Psychology Themes and Variations Chapter 2 Vocabulary Flashcards

933119954	Hypothesis	A tenative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.	0
933119955	Variables	Measurable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviors that are controlled or observed in a study.	1
933119956	Theory	System of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations.	2
933119957	Operational Definition	Describes the actions or operations that will be used to measure or control a variable.	3
933119958	Participants/Subjects	Persons or animals whose behavior is systematically observed in a study.	4
933119959	Data Collection Techniques	Procedures for making empirical observations and measurements.	5
933119960	Journal	Periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material, usually in a narrow defined area of inquiry.	6
933119961	Research Methods	Consist of differing approaches to the observation, measurement, manipulation, and control of variables in empirical studies.	7
933119962	Experiment	Research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observers whether any changes occur in a second variable result.	8
933119963	Independent Variable	Condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable.	9
933119964	Dependent Variable	Variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable.	10
933119965	Experimental Group	Consists of the subjects who recieve some special treatment in regard to the independent variable.	11
933119966	Control Group	Subjects who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group.	12
933119967	Extraneous Variables	Variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study.	13
933119968	Confounding of Variables	Occurs when two variables are linked in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects.	14
933119969	Random Assignment	When all subjects have an eqaul chance of being assigned to any group or condition in the study.	15
933119970	Correlation	Exists when two bariables are related to each other.	16
933119971	Correlation Coefficient	Numerical indexof the degree of relationship between two variables.	17
933119972	Naturalistic Observation	Researcher engages in careful observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects.	18
933119973	Reactivity	Occurs when a subject's behavior is altered by the presence of an observer.	19
933119974	Case Study	In-depth investigation of an individual subject.	20
933119975	Survey	Questionaire or interview to gather information about specific aspects of participants background, attitudes, beliefs, or behavior.	21
933606415	Replication	Repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated.	22
933606416	Meta-analysis	Combines the statistical results of many studies of the same question, yielding an estimate size and consistency of a variable's effects.	23
933606417	Sample	Collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study.	24
933606418	Population	Larger collection of animals or people (from which the sample is drawn) that researchers want to generalize about.	25
933606419	Sampling Bias	exists when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn	26
933606420	Placebo Effect	Change in a participant's illness that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect rather than the actual treatment	27
933606421	Social Desirability Bias	A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself.	28
933606422	Halo Effect	Occurs when someone's overall evaluation of a person, object, or institution spills over to influence more specific ratings.	29
933606423	Experimenter Bias	Occurs when a researcher's expectations or preferences about the outcome of the study influence the results obtaine.	30
933606424	Double-blind Procedure	Research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups.	31