AP Psych - Unit 1 pt. 2 (research methods)

tendency to believe, after learning on outcome, that one would have froseen it

a method of investigation involving observation and theory to test scientific hypotheses

explains behaviors or events by offering ideas

a testable proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures(operations) used in a research study

reproduce or make an exact copy of (in this case an experiment)

describes behaviors, often by suing case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations

method associate different factors or variables

anything that contributes to a result

manipulate variables to discover their effects

examines one individual or group in depth in hope of revealing things true of us all

gives us insight, can show us what can happen

misleading mistaken judgement; anecdotal cases can overwhelm general truth(ex: just because one persons grandpa lived a long age while smoking, does not mean smoking is not bad. studies show smoking is bad for health)

a descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

revelations that may not have been found in a lab setting, shows complexity, describes behavior

does not explain behaviors

when we know we are being watch, we change our behaviors

we think we know more than we do

a person overestimated how many people agree with them (political views, interest, etc.)

skepticism, curiosity, humility

looks cases in less depth, asking people to report their behavior or opinions

broad range of opinion

sampling bias, response bias, social desirability bias, wording effect

generalize from a few valid but unrepresentative cases

use of anecdotal evidence

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

what has to happen to make the samples not bais

a sample in which every element in the population has an equal chance of being selected

the phrasing of the word can change the opinion of people (ex: "gun safety" vs "gun control"

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

a statistic representing how closely two variables co-vary; it can vary from -1 through 0 to +1

can predict how well one variable predicts another

does not specify cause and effect

perceiving a relationship where none exits, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variables) By random assignment of participation, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable

control variables, determine effects

confounding variable. ethical on some issues, lack ecological validity

the group not exposed to the treatment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different group

an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant(blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo

any effect that seems to be a consequence of administering a placebo; the change is usually beneficial and is assumed result from the person's faith in the treatment or preconceptions about what the experimental drug was supposed to do (ex: phony drug makes people have better moods)

factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied

a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study's results

the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

specify the procedures that manipulate the independent variable or measure the dependent variable

experiment will test what it is suppose to test

introduce something fake to the control group to keep anominity

subjects not randomly assigned to groups

informed consent, rights to withdraw, avoid deception, debrief, confidentiality, privacy, protect from physically & mental harm, advise participants when psychological or physical problems are discovered, consider implication and psychological consequence, monitor work of other colleagues

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

the post experimental of a study including its purpose and any deceptions to its participants

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics if group, includes measure of central tendency and measures of variation

a bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

most frequently occurring score (s) in a distribution

average of a distribution; add the scores then divide by number of scores

middle score in a distribution

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

differences between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score; better for averages

it has two peaks or humps (modes)

bell-shaped distribution often symmetrical

numerical data that allow one to generalize - to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

show us relationship

how to calculate standard deviation

What does a small Standard Deviation mean?

What measure greatly affects measure of central tendency

single score that represents a whole set of scores

What measure greatly affects measure of central variation/dispersion

Central tendency vs measure of variation