dependent variable.
manipulation
the average score in a set of data
mean
mean, median, and mode; measurements that help to describe what is typical.
measure of central tendency
range and standard deviation; measure how much the scores within a distribution vary from one another
central
the middle occurring score(s) in a set of data when all scores are placed in order from smallest to greatest.
median
psychological phenomena that cannot be directly observed (e.g., happiness, sadness, or confusion).
mental processes
the most commonly occurring score in a data set.
mode
an analysis that tests how strongly one variable is predicted by two or more other variables simultaneously
multiple-regression analysis
when one variable decreases as the other variable increases, or conversely, when one variable increases as the other variable decreases.
negative correlation
when more subjects in a distribution report values above the mean than below it; the “hump” or peak in the distribution is on the right side and the “tail” is pointed toward the left.
negatively skewed
a distribution of data that is not significantly skewed, where most scores are near the mean of the sample.
normal distribution or bell curve
description of how a variable will be treated or measured in a study.
operational definition
a data point (or points) that is much bigger or smaller than the others in a set.
outlier
not allowing participants to know what experimental condition they are in.
participant blinding
a number frequently used by psychologists to describe a correlation between two variables; is positive if correlation is positive, and negative if correlation is negative. The strength of the correlation is determined by the size of the number, ignoring the sign.
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient
something given or done to participants that is not expected to affect participants in the same way as the experimental treatment (e.g., a sugar pill versus an experimental depression medication).
placebo
the common phenomenon where if you think that something will have an effect on you, you actually experience that effect.
placebo effect
experimental condition in which participants receive a placebo treatment.
placebo-control condition
when one variable increases as the other variable increases, or conversely, when one variable decreases as the other variable decreases.
positive correlation
when more subjects in a distribution report values below the mean than above it; the “hump” or peak in the distribution is on the left side and the “tail” is pointed toward the right.
positively skewed
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
Psychology
putting participants into experimental groups in a random fashion.
Random assignment
selecting a sample from a population at random; ensures that everyone in the population has an equal chance of being in the sample, thus making the sample representative of the population.
random sampling
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a sample of data.
Range
when one study finds the same or similar results as another previously conducted study.
Replicated
An empirical way of testing a hypothesis (e.g., descriptive, correlational, and experimental).
Research designs
a representative portion or slice of a population
Sample
scatterplot a plot that depicts each data point in terms of its values on two variables (e.g., X and Y). Useful way of depicting a correlation between two variables
scatterplot
a way of learning about the world by formulating testable ideas and then making objective observations (i.e., collect data) to determine which ideas are tenable.
science
An experiment that includes only the placebo-control condition and participant blinding; vulnerable to experimenter bias.
single - blind placebo - control experiment
this describes a correlation that occurs only because both variables are being similarly influenced by a third variable.
spurious
a measure of variability; the square root of the variance.
Standard deviation
characteristics and experiences that participants bring with them to experiments (i.e., they are preexisting).
Subject factors
a scientific explanation of a phenomenon; should contain statements that (1) have already been tested and verified by previous research or (2) are able to be tested for accuracy in future research
theory
Occurs when a variable that is not being studied causes similar change to two variables being studies. This creates what is called a spurious correlation between the two variables (i.e., they are correlated only because they are both being similarly affected by another variable).
third variable explanation
experimental condition in which participants receive whatever experimental treatment is being tested.
treatment condition
anything that can differ in value.
Variable
a measure of variability; calculated by dividing the sum of squared deviations by the number of scores in a data set minus one.
variance
when two variables are not related to each other.
Zero correlation
