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AP Psych Unit 0
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Why is psychology a science? | Psychologists look for scientific evidence to support claims. |
| What attributes does a scientist with a "scientific" attitude embody? | Curiosity, skepticism, & humility |
| Why are curiosity, skepticism, & humility necessary for scientists with scientific attitudes to embody? | Curiosity: Allows for tests to confirm predictions. Skepticism: Allows us to determine reality from fantasy. Humility: Allows researchers to be willing to not always be right all the time & pushes them to try new ideas. |
| What are some statements the textbook makes about critical thinkers? | They examine assumptions, appraise the source, discern hidden biases, and evaluate evidence & assess conclusions. |
| Hindsight Bias | After learning an outcome, we believe that we would have seen it coming (the "I-knew-it-all-along" phenomenon). Ex. Maria studies w/ flashcards, flips it over to see the answer, and tells herself she knew the answer all along. |
| Overconfidence | We typically think we know more than we do. We are more confident than correct. We think we are better at things than we are and "above average". Ex. Believing we could've solved a puzzle quicker than someone else. |
| Confirmation Bias | Seeking out information that agrees with you. Ex. "My opinion is right because I found information to support it." |
| Theory | An explanation using a set of principles that organizes observations & predicts behavior/events. |
| Hypothesis | A prediction is able to be tested (often implied by a theory), involves a relationship between or among variables. |
| Difference between theory & hypothesis | Theory: Sleep boosts memory Hypothesis: When sleep deprived, people remember less from the day before |
| Operational Definition | A very specific statement of the exact procedures used in a research study. Ex. "Sleep deprived" is defined as at least 2 hours less than a person's natural sleep. |
| Replicate | Using operational definitions to replicate the research study using different people/materials/circumstances to confirm or grow confidence in results. |
| Theories are useful if they can do these things | Organize observations, imply predictions that anyone can use to check the theory, & stimulate further research that will revise the theory to better organize and predict. |
| Case studies | In-depth analyses of individuals/groups, revealing of truth (suggesting further study), hard to come up with a general truth that applies to everyone |
| Naturalistic Observation | Recording the natural behavior of individuals, very organic (can be done without fancy equipment), only describes behavior (doesn't explain it), doesn't control all influencing factors that might affect behavior |
| Survey | Asking people questions, can look at many cases, not as in-depth, samples can be biased, people can lie on surveys to make themselves look good |
| Wording effects | How things are worded affect how we think about something. Ex. "Aid to the needy" vs. "welfare" |
| Sampling Bias | An unrepresentative sample (not random) |
| Social Desirability Bias | People answering questions in a way they think will please the researcher or make them look good. |
| Self-report Bias | When people don't accurately report or remember behaviors |
| Convenience Sampling | Collecting research from a group that is readily available |
| Random Sample | Every person in the entire population has an equal chance of being included in the sample group. |
| Correlation | Traits & behaviors that tend to coincide with each other. Predicts behavior & doesn't explain what causes what, possible 3rd unknown variables present? |
| Correlation coefficient | A statistical measure that helps us figure out how closely two things affect each other, represented by "r", ranges -1 to 1, closer to 0= a weaker relationship |
| Variables | Can easily & ethically be measured, anything that can vary |
| Scatterplots | A graph representing correlations using clusters of dots (each represents the values of 2 variables). The slope suggests the direction of the relationship between the 2 variables. The spread suggests the strength of the correlation. |
| Positive Correlation | Both variables increase or decrease |
| Negative Correlation | One variable increases while the other decreases |
| Difference between correlation & causation? | Correlation doesn't prove causation. It suggests a possible cause/effect relationship but doesn't prove it. Ex. Low self esteem & depression correlate, but one doesn't necessarily cause the other. |
| Illusory Correlation | When we see "relationships" where there isn't one or make one stronger than it actually is. Ex. We believe dreams predict the future, so we tend to remember times when this did happen rather than the times it didn't. |
| Regression toward the mean | Average results are more typical than extreme. After unusual events, things tend to return to normal again. |
| Experimental Group | The group exposed to the treatment (one version of the independent variable). |
| Control Group | The group not exposed to the treatment, used as a comparison against the experimental group. |
| Random Assignment | Assigning subjects to experimental or control groups by chance (so there are no hidden biases or outside factors affecting the outcome). |
| Single-Blind Procedure | Participants are uninformed about which treatment they are receiving. |
| Double-Blind Procedure | When the researcher participants and staff don't know whether subjects have received treatment or a placebo (used in drug evaluation studies). |
| Placebo | Fake treatment |
| Placebo Effect | Results caused by expectation. Any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance/condition that the subject believes is an active agent. |
| Independent Variable | The factor that is changed to study what it's effect is. |
| Dependent Variable | The measured outcome (may be changed when the independent variable is manipulated). |
| Confounding Variable | Factors that are not the independent variable that could influence the results of a study. |
| Validity | The extent to which an experiment measures/predicts what it is supposed to. |
| Descriptive Research Basic Purpose | To observe & record behavior |
| How is descriptive research conducted? | Case studies, naturalistic observations, surveys |
| What is manipulated in descriptive research? | Nothing |
| What weaknesses does descriptive research have? | No control variables; single cases may be misleading |
| Correlational Research Basic Purpose | To detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another |
| How is correlational research conducted? | Collect data on 2 or more variables |
| What is manipulated in correlational research? | Nothing |
| What weaknesses does correlational research have? | Cannot specify cause & effect |
| Experimental Research Basic Purpose | To explore cause & effect |
| How is experimental research conducted? | Manipulate one or more factors; use random assignment |
| What is manipulated in experimental research? | Independent variable(s), all others are held constant |
| What weaknesses does experimental research have? | Sometimes not feasible; results may not generalize to other contexts; not ethical to manipulate certain variables |
| Ethic Codes of the APA | 1. Obtain potential participant's informed consent to take part 2. Protect participants from greater-than-usual harm/discomfort 3. Keep info about participants confidential 4. Fully debrief people(explain research after, including temporary deceptions) |
| IRB | Institutional Review Boards (university ethics committees that have guidelines that screen research proposals & safeguard human participants' well-being. |
| Descriptive Statistics | Numerical data used to measure/describe characteristics of groups (includes measures of central tendency & variation) |
| Histogram | A bar graph that shows a frequency distribution |
| How can histograms/bar graphs be deceptive? | Can be designed to make differences more extreme than they actually are by changing how you label the y-axis |
| Measure of central tendency | A single score that represents a whole set of scores |
| Mode | Most frequent |
| Mean | Average (most impacted by outliers) |
| Median | Middle number |
| Skew | Lacks symmetry around the average value |
| Tail to the left & peak to the right | Left/negative skew |
| Tail to the right & peak to the left | Right/positive skew |
| Range | Gap between the highest & lowest |
| How does range help us investigate validity of data? | Helps us determine confidence (an average of 15 from 13-17 makes us more confident than an average of 15 from 5-25). |
| Standard Deviation | A measure of consistency (spread/variability) |
| Formula of SD | Square root of the sum of (deviations squared) divided by the number of scores |
| Normal Curve | Symmetrical & bell-shaped (most scores fall near the mean & fewer extremes) |
| Within 1 SD? | 68% |
| Within 2 SD? | 95% |
| Within 3 SD? | 99% |
| Bimodal | When there are 2 peaks in one data set |
| Inferential Statistics | Numerical data that allows us to generalize (to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population) |
| Things to consider when generalizing a sample to a population? | Representative samples are better than biased, larger samples are better, more replication is better |
| Statistical Significance | A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance. |
Created by:
ashlyl28