 | 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 |
