Chapter 1: thinking critically with psychological science
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30 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Hindsight bias | Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. |
| Critical thinking | Thinking that doesn't blindly accept arguments and conclusions, but rather examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions |
| Theory | Explanation using integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations. |
| Hypothesis | Testable prediction, often implied by theory |
| Operational definition | Statement of procedures used to define research variables |
| Replication | Repeating essence of a research study to see whether basic findings extend to other participants and circumstances |
| Case study | Observation technique where one person is studied in depth in hope of revealing universal principles |
| Survey | Technique for ascertaining 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 population because each member has 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 the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well each factor predicts the other |
| Scatterplot | Graphed cluster of dots, each of which represented values of two variables. Slope of points suggest direction of relationship between two variables. Amount of scatter suggests strength of correlation |
| Illusory correlation | Perception of a relationship when none exists |
| Experiment | Research method in which investigator manipulates one or more factors go observe the effect on some behavior or mental process. |
| Double-blind procedure | Experimental procedure in which both research participants and research staff are ignorant about whether research participants have received the treatment or placebo |
| Placebo effect | Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by administration of inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent |
| Experimental condition | Condition of experiment that exposes participants to treatment, that is, to one version of independent variable |
| Control condition | Condition of experiment that contrasts with experimental condition and serves as comparison for evaluating effect of treatment |
| Random assignment | Assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to different groups |
| Independent variable | Experimental factor that is manipulated; variable whose effect is being studied |
| Dependent variable | Outcome factor, variable that may change in response to manipulations of independent variable |
| Mode | Most frequently occurring score in a distribution |
| Mean | Arithmetic average of a distribution, obtained by adding scores and dividing by the number of scores |
| Median | Middle score in distribution, half the scores are above it and half are below it |
| Range | Difference between highest and lowest scores in distribution |
| Standard deviation | Computed measure of how much scores may 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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