Unit Two

Question 1

Defn. anecdotal evidence

Answer 1

Personal stories about specific incidents and experiences

Question 2

Defn. between-subject design

Answer 2

a study in which individuals are assigned to only one treatment or experimental condition and each person provides only one score for data analysis. For example, in a between-subjects design investigating the efficacy of three different drugs for treating depression, one group of depressed individuals would receive one of the drugs, a different group would receive another one of the drugs, and yet another group would receive the remaining drug. Thus, the researcher is comparing the effect each medication has on a different set of people. Also called between-groups design; independent-groups design

Question 3

Defn. case study

Answer 3

An in-depth investigation of an individual subject.

Question 4

Defn. confounding of variables

Answer 4

A condition that exists whenever two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their independent effects.

Question 5

Defn. control group

Answer 5

Subjects in a study who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group

Question 6

Defn. correlation

Answer 6

The extent to which two variables are related to each other

Question 7

Defn. correlation coefficient

Answer 7

A numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables.

Question 8

Defn. data collection techniques

Answer 8

Procedures for making empirical observations and measurements

Question 9

Defn. deception

Answer 9

any distortion of or withholding of fact with the purpose of misleading others. For example, a researcher who has not disclosed the true purpose of an experiment to a participant has engaged in deception.

Question 10

Defn. dependent variable

Answer 10

In an experiment, the variable that is thought to be affected by the manipulation of the independent variable

Question 11

Defn. descriptive statistics

Answer 11

Statistics that are used to organize and summarize data

Question 12

Defn. double-blind procedure

Answer 12

A research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups

Question 13

Defn. experiment

Answer 13

A research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result.

Question 14

Defn. experimental group

Answer 14

The subjects in a study who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable

Question 15

Defn. experimenter bias

Answer 15

A phenomenon that occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained.

Question 16

Defn. extraneous variables

Answer 16

Any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study

Question 17

Defn. hypothesis

Answer 17

A systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility

Question 18

Defn. independent variable

Answer 18

the variable in an experiment that is specifically manipulated or is observed to occur before the dependent, or outcome, variable, in order to assess its effect or influence. Independent variables may or may not be causally related to the dependent variable. In statistical analyses—such as path analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation modeling—an independent variable is likely to be referred to as a causal variable, explanatory variable, or predictor variable. See also exogenous variable; treatment.

Question 19

Defn. inferential statistics

Answer 19

Statistics that are used to interpret data and draw conclusions.

Question 20

Defn. interaction

Answer 20

a relationship between two or more systems, people, or groups that results in mutual or reciprocal influence

Question 21

Defn. journal

Answer 21

A periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material, usually in a narrowly defined area of inquiry.

Question 22

Defn. mean

Answer 22

The arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution

Question 23

Defn. median

Answer 23

The score that falls exactly in the centre of a distribution of scores

Question 24

Defn. mode

Answer 24

The score that occurs most frequently in a distribution

Question 25

Defn. naturalistic observation

Answer 25

A descriptive research method in which the researcher engages in careful, usually prolonged, observation of behaviour without intervening directly with the subjects.

Question 26

Defn. negative correlation

Answer 26

a relationship between two variables in which the value of one variable increases as the value of the other decreases. For example, in a study about babies crying and being held, the discovery that those who are held more tend to cry less is a negative correlation.

Question 27

Defn. operational definition

Answer 27

a description of something in terms of the operations (procedures, actions, or processes) by which it could be observed and measured. For example, the operational definition of anxiety could be in terms of a test score, withdrawal from a situation, or activation of the sympathetic nervous system

Question 28

Defn. operational definition

Answer 28

a description of something in terms of the operations (procedures, actions, or processes) by which it could be observed and measured. For example, the operational definition of anxiety could be in terms of a test score, withdrawal from a situation, or activation of the sympathetic nervous system

Question 29

Defn. participants

Answer 29

The persons or animals whose behaviour is systematically observed in a study

Question 30

Defn. placebo

Answer 30

any medical or psychological intervention or treatment that is believed to be “inert,” thus making it valuable as a control condition against which to compare the intervention or treatment of interest

Question 31

Defn. placebo effects

Answer 31

The fact that subjects’ expectations can lead them to experience some change even though they receive an empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment

Question 32

Defn. population

Answer 32

The larger collection of animals or people from which a sample is drawn and that researchers want to generalize about

Question 33

Defn. positive correlation

Answer 33

a relationship between two variables in which both rise and fall together. For example, one would expect to find a positive correlation between study hours and test performance. Also called direct correlation. Compare negative correlation.

Question 34

Defn. random assignment

Answer 34

The constitution of groups in a study such that all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition

Question 35

Defn. random sampling

Answer 35

a process for selecting a sample of study participants from a larger potential group of eligible individuals, such that each person has the same fixed probability of being included in the sample and some chance procedure is used to determine who specifically is chosen. A group selected in this way is known as a random sample. The main value of this form of probability sampling is its positive impact on generalizability and external validity.

Question 36

Defn. replication

Answer 36

The repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated.

Question 37

Defn. response set

Answer 37

A tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions.

Question 38

Defn. sample

Answer 38

The collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study

Question 39

Defn. sampling bias

Answer 39

A problem that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn.

Question 40

Defn. social desirability bias

Answer 40

A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself

Question 41

Defn. standard deviation

Answer 41

An index of the amount of variability in a set of data.

Question 42

Defn. statistical significance

Answer 42

The condition that exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low

Question 43

Defn. statistics

Answer 43

The use of mathematics to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical data

Question 44

Defn. surveys

Answer 44

A descriptive research method in which researchers use questionnaires or interviews to gather information about specific aspects of subjects’ behaviour.

Question 45

Defn. theory

Answer 45

A system of interrelated ideas that is used to explain a set of observations

Question 46

Defn. variability

Answer 46

The extent to which the scores in a data set tend to vary from each other and from the mean

Question 47

Defn. variables

Answer 47

Any measurable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviours that are controlled or observed in a study

Question 48

Defn. within-subject designs

Answer 48

an experimental design in which the effects of treatments are seen through the comparison of scores of the same participant observed under all the treatment conditions. For example, teachers may want to give a pre- and postcourse survey of skills and attitudes to gauge how much both changed as a result of the course. Such a design could be analyzed with a dependent-samples t test, a within-subjects analysis of variance, or an analysis of covariance.