AP Psychology: Research Methods Flashcards
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5844237779 | Hypothesis | a testable prediction, often implied by a theory, that expresses a relationship between two variables | 0 | |
5844246743 | Replication | repeating the essence of a research study usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic findings extend to other participants and circumstances | 1 | |
5844257013 | Empirical Science | collecting data from an observation or experiment | 2 | |
5844260455 | Independent Variable | the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied | 3 | |
5844265741 | Dependent Variable | the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variables | 4 | |
5844271765 | Population | includes anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be in a sample | 5 | |
5844276469 | Sampling | the process by which the participants are selected | 6 | |
5844279557 | Representative Sample | a sample that is often large and diverse, in order to represent a larger population | 7 | |
5844284902 | Random Selection | every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected | 8 | |
5844290549 | Experimental Group | the group that gets the treatment operationalized in the independent variable | 9 | |
5844294727 | Control Group | in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable | 10 | |
5844302150 | Random Assignment | assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between different groups | 11 | |
5844310487 | Cross-sectional Studies | a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another | 12 | |
5844314220 | Longitudinal Studies | research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period | 13 | |
5844319435 | Confounding Variables | any difference between the experimental and control conditions, except the independent variable, that might affect the dependent variable | 14 | |
5844327723 | Extraneous Variables | any variables that the researcher did not intentionally study in an experiment or test | 15 | |
5844331432 | Operational Definition | a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study. (i.e. human intelligence & IQ) | 16 | |
5844339666 | Experimenter Bias | the unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experiment and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis | 17 | |
5844351163 | "Generalizability" of a study | the extent to which findings (from a study) can be generalized (or extended) to the those in natural settings (i.e., outside the lab). | 18 | |
5844356382 | Single-blind Procedure | when only the participants are unaware of which group they've been assigned to | 19 | |
5844363094 | Double-blind Procedure | when neither the participants nor the researcher are able to affect the outcome of the research | 20 | |
5844369595 | Placebo | a harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit of the patient than for any physiological effect | 21 | |
5844376886 | Placebo Effect | experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent. | 22 | |
5848977750 | Reliability | the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, in its alternate forms, or in a retest | 23 | |
5848987648 | Validity | the extent to which a test or experiment measures or predicts what it's supposed to | 24 | |
5848994940 | Descriptive Statistics | numerical date used to measure and describe characteristics of groups | 25 | |
5849001654 | Frequency Distribution | a simplified organization or presentation of data (i.e. histogram, frequency polygon) | 26 | |
5849006537 | Central Tendency | measures that attempt to mark the center of a distribution | 27 | |
5849013059 | Mode | the score that appears most frequently | 28 | |
5849015708 | Median | the middle of a list of scores organized by ascending or descending order | 29 | |
5849020043 | Mean | average of all scores in a distribution | 30 | |
5849022384 | Variability | measures that attempt to depict the diversity of the distribution | 31 | |
5849026290 | Range | the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution | 32 | |
5849030572 | Standard Deviation | a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score | 33 | |
5849035037 | Normal Distribution | a theoretical bell-shaped curve for which the area under the curve lying between any two z scores has been predetermined | ![]() | 34 |
5849043677 | Percentile Score | an indication of the distance of a particular score from zero | 35 | |
5849048108 | Correlation Coefficient | (r) a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (from -1 to +1) | ![]() | 36 |
5849055286 | Positive Correlation | the presence of one thing predicts the presence of the other | ![]() | 37 |
5849059947 | Negative Correlation | the presence of one thing predicts the absence of the other | ![]() | 38 |
5849065919 | Inferential Statistics | used to determine whether or not a finding can be applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected. | 39 | |
5849072314 | Statistical Significance | (p) the probability of some result of a statistical test occurring by chance | 40 | |
5849083575 | APA Ethical Standard 1 | Subjects' participation in research should be voluntary and based on informed consent. | 41 | |
5849094210 | APA Ethical Standard 2 | Participants should not be exposed to harmful or dangerous research procedures. | 42 | |
5849100362 | APA Ethical Standard 3 | If an investigation requires some deception of participants, the researcher is required to explain/correct any misunderstandings asap. | 43 | |
5849111801 | APA Ethical Standard 4 | Subjects' right to privacy should never be violated. Their participation is confidential. | 44 | |
5849123169 | APA Ethical Standard 5 | Harmful or painful procedures imposed upon animals must be justified in terms of the knowledge to be gained from the study. | 45 | |
5849130822 | APA Ethical Standard 6 | Prior to conducting studies, approval should be obtained from host institutions and their research review committees. | 46 | |
5849142552 | Experiment Advantages | identifies cause-effect relationship; distinguishes between placebo and real effects | 47 | |
5849142553 | Experiment Disadvantages | results may not generalize to real-world situations; can be affected by confounding/extraneous variables; ethics; double blind | 48 | |
5849207693 | Experiment | an investigation in which a hypothesis is scientifically tested | 49 | |
5849211996 | Quasi-experiment | experiments employed when the researcher is interested in independent variables that cannot be randomly assigned | 50 | |
5849145933 | Quasi-experiment ad. | more feasible type of experiment; external validity is increased; genuine reactions from participants | 51 | |
5849146011 | Quasi-experiment dis. | results are limited from being representative of larger populations; lack of statistic significance; threat to internal validity | 52 | |
5849227219 | Naturalistic Observation | observing people in their natural behavior without interacting with them at all | 53 | |
5849150570 | Naturalistic Observation ad. | provides info. about natural behaviors | 54 | |
5849152310 | Naturalistic Observation dis. | researcher has no control; observer bias | 55 | |
5849236113 | Survey | asking people to answer questions | 56 | |
5849152311 | Surveys advantages | a lot of info in results; easy/cheap; investigates relationship between two variables | 57 | |
5849154345 | Surveys disadvantages | no cause-effect relationship; information can't be confirmed | 58 | |
5849248458 | Case Studies | research method of obtaining a full detailed picture of one participant or a small group of participants | 59 | |
5849154346 | Case studies advantages | very specific info to a small group of people | 60 | |
5849158505 | Case studies disadvantages | can be subjective; no cause-effect relationship | 61 | |
5849158506 | Hawthorne Effect | merely selecting a group of people on whom to experiment has been determined to affect the performance of that group, regardless of what is done to those individuals | 62 | |
5849161275 | False Consensus bias | bias whereby people tend to overestimate the extent to which their opinions, beliefs, values, and habits are normal and typical of those of others | 63 | |
5849161276 | Gambler's Fallacy | the belief that the chances of something happening with a fixed probability become higher as the process is repeated | 64 |