Unit 0 Terms

Question 1

Overconfidence

Answer 1

The tendency to be more confident than correct- to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments

Question 2

Hindsight bias

Answer 2

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.
(“I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon”)

Question 3

Peer reviewers

Answer 3

Scientific experts who evaluate a research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy

Question 4

False-consensus effect

Answer 4

Tendency to assume that one’s own opinions, beliefs, attributes, or behaviors are more widely shared than is actually the case

Question 5

Confirmation bias

Answer 5

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Question 6

Falsifiable hypothesis

Answer 6

The possibility that an idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment

Question 7

Operational definition

Answer 7

A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures. How you are quantifiably measuring the variable.

Question 8

Replication

Answer 8

Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced

Question 9

Case study

Answer 9

A non-experimental technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Question 10

Naturalistic observation

Answer 10

A non-experimental technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Question 11

Z- scores

Answer 11

The standardized score that results from applying a z-score transformation to raw data

Question 12

Social desirability bias

Answer 12

Bias from people’s responding in ways they presume a researcher expects or wishes

Question 13

Variable

Answer 13

Anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

Question 14

Scatterplot

Answer 14

A graphed cluster of dots, each which represents the values of two variables. Slope suggests the direction of the relationship between two variables. The amount of scatter suggests the strength of correlation. (Little scatter indicates high correlation)

Question 15

Illusory correlation

Answer 15

Perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship.

Question 16

Regression toward the mean

Answer 16

The tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back toward the average

Question 17

Experiment

Answer 17

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process

Question 18

Experimental group

Answer 18

The group exposed to the treatment

Question 19

Random assignment

Answer 19

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups

Question 20

Control group

Answer 20

The group not exposed to the treatment

Question 21

Single blind procedure

Answer 21

Procedure in which participants are unaware of the experimental conditions under which they are operating

Question 22

Double blind procedure

Answer 22

Procedure in which both participants and the experimenters interacting with them are unaware of the particular experimental conditions

Question 23

Placebo effect

Answer 23

Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent

Question 24

Independent variable

Answer 24

The factor that is manipulated

Question 24

Random sample

Answer 24

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Question 24

Self-report bias

Answer 24

Bias when people report their behaviors inaccurately

Question 25

Sampling bias

Answer 25

A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Question 25

Population

Answer 25

All those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

Question 26

Correlation(al)

Answer 26

A measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

Question 27

Informed consent

Answer 27

Giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate.

Question 28

Descriptive statistics

Answer 28

Numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups; include measure of central tendency and measures of variation

Question 29

Mode

Answer 29

The most frequently occurring scores

Question 30

Median

Answer 30

The middle score in distribution

Question 31

Range

Answer 31

The difference between the highest and lowest scores

Question 32

Standard deviation

Answer 32

A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

Question 33

Normal curve

Answer 33

A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean and fewer score lie near the extremes

Question 34

Inferential statistics

Answer 34

Numerical data that allow one to generalize- to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

Question 35

Meta analysis

Answer 35

A statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion

Question 36

Statistical significance

Answer 36

A statistical statement of how likely it is that a result occurred by chance, assuming there is no difference between the populations being studied

Question 37

Effect size

Answer 37

The strengths of the relationship between two variables. The larger the effect size, the more one variable can be explained by the other

Question 38

Quasi-experimental research

Answer 38

Research in which the investigator cannot randomly assign units of participants to conditions, cannot generally control or manipulate the independent variable, and cannot limit the influence of extraneous variables. Also called nonexperimental research

Question 39

Testability

Answer 39

The degree to which a hypothesis or theory is capable of being evaluated empirically

Question 40

Null hypothesis

Answer 40

A statement that a study will find no meaningful differences between the groups or conditions under investigation, such that there is no relationship among the variables of interest and that any variation in observed data is the result of chance or random processes.

Question 41

Sample

Answer 41

A subset of the population of interest, selected for study with the aim of making inferences to the population

Question 42

Random selection

Answer 42

A procedure for random sampling of a set of participants or units from a larger set that relies on the use of a chance process to minimize risk of researcher bias, either conscious or nonconscious

Question 43

Confounding variable

Answer 43

In an experiment, a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study's results

Question 44

Experimenter bias

Answer 44

Bias caused when researchers may unintentionally influence results to confirm their own beliefs

Question 45

Dependent variable

Answer 45

In an experiment, the outcome that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

Question 46

Non experimental

Answer 46

Research that lacks the manipulation of an independent variable

Question 47

Quantitative data

Answer 47

Quantifiable, numerical data