Unit 2 Flashcards
Hindsight bias
tendency to believe after learning an outcome, one would have foreseen it
Critical thinking
thinking that doesn’t blindly accept arguments/conclusions.
it examines: assumptions, assess source, discerns values, evidence, assess conclusions
theory
explanation using integrated set of principles that organizes observations + predicts behaviors/events
hypothesis
testable prediction, often implied by theory
operational definition
carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in research
replication
repeating essence of research study, usually with different participants in different situations to see if results vary
case study
descriptive technique in which one individual/group study in depth in hope of revealing universal principles
naturalistic observation
observing/recording behavior in natural situations without manipulating/controlling the situation
survey
technique finding self-reported attitudes/behaviors of a group
- questioning representative
- random sample
sampling bias
flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample
population
A group being studied from which samples may be drawn
Random sample
sample that fairly represents a population because each member has equal chance of being apart of study
correlation
measure extent which 2 variables change together and either variable predicts other
correlation coefficient
statistical index of relationship between two variables
scatterplot
graphed cluster of dots which represent the values of two variables
- slope of points suggest direction of relationship between two variables
amount of scatter suggests strength of correlation (low correlation=high correlation)
illusory correlation
perception of relationship where none exists
experiment
research method which investigator manipulates one+ factors to observe effect on some behavior/mental processes
experimental group
Group exposed to treatment, that is, one version of independent variable
Control group
Group not exposed to treatment, serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of treatment
random assignment
assigning participants to experimental/control groups by chance
double-blind procedure
experimental procedures which both research participants/research staff are blind about whether research participants have received treatment
placebo
experimental results caused by expectations alone; think it works due to your mind believing it does
independent variable
experimental factor is manipulated; variable whose effect is being studied
confounding variable
Factor other than independent variable that might produce an effect in experiment
dependent variable
outcome factor; variable may change in response to independent variable
validity
extent to which test/experiment measures/predicts what it is supposed to
descriptive statistics
number data used to measure/describe characteristics of groups
-includes measures of central tendency/variation
histogram
bar graph depicting frequency distribution
mode
most frequent score
mean
average of numbers
median
middle score
skewed distribution
representation of scores that lack symmetry around average value
range
difference between highest and lowest score
standard deviation
computed measure of how much scores vary around mean score
normal curve and
symmetrical shape that describes distribution of many types of data
inferential statistics
number data that allows one to generalize and infer sample data from likelihood of something being true of a population
statistical significance
statistical statement of how likely that a result occurred by chance
culture
enduring behaviors, ideas,values and traditions shared by a group of people
informed consent
ethical principle that research participants are told enough to enable them to choose whether they want to join
debriefing
post experimental explanation of a study, includes its purpose and any deceptions to participants to
