AP Psychology RESEARCH METHODS Flashcards

Unit 2 of Myers Psychology for AP

13949265152	Hindsight Bias	The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it	0
13949265153	Double Blind Procedure	An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies	1
13949265154	Independent Variable	The experimental factor that is manipulated--the variable whose effect is being studied	2
13949265155	Dependent Variables	The outcome factor -- the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable	3
13949265156	Mode	The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution	4
13949265157	Mean	The arithmetic average of a distribution, obtaining by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores	5
13949265158	Median	The middle score in a distribution--half the scores are above it and half are below it	6
13949265159	Standard Deviations	A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score	7
13949265160	Random Assignment	Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance ,thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups	8
13949265161	Random Sampling	A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion	9
13949265162	Scatter plot	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	10
13949265163	Illusory Correlation	The perception of a relationship where none exists	11
13949265164	Case Study	An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles	12
13949265165	Survey	A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them	13
13949265166	Naturalistic Observation	Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation	14
13949265167	Correlation	A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other. The correlation coefficient is the mathematical expression of the relationship, ranging from -1 to +1	15
13949265168	Experiment	A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effects on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant variable	16
13949265169	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	17
13949265170	Statistical Significance	A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance	18
13949265171	Operational Definition	A statement of the procedures used to define research variables. Ex human intelligence -- what an intelligence test measures.	19
13949265172	Critical Thinking	thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.	20
13949265173	Theory	an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations	21
13949265174	Hypothesis	a testable prediction, often implied by a theory	22
13949265175	Population	all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study	23
13949265176	Sample	items selected at random from a population and used to test hypotheses about the population	24
13949265177	Correlation Coefficient	a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)	25
13949265178	Placebo	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.	26
13949265179	Placebo Effect	any effect that seems to be a consequence of administering a placebo	27
13949265180	Experimental Group	in an experiment, the group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable.	28
13949265181	Control Group	in an experiment, the group that is not exposed to the treatment; contrasts with the experimental group and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.	29
13949265182	Confounding Variable	a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment.	30
13949265183	Range	the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution	31
13949265184	Normal Curve/distribution	a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68% fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer near the extremes	32
13949265185	Inferential Statistics	numerical methods used to determine whether research data support a hypothesis or whether results were due to chance	33
13949265186	Culture	the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next	34
13949265187	Informed Consent	an ethical principle requiring that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate	35
13949265188	Debriefing	the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants	36
13949265189	Kenneth and Mamie Clark	Used dolls to study children's attitude towards race. Their findings were used in the Brown vs. Board trial.	37
13949265190	Daniel Kahneman	an Israeli psychologist and Nobel laureate, who is notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics and hedonistic psychology.	38
13949265191	longitudinal study	researchers follow the same subjects over an extended period of time.	39
13949265192	Amos Tversky	A key figure in the discovery of systematic human cognitive bias	40
13949265193	confirmation bias	experimenter might consciously or unconsciously look to confirm what they already believe about their hypothesis	41
13949265194	Null hypothesis	Researchers work to reject, nullify or disprove the null hypothesis. Researchers come up with an alternate hypothesis, one that they think explains a phenomenon, and then work to reject the null hypothesis.	42
13949265195	confidentiality	researchers may not release or publish the names of anyone participating in the experiment.	43
13949265196	protection of participants	All participants are protected from physical mental and emotional harm.	44
13949265197	Right to discontinue	Participants have the right to end their participation during any phase of an experiment.	45
13949265198	minimum of deception	Researchers have an obligation to avoid deceiving participants whenever possible.	46
13949265199	framing	the way questions are worded can dramatically impact the results of your survey.	47
13949265200	Descriptive Statistics	describe the basic features of the data in a study. They provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures.	48
13949265207	Skewed distribution to the left		49
13949265208	Skewed distribution to the right		50
13949265201	variance	measures how far a data set is spread out. The technical definition is "The average of the squared differences from the mean."	51
13949265202	Mary Whiton Calkins	Denied a PhD by Harvard though she met the doctoral requirements, but later became first female president of the APA.	52
13949265203	Margaret Floy Washburn	First woman to receive a PhD in psychology. Later became the 2nd female president of the APA.	53
13949265204	Francis Sumner	First African American man to receive a PhD in psychology in 1920.	54
13949265205	Inez Prosser	First African American woman to receive a PhD in psychology in 1933.	55
13949265206	Edward Titchener	Studied with Wilhelm Wundt prior to becoming a psychology professor. His ideas created the basis for a school of thought called structuralism.	56