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PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 2 - Psychology as a Science
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| determinism | the assumption that every event has physical, potentially measurable, causes |
| skepticism | an attitude that doubts all claims not supported by solid research evidence |
| scientific method | a source of knowledge based on the assumption that knowledge comes from the objective, systematic observation and measurement of particular variables and the events they affect |
| hypothesis | a testable prediction about the relationship between two or more events or characteristics |
| statistics | mathematical techniques used to summarize research data or to determine whether the data support the researcher's hypothesis |
| replication | the repetition of a research study, usually with some alterations in its methods or setting, to determine whether the principles derived from that study hold up under similar circumstances |
| measurement | the use of numbers to represent events or characteristics |
| operational definition | the definition of behaviors or qualities in terms of the procedures used to measure or produce them |
| theory | an integrated set of statements that summarizes and explains research findings and from which research hypotheses can be derived |
| descriptive research | research that involves the recording of behaviors that have been observed systematically |
| naturalistic observation | the recording of the behavior of people or animals in their natural environments, with little or no intervention by the researcher |
| ethology | the study of animals behavior in the natural environment |
| survey | a set of questions related to a particular topic of interest administered to a sample of people through an interview or questionnaire |
| case study | an in-depth study of an individual |
| sample | a group of participants selected from a population |
| population | a group of individuals who share certain characteristics |
| random sampling | the selection of a sample form a population so that each member of the population has an equal chance of being included |
| psychological test | a formal sample of a person's behavior, whether written or performed |
| standardization | (1) a procedure ensuring that a test is administered and scored in a consistent manner. (2) a procedure for establishing test norms by giving a test to large samples of people who are representatives of those for whom the test is designed |
| norm | a score, based on the test performances of large numbers of participants, that is used as a standard for assessing the performances of test takers |
| reliability | the extent to which a test gives consistent results |
| validity | the extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure |
| archival research | the systematic examination of collections of letters, manuscripts, tape recordings, video recordings, or other records |
| correlational research | research that studies the degree of relationship between two or more variables |
| correlation | the degree of relationship between two or more variables |
| variable | an event, behavior, condition, or characteristic that has two or more values |
| positive correlation | a correlation in which variables tend to change values in the same direction |
| negative correlation | a correlation in which variables tend to change values in opposite directions |
| causation | an effect of one or more variables on another variable |
| experimental method | research that manipulates one or more variables, while controlling other factors, to determine the effects on one or more other variables |
| independent variable | a variable manipulated by the experimenter to determine its effect on another, dependent, variable |
| dependent variable | a variable showing the effect of the independent variable |
| experimental group | participants in an experiment who are exposed to the experimental conditon of interest |
| control group | the participants in an experiment who are not exposed to the experimental condition of interest |
| internal validity | the extent to which changes in a dependent variable can be attributed to one or more independent variables rather than to a confounding variable |
| confounding variable | a variable whose unwanted effect on the dependent variable might be confused with that of the independent variable |
| random assignment | the assignment of participants to experimental and control conditions so that each participant is as likely to be assigned to one condition as to another |
| participant bias | the tendency of people who know they are participants in a study to behave differently than they normally would |
| experimenter bias effect | the tendency of experimenters to let their experiencies alter the way they treat their participants |
| double blind technique | a procedure that controls experimenter bias and participant bias by preventing experimenters and participants from knowing which participants have been assigned to particular conditions |
| placebo | an inactive substance that might induce some of the effects of the drug for which it has been substituted |
| external validity | the extent to which the results of a research study can be generalized to other people, animals, or settings |
| descriptive statistics | statistics that summarize research data |
| measure of central tendency | a statistic that represents the typical score in a set of scores |
| mode | the score that occurs most frequently in a set of scores |
| median | the middle score in a set of scores that have been ordered from lowest to highest |
| mean | the arithmetic average of a set of scores |
| measure of variability | a statistic describing the degree of dispersion in a set of scores |
| range | a statistic representing the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a set of scores |
| standard deviation | a statistic representing the degree of dispersion of a set of scores around their mean |
| variance | a measure based on the average deviation of a set of scores from their group mean |
| coefficient of correlation | a statistic that assesses the degree of association between two or more variables |
| inferential statistics | statistics used to determine whether changes in a dependent variable are caused by an independent variable |
| statistical significance | a low probability, usually less than 5 percent, that the results of a research study are due to chance factors rather than to the independent variable |
| meta-analysis | a technique that combines the results of many similar studies to determine the effect size of a particular kind of independent variable |
| debriefing | a procedure, after the completion of a research study, that informs participants of the purpose of the study and aims to remove any physical or psychological disress caused by participation |
Created by:
Jessica C