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ap psychology chapter 1

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6552714Hindsight biasthe tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all along phenomenon.)
6552715Critical thinkingthinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
6552716Theoryan explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.
6552717Hypothesisa testable prediction
6552718Operational definitionsprecise statements of the procedures (operations) used to define independent and dependent variables.
6552719Replicationrepeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances
6552720Case studya descriptive research strategy in which one person is studied in great depth
6552721Surveya technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them.
6552722False consensus effectis the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.
6552723Populationall the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study.
6552724Random samplea sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
6552725Naturalistic observationinvolves observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation.
6552726Correlationa statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two factors vary together and thus how well one factor can be predicted from the other. Correlations can be positive or negative.
6552727Scatterplota depiction of the relationship between two variables by means of a graphed cluster of dots.
6552728Illusory correlationthe false perception of a relationship between two events when none exists.
6552729Experimenta research strategy in which a researcher directly manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) in order to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variables; experiments therefore make it possible to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
6552730Placeboan inert substance or condition that is administered as a test of whether an experimental subjects who mistakenly thinks a treatment
6552731Double-blind procedurea control procedure in which neither the experimenter nor the research subjects are aware of which condition is in effect. It is used to prevent experimenters' and subjects' expectations from influencing the results of an experiment.
6552732Placebo effectexperimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent.
6552733Experimental conditionthe condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.
6552734Control conditionthe condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.
6552735Random assignmentthe procedure of assigning subjects to the experimental and control conditions by chance in order to minimize preexisting differences between the groups.
6552736Independent variablethe factor being manipulated and tested by the investigator.
6552737Dependent variablethe factor being measured by the investigator.
6552738Modethe most frequently occurring score in a distribution; it is the simplest measure of central tendency to determine.
6552739Meanthe arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores.
6552740Mediansthe middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it.
6552741Rangea measure of variation computed as the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.
6552742Standard deviationthe average amount by which the scores in a distribution deviate around the mean. Because it is based on every score in the distribution
6552743Statistical significancea statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.
6552744Culturethe enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.

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