CHAPTER 1b Vocab

Question 1

The need to associate with others and maintain social bonds

Answer 1

Affiliation motive

Question 2

Personal stories about specific incidents and experiences

Answer 2

Anecdotal evidence

Question 3

An in-depth investigation of an individual subject

Answer 3

Case study

Question 4

The percentage of variation in one variable that can be predicted based on the other variable

Answer 4

Coefficient of determination

Question 5

A condition that exists whenever two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their independent effects

Answer 5

Confounding of variables

Question 6

Piaget’s term for the awareness that physical quantities remain constant in spite of changes in their shape or appearances

Answer 6

Conservation

Question 7

Subjects in a study who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group

Answer 7

Control group

Question 8

The extent to which two variables are related to each other

Answer 8

Correlation

Question 9

A numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables

Answer 9

Correlation coefficient

Question 10

Procedures for making empirical observations and measurements

Answer 10

Data collection techniques

Question 11

In an experiment, the variable that is thought to be affected by the manipulation of the independent variable

Answer 11

Dependent variable

Question 12

Statistics that are used to organize and summarize data

Answer 12

Descriptive statistics

Question 13

A research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups

Answer 13

Double blind procedures

Question 14

The premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation

Answer 14

Empiricism

Question 15

A research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result

Answer 15

Experiment

Question 16

The subjects in a study who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable

Answer 16

Experimental group

Question 17

A phenomenon that occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained

Answer 17

Experimenter bias

Question 18

Any variable other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study

Answer 18

Extraneous variables

Question 19

A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables

Answer 19

Hypothesis

Question 20

In an experiment, a condition or event that that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable

Answer 20

Independent Variable

Question 21

Statistics that are used to interpret data and draw conclusions

Answer 21

Inferential statistics

Question 22

A periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material, usually in a narrowly defined area of inquiry

Answer 22

Journal

Question 23

The arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution

Answer 23

Mean

Question 24

The score that falls exactly in the center of a distribution of scores

Answer 24

Median

Question 25

A family of mental exercises in which a conscious attempt is made to focus attention in a nonanalytical way

Answer 25

Meditation

Question 26

The score that occurs most frequently in a distribution

Answer 26

Mode

Question 27

A descriptive research method in which the researcher engages in careful, usually prolonged, observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects

Answer 27

Naturalistic observation

Question 28

A definition that describes the actions or operations that will be made to measure or control variable

Answer 28

Operational definition

Question 29

The persons or animals whose behavior is systematically observed in a study

Answer 29

Participants

Question 30

The fact that subjects' expectations can lead them to experience some change even though they receive an empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment

Answer 30

Placebo effects

Question 31

The larger collection of animals or people from which a sample is drawn and that researchers want to generalize about

Answer 31

Population

Question 32

The science that studies behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes that underlie it, and the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems

Answer 32

Psychology

Question 33

The constitution of groups in a study such that all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition

Answer 33

Random assignment

Question 34

The repetition of a study such that all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition

Answer 34

Replication

Question 35

Differing approaches to the manipulation and control of variables in empirical studies

Answer 35

Research methods

Question 36

A tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions

Answer 36

Response set

Question 37

The collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study

Answer 37

Sample

Question 38

A problem that occurs that occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn

Answer 38

Sampling bias

Question 39

A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself

Answer 39

Social desirability bias

Question 40

An index of the amount of variability in a set of data

Answer 40

Standard deviation

Question 41

The condition that exists when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low

Answer 41

Statistical significance

Question 42

The use of mathematics to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical data

Answer 42

Statistics

Question 43

The persons or animals whose behavior is systematically observed in a study

Answer 43

Subjects

Question 44

A descriptive research method in which researchers use questionnaires or interviews to gather information about specific aspects of subjects' behavior

Answer 44

Survey

Question 45

A system of interrelated ideas that is used to explain a set of observations

Answer 45

Theory

Question 46

The extent to which the scores in a data set tend to very from each other ad from the mean

Answer 46

Variability

Question 47

Any measurable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviors that are controlled or observed in a study

Answer 47

Variables