Chapter 2 Vocab Flashcards
(20 cards)
Naturalistic Observation
Research method where a psychologist observes the subject in a natural setting without interfering
Case study
Research method that involves an intensive investigation of one or more participants
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
Cross-sectional study
Research method in which data are collected from groups of participants of different ages and compared so that conclusion can be drawn about differences due to age
Correlation
The measure of a relationship between two variables or sets of data
Variable
Any factor that is capable of change
Experimental group
The group to which an independent variable is applied
control group
Group is treated the same way as experimental group except that the experimental treatment (independent variable) is not applied
self-fulfilling prophecy
Situation in which a researchers expectations influence that person’s own behavior and thereby influence the participants 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 experiment or northern participants know which participants received the treatment
Placebo effect
A change in participants 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 normal distributed data
Central Tendency
A number that describes something about the “average” score of a distribution variance
Standard deviation
Measure of variability that describes an average distance of every score from the mean
variance
A measuring a variability that is deviation from the deviations from the mean of the set of data
correlation coefficient
Describes the direction of strength from the relationship between the two sets of variables
Inferential statistics
Numerical methods used to determine whether research data supports a hypothesis or whether results due to chance -a branch of statistics that uses sample data to make predictions or conclusions about a population
