AP Psychology Unit 2 Flashcards

14567350927	Hindsight Bias	I knew it all along phenomenon; the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it	0
14567353717	Critical Thinking	thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.	1
14567354712	Theory	an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events	2
14567356229	Hypothesis	A testable prediction, often implied by a theory	3
14567357862	operational definition	a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study	4
14567358893	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
14567360584	Cast Study	an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles	6
14567362366	naturalistic observation	observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation	7
14567363202	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	8
14567364562	Sampling Bias	a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample	9
14567365674	Population	all the cases in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn	10
14567367413	Random Sample	a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion	11
14567368594	Correlation	A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.	12
14567369807	correlation coefficient	a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1)	13
14567371137	Scatterplot	a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables	14
14567371948	illusory correlation	the perception of a relationship where none exists	15
14567373167	Experiment	A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process	16
14567374407	Experimental Group	the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested	17
14567375623	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.	18
14567376798	random assignment	assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups	19
14567377889	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.	20
14567378757	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.	21
14567379541	independent variable	The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.	22
14567380543	confounding variable	a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment	23
14567381242	dependent variable	The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.	24
14567381909	Validity	the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to	25
14567383093	descriptive statistics	numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups. Includes measures of central tendency and measures of variation.	26
14567383802	Histogram	A graph of vertical bars representing the frequency distribution of a set of data.	27
14567384442	Mode	the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution	28
14567384443	Mean	average	29
14567385743	Median	the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it	30
14567386241	skewed distribution	a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value	31
14567386242	Range	the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution	32
14567387993	standard deviation	a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score	33
14567389100	Normal Curve	the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.	34
14567389616	inferential statistics	numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population	35
14567390395	statistical significance	a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance	36
14567390769	Informed consent	an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate	37
14567391369	Debriefing	the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants	38