Midterm 1

Question 0

Scientific Method

Answer 0

A set of principles about the appropriate relationship between ideas and evidence.

Question 1

Empiricism

Answer 1

The belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation.

Question 2

Theory

Answer 2

A hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomenon.

Question 3

Hypothesis

Answer 3

A falsifiable prediction made by a theory.

Question 4

Empirical method

Answer 4

A set of rules and techniques for observation.

Question 5

Operational Definition

Answer 5

A description of a property in concrete, measurable terms.

Question 6

Measure

Answer 6

A device that can detect the condition to which an operational definition refers.

Question 7

Electromyograph (EMG)

Answer 7

A device that measures muscle contractions under the surface of a persons skin.

Question 8

Validity

Answer 8

The extent to which a measurement and a property are conceptually related.

Question 9

Reliability

Answer 9

The tendency for a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing.

Question 10

Power

Answer 10

The ability of a measure to detect the concrete conditions specified in the operational definition.

Question 11

Demand Characteristics

Answer 11

Those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think they should.

Question 12

Naturalistic Observation

Answer 12

A technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural enviroments.

Question 13

Double-Blind

Answer 13

An observation whose true purpose is hidden from both the observer and the person being observed.

Question 14

Frequency Distribution

Answer 14

A graphical representation of measurements arranged by the number of times each measurements was made.

Question 15

Normal Distribution

Answer 15

A mathematically defined frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the middle.

Question 16

Mode

Answer 16

The value of the most frequently observed measurements.

Question 17

Mean

Answer 17

The average value of a the measurements.

Question 18

Median

Answer 18

The value that is “in the middle”- i.e. greater than or equal to half of the measurements and less than or equal to half of the measurements.

Question 19

Range

Answer 19

The value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement.

Question 20

Standard Deviation

Answer 20

A statistic that describes the average difference between the measurements in a frequency distribution and the mean of that distribution.

Question 21

Variable

Answer 21

A property whose value can vary across individuals or over time.

Question 22

Correlation

Answer 22

Two variables are said to “be correlated” when variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other.

Question 23

Correlation Coefficient

Answer 23

A measure of the direction and strength of a correlation which is signifies by the letter r.

Question 24

Natural Correlation

Answer 24

A correlation observed in the world around us.

Question 25

Third-Variable Correlation

Answer 25

The fact that two variables are correlated only because each is casually related to a third variable.

Question 26

Matched Samples

Answer 26

A technique whereby the participants in two groups are identical in terms of a third variable.

Question 27

Matched Pairs

Answer 27

A technique whereby each participant is identical to one other participant in terms of a third variable.

Question 28

Third-Variable Problem

Answer 28

The fact that a casual relationship between two variables cannot be inferred from the naturally occurring correlation between them because of the ever-present possibility of third-variable correlation.

Question 29

Experiment

Answer 29

A technique for establishing the casual relationship between variables.

Question 30

Manipulation

Answer 30

The creating of an artificial pattern of variation in a variable in order to determine its casual powers.

Question 31

Independent Variable

Answer 31

The variable that is manipulated in an experiment.

Question 32

Experimental Group

Answer 32

The group of people who are treated in a particular way, as compared to the control group, in an experiment.

Question 33

Control Group

Answer 33

The group of people who are not treated in the particular way that the experimental group is treated in an experiment.

Question 34

Dependent Variable

Answer 34

The variable that is measured in a study.

Question 35

Self-Selection

Answer 35

A problem that occurs when anything about a person determines whether he or she will be included in the experimental or control group.

Question 36

Random Assignment

Answer 36

A procedure that uses a random event to assign people to the experimental group or control group.

Question 37

Internal Validity

Answer 37

The characteristic of an experiment that establishes the casual relationship between variables.

Question 38

External Validity

Answer 38

A property of an experiment in which the variables have been operationally defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way.

Question 39

Population

Answer 39

The complete collection of participants who might possibly be measured.

Question 40

Sample

Answer 40

The partial collection of people drawn from a population.

Question 41

Case Method

Answer 41

A method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual.

Question 42

Random Sampling

Answer 42

A technique for choosing participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.