| Term | Definition |
|---|
| hindsight bias | tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it ("i knew it all along" phenomenon) |
| critical thinking | thinking that doesn't blindly accept arguments and conclusions |
| theory | explanation using an intergrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events |
| hypothesis | testable prediction, often implied by theory |
| operational definition | a statement of the procedures used to define research variables |
| replication | repeating essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to others |
| case study | one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles |
| survey | technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them |
| false consensus effect | tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors |
| population | all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study |
| random sample | sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion |
| naturalistic observation | observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation |
| correlation | measure of extent to which two factors vary together, thus seeing how well either factor predicts the other |
| scatterplot | graphed cluster of dots, each represents the values of two variables |
| illusory correlation | perception of a relationship where none exists |
| experiment | 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 variables). |
| double-blind procedure | experimental procedure in which both the research participants and research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or the placebo |
| placebo effect | experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavioir caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent |
| experimental condition | condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment |
| random assignment | assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups |
| independent variable | experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied |
| dependent variable | the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable |
| mode | the most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution |
| mean | the arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores |
| median | the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it |
| range | difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution |
| standard deviation | a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score |
| statistical significance | statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance |
| culture | enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next |
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