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Psych Ch. 2 Vocab
Term | Definition |
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Naturalistic Observation | Research method in which the psychologist observes the subject in a natural setting without interfering |
Longitudinal Study | Research method in which data are collected about a group of participants over a number of years to assess how certain characteristics change or remain the same during development |
Case Study | Research method that involves an intensive investigation of one or more participants; analysis of thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences, behaviors, or problems of an individual |
Cross-Sectional Study | Research method in which data are collected from groups of participants of different ages and compared so that conclusions can be drawn about differences due to age |
Experimental Group | The group to which an independent variable is applied |
Control Group | The group that is treated in the same way as the experimental group except that the experimental treatment (the independent variable) is not applied |
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy | A situation in which a researcher's expectations influence that person's own behavior, and thereby influence the participant's behavior |
Single-Blind Experiment | An experiment in which the participants are unaware of who received the treatment |
Double-Blind Experiment | An experiment in which neither the experimenter nor the participants know which participants received which treatment |
Placebo Effect | A change in a participant's illness or behavior that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect rather than from the actual treatment |
Descriptive Statistics | The listing and summarizing of data in a practical, efficient way |
Frequency Distribution | An arrangement of data that indicates how often a particular score or observation occurs |
Normal Curve | A graph of frequency distribution shaped like a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve; a graph of normally distributed data |
Central Tendency | A number that describes something about the "average" score of a distribution variance |
Inferential Statistics | Numerical methods used to determine whether research data support a hypothesis or whether results were due to chance |