AP Psych Unit 2 Flashcards

10601077415	hindsight bias	the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it	0
10601077416	critical thinking	thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.	1
10601077417	theory	an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events	2
10601077852	hypothesis	a testable prediction, often implied by a theory	3
10601077853	operational definition	a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. for example, intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.	4
10601077854	replication	repeating 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	5
10601078546	case study	a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles	6
10601078547	survey	a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group	7
10601078548	population	all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn	8
10601078549	random sample	a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion	9
10601080858	naturalistic observation	observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation	10
10601080859	correlation	a measure of the extent to which two variables change together, and thus of how well either variable predicts the other	11
10601080860	correlation coefficient (r)	a statistical index of the relationship between two variables (from -1.0 to +1.0) 1.0 or close to it=positive correlation (dots- left to right and closer together) (high correlation) -1.0 or close to it=negative correlation (dots- right to left and closer together) (still high correlation) *r=0 or closer = no correlation (dots won't line up on scatterplot)	12
10601081474	scatterplot	a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter indicates high correlation)	13
10601081475	illusory correlation	the perception of a relationship where none exists	14
10601081476	experiment	A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable)	15
10601083391	random assignment	assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups	16
10601083392	double-blind procedure	an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies.	17
10601084247	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.	18
10601084248	experimental group	in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.	19
10601084249	control group	in an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.	20
10601084694	independent variable	The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.	21
10601084695	dependent variable	The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.	22
10601085250	confounding factors	a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment	23
10601085251	measures of central tendency	mean, median, mode	24
10601085252	measures of variance	range and standard deviation	25
10601087162	mean	the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores	26
10601087163	median	the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it	27
10601087164	mode	the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution	28
10601087165	range	the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution	29
10601087166	standard deviation	a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score 68%=score 15 points above or below 100 95%= score 30 points above or below 100	30
10601088136	bell curve/ normal distribution	a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68% fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes	31
10601088137	descriptive statistics	numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.	32
10601088646	inferential statistics	numerical data that allows one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population	33
10601088647	statistical significance	a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance-- not by luck; it is "real"-- .05 or 5% * state a research hypothesis and a null/worthless hypothesis p=probability of obtaining your sample data if the null hypothesis were true; <.05 a=the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis; =.05 if the value is below 5% (p	34
10601089234	culture	the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.	35
10601089235	informed consent	an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.	36
10601089236	debriefing	the post experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants	37
10601089768	confidentiality	the act of holding information in confidence, not to be released to unauthorized individuals	38
10604494976	cross-sectional study	A study in which a representative cross section of the population is tested or surveyed at one specific time.	39
10604497516	cohort-sequential study	a research method in which a cross section of the pop. is chosen and then each cohort is followed for a short period of time	40
10638024766	low standard deviation	indicates that the data points tend to be very close to the mean	41
10638027841	high standard deviation	indicates that the data points are spread out over a large range of values	42
10638053031	positive skew	long tail in the positive direction	43
10638058773	negative skew	long tail in the negative direction	44