Unit 2: Psychological Research Methods Flashcards
APA ethical guidelines for human research
Ethical guidelines for psychological research that protects any human or animal participants from excessive or unnecessary physical or emotional harm
applied research
psychological research that applies its scientific findings to real-world scenerios
Barnum effect
the gullibility of people when reading descriptions for themselves
basic research
research solely done to improve knowledge or understanding in a field of study
biased sample
a sample of a larger population that is not random and may fail to accurately represent the population well
case study
a method of descriptive research where a researcher analyzes one specific individual or group with exceptional detail to find out if the data gathered can be applied to a larger population
causation conditioned response
behavior not learned naturally but rather learned through purposeful pairing with a stimulus
confounding variables
variables that interfere with the results of an experiment because they have some connection to the independent variable
Control
a factor in an experiment that is used as a reference to compare the results of the independent variable to
control group
a group that is not given the independent variable that the experimental group is given. It acts as a baseline to see how the independent variable affects the experimental group or the dependent variable
Correlation
statistical analysis to find any relationship between variables
correlation coefficient
describes how strongly two variables are related on a scale from -1.00 to 1.00.
covert behavior
human behaviors which can not be observed
critical thinking
thinking that doesn’t blindly accept arguments and conclusions, but rather examines any assumptions made, assesses the source of the arguments or conclusions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
Debriefing
fully explaining the purpose of an experiment including any deceptions used in an experiment to a participant after the experiment has occured
dependent variable
variable that changes due to changes in the independent variable
Description
statements that describe who someone is, what an object is, where an object is, and when the time is
descriptive statistics
statistics used to organize, summarize, and describe data
double-blind procedure
experiment where neither participants nor the researchers know what research group the participants are assigned to
empirical evidence
evidence supported by research findings and psychology
Experiment
scientific procedure that is done to find how an independent and dependent variable are connected, or if they are connected at all
experimental group
group that is to be tested by manipulating the independent variable
experimental method
a way for one to design an experiment and collect data
experimental self-observation
analysis of one’s self through a scientific experiment on one’s self
experimental subjects
individuals who participate in an experimental study
experimenter bias
when the experimenter or researcher affects the results of an experiment due to specific verbal contact with the subjects
fallacy of positive instances
tendency for people to only recognize statements in arguments that agree with their own opinions
gender bias
tendency to prefer one gender over another
Hawthorne effect
tendency for some individuals to alter their behavior due to being observed
hindsight bias
tendency to believe that one would have foreseen an outcome only after experiencing or learning it
Hypothesis
an educated guess that answers a question