Psychology -Themes and Variations (2) Flashcards

576578206	The Scientific Approach	events are governed by laws
576578210	Operational Definition	Describes the action or operation used to measure or control a variable
576578214	Participants/Subjects	Persons or Animals whose behavior is observed in a study
576578218	Data Collection Techniques	Procedures for Making Empirical Observation and Measurements (ie. Direct Observation, Questionnaire, Interview, Psychological Test, Physiological Recording, or Examination of Archival Records)
576578223	Journal	Periodical that publishes scholarly material, in a narrow field
576578228	Experiment	Research Method where a variable is manipulated and changes to the second variable is observed
576578234	Independent Variable	Variable that is controlled by the Experimenter to see its impact on the other Variable
576578237	Dependent Variable	Variable that is affected by the Independent (Controlled) Variable
576578241	Experimental Group	Subjects who receive special treatment in regard to the Independent Variable
576578243	Control Group	Similar Subjects who do not receive special treatment given to experimental group
576578246	Extraneous Variables	Any variables other than the Independent variable that seems likely to influence the Dependent variable in a study
576578248	Confounding of Variables	i. When two Variables are linked together in a way that makes it harder to sort their specific effects ii. Causes great harm to Experiments
576578251	Random Assignment	Occurs when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group in the study
576578253	Interaction	Effect of one variable depends on the Effect of another
576578256	Descriptive/Correlational Research	i. Used when Psychologists cannot control the variables they want to study ii. only describes patterns of behavior and discovers links or associations
576578259	Naturalistic Observation	A researcher engages in careful Observation of behavior without directly intervening with the subjects
576578263	Case Study	In-Depth investigation of an individual Subject
576578265	Survey	Researchers use Questionnaires or Interviews to gather information about specific aspects of participant's background and behavior
576578268	Statistics	Use of Math to interpret, organizes, and summarizes numerical data
576578270	Descriptive Statistics	Used to Organize and Summarize Data
576578273	Standard Deviation	index of amount of Variability in a set of data
576578277	Correlation	i. between -1.00 and 1.00, closer to either end equals stronger correlation ii. positive means they co-vary in the same direction, negative means they co-vary in opposite directions iii. correlation is NOT causation
576578280	Inferential Statistics	i. Makes Conclusions ii. Statistical Significance exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low (Less than 5%)
576578282	Sample	Collection of subjects selected for observation
576578285	Population	Much larger collection of Animals or People from where Sample is drawn
576578287	Sampling Bias	a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn
576578289	Placebo Effect	When participant's expectations lead them to experience some changes even though they receive not actual treatment
576578291	Social Desirability Bias	The tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself
576578293	Response Set	Tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions
576578295	Experimenter Bias	When a Researcher's expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained
576578297	Double-Blind Procedure	i. Research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control group ii. combats Experimenter Bias