| Term | Definition |
|---|
| sample | the small group of participants, out of the total number available, that a researcher studies |
| naturalistic observation | research method in which the psychologist observes the subject in a natural setting without interfering |
| case study | research method that involves an intensive investigation of one or more participants |
| survey | research method in which information is obtained by asking many individuals a fixed set of questions |
| longitudinal study | research method in which data is collected about a group of participants over a number of years to assess how certain characteristics change or remain the same during development |
| cross sectional study | research method in which data is collected from groups of participants of different ages and compared so that conclusions can be drawn about differences due to age |
| correlation | the measure of a relationship between two variables or sets of data |
| variable | any factor that is capable of change |
| control group | the group that is treated in the same way as the experimental group except that the experimental treatment (the independent variable) is not applied |
| self fulfilling prophecy | a situation in which a researcher's expectations influence that person's own behavior, and thereby influence the participant's behavior |
| single blind experiment | an experiment in which the participants are unaware of which participants received the treatment |
| double blind experiment | an experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received the treatment |
| placebo effect | a change in a participant's illness or behavior that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect, rather than the actual treatment |
| statistics | the branch of mathematics concerned with summarizing and making meaningful inferences from collections of data |
| normal curve | a graph of frequency distribution shaped like a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve; a graph of normal distribution |
| variance | a measure of difference, or spread |
| standard deviation | a measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the mean |
| correlation coefficient | describes the direction and strength of the relationship between two sets of variables |
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