| Term | Definition |
|---|
| critical thinking | process of evaluating claims or hypotheses and making judgments about them on the basis of well-supported evidence |
| hypothesis | a prediction stated as a testable proposition, usually in the form of an if-then statement |
| variables | specific factors or characteristics that are manipulated and measured in research |
| data | numbers that represent research findings and provide the basis for research conclusions |
| operational definition | a statement of the specific methods used to measure a variable; a detailed explanation of the variable |
| theory | cluster of explanations of a phenomenon that help predict, explain, and control that behavior |
| naturalistic observation | method gathering descriptive information involving watching behaviors, without interfering, as they naturally occur |
| case study | used to collect descriptive data through the intensive examination of a phenomenon in a particular individual, group, or setting (particularly useful for rare or complex phenomena) |
| survey | questionnaire or interview administered to a large group; designed to obtain descriptions of peoples' behaviors/beliefs |
| correlational studies | research method that examines relationships between variables in order to analyze trends in data, test predictions, etc. (they do NOT discern cause and effect relationships) |
| experiment | the only research method to show causation, this involves obtaining a random sample of subjects and using control and experimental groups; allows a researcher to control the data-collection process |
| independent variable | controlled by the researcher, experienced by the control group, this is what the researcher thinks will HAVE an effect on some other behavior |
| dependent variable | behavior affected by another variable, it is observed and measured (usually before and after and experiment takes place) |
| experimental group | receives the critical part of the experiment (the independent variable) |
| control group | provides a baseline for comparison, does not receive critical treatment (independent variable) |
| experimenter bias | occurs when experimenters ask leading questions or otherwise search for evidence that supports their hypothesis and don't look for evidence that refutes it |
| random variable | a confounding variable in which uncontrolled factors affected the dependent variable along with or instead of the independent variable |
| random assignment | random distribution of participants to experimental or control groups - used to distribute the impact of uncontrolled variables randomly, and most likely evenly, across the groups, minimizing the chance they will distort the results |
| placebo effect | improvement caused by a participant's knowledge and expectations: can be from a treatment that contains nothing known to be helpful, but that nevertheless produces benefits because a person believes it will be beneficial. |
| confounding variable | any factor that affects the dependent variable, along with or instead of the independent variable |
| double-blind design | design for research in which neither the experimenter nor the subjects know who is in the experimental or control group |
| sampling | the process of selecing participants for research who are members of the population the researcher wishes to study |
| generalize | to apply the results of one's study to people beyond just the researcher's sample |
| representative sample | a group of subjects whose characteristics fairly reflect the characteristics of the population they belong to |
| random sample | a group of subjects selected froma population whose members all had an equal chance of being selected |
| biased sample | a group of research subjects selected froma population whose members did not all have an equal chance of being chosen |
| sampling error | part of a sampling process that results in a biased sample |
| convenience sample | when researchers draw participants from the populations that are readily available to them |
| twin studies | study the heredity-environment question by comparing the similarity seen in identical twins with those of nonidentical pairs |
| descriptive statistics | numbers that describe and summarize a set of research data |
| inferential statistics | set of mathematical procedures that help researchers learn if their research data reflects a true relationship or could be due to random chance |
| mode | measure of central tendency that is the value that occur most frequently in a data set |
| median | measure of central tendency that is the halfway point in a set of data |
| mean | measure of central tendency that is the arithmetic average of the scores in a set of data |
| range | measure of variability that is the difference between the highest and lowest values in a set of data |
| standard deviation | measure of variability that is the average difference between each score and the mean of the data set (demonstrates consistency) |
| correlation | the degree to which one variable is related to another |
| correlation coefficient | a statistic (r) that summarizes the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables |
| statistical significance | a term used to describe research results that have been shown by a statistical test to be UNLIKELY to be due to random chance |
| ethics | code used by psychologists dictating that they minimize discomfort or risk for research participants |
Combine with other sets
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