Unit 0 Terms Part 2

Question 1

Qualitative data

Answer 1

Information not expressed numerically, such as descriptions of behavior, thoughts, attitudes, and experiences.

Question 2

Debriefing

Answer 2

The post experimental explanation of study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

Question 3

Histogram

Answer 3

A bar graph depicting a frequency distribution

Question 4

Mean

Answer 4

The average of a distribution

Question 5

Percentile rank

Answer 5

The percentage of score that are lower than a given score

Question 6

Psychodynamic approach

Answer 6

Approach that views human behavior from the standpoint of unconscious motives that mold the personality, influence attitudes, and produce emotional disorder. Emphasis on tracing behavior to its origins

Question 7

Behavioral approach

Answer 7

Focuses on the effects of learning on our personality development

Question 8

Cognitive approach

Answer 8

uses experimental research methods to study internal mental processes such as attention, perception, memory, and decision-making

Question 9

Biological psychology

Answer 9

The scientific study of the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and psychological processes.

Question 9

Humanistic perspective

Answer 9

Assumption that people are essentially good and constructive, self-actualization is inherent, and humans will develop to their maximum potential in the proper environment

Question 10

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 10

The study of the evolution of behavior and the minds, using principles of natural selection

Question 11

Sociocultural perspective

Answer 11

Any viewpoint or approach to health, mental health, history, politics, economics, or any other area of human experience that emphasize the environmental factors of society, culture, and social interaction

Question 12

Biopsychological approach

Answer 12

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

Question 13

Social-cognitive approach

Answer 13

Theory that describes how people learn behaviors and interact with their environment by observing other and choosing behaviors to imitate

Question 14

W.E.I.R.D. cultures

Answer 14

Western, Educated, Industrialized Rich and Democratic
Aims to raise people’s consciousness about psychological differences and to emphasize that WEIRD people are but one unusual slice of humanity’s cultural diversity

Question 15

Experimental control

Answer 15

Regulation of all extraneous conditions and variables in an experiment

Question 16

Positive (direct) correlation

Answer 16

Relationship between two variables in which both rise and fall together. For example, one would expect to find a positive correlation between study hours and test performances.

Question 17

Representative sampling

Answer 17

The selection of study units from a larger group in an unbiased way, so the sample accurately reflects the total population.

Question 18

Convenience sampling

Answer 18

Process for selecting a sample of individuals that is neither random nor systematic but governed by chance or ready availability.

Question 19

Sampling

Answer 19

Process of selecting for study a limited number of units from a larger set

Question 20

Generalizability

Answer 20

The extent to which results or findings obtained are applicable to a broader population

Question 21

Placebo

Answer 21

A pharmacologically inert substance (sugar pill) that is often administered as a control in testing new drugs

Question 22

Variance

Answer 22

A measure of the spread, or dispersion, of scores within a sample or population, whereby a small variance indicates highly similar scores, all close to the sample mean, and vice versa

Question 23

Demand characteristics

Answer 23

Cues that may influence or bias participant’s behaviors

Question 24

Structured interview

Answer 24

Method for gathering information, used in surveys and personnel selection, in which questions and the wording are determined in advance

Question 25

Likert scale

Answer 25

A type of attitude measured that consists of statements reflecting a strong positive or negative evaluation of an object. Commonly a 5-point scale

Question 26

Deception

Answer 26

any distorting of or withholding of fact with purpose of misleading others

Question 27

Split-half reliability

Answer 27

Measure of the internal consistency of surveys, psychological tests, questionnaires, and other instruments or techniques that assess participant responses on particular structures

Question 28

Retest reliability

Answer 28

Measure of the consistency of results on a test or other assessment instrument over time, given as the correlation of score between the first and second administrations.

Question 29

Alternate-forms reliability

Answer 29

Measure of the consistency and freedom from error of a test, as indicated by a correlation coefficient obtained from responses to two or more alternate forms of the test

Question 30

Interrater reliability

Answer 30

Extent to which independent evaluators produce similar ratings in judging the same abilities or characteristics in the same target person or object

Question 31

Construct validity

Answer 31

How much a test measures a concept or trait

Question 32

Predictive validity

Answer 32

The success with which a test predicts the behaviors it is designed to predict; assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior

Question 33

Face validity

Answer 33

The apparent soundness of a test or measure

Question 34

Content validity

Answer 34

Extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

Question 35

Frequency distribution

Answer 35

A tabular representation of the number of times a specific value or datum point occurs. Left column lists different categories of a categorical variable or scores, the right list the number of occurrences for each

Question 36

Negative (inverse) correlation

Answer 36

Relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases.

Question 37

Directionality problem

Answer 37

The situation in which is it known that two variables are related although it is not known which is the cause and which is the effect

Question 38

Third-variable problem

Answer 38

The fact that an observed correlation between two variables may be due to the common correlation between each of the variables and a third variable rather than any underlying relationship of the two variables with each other

Question 39

Institutional Review Board

Answer 39

Committee named by an agency to review research proposals originating within that agency for ethical acceptability and compliance with the organization's codes of conduct

Question 40

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Answer 40

Committee responsible for overseeing an institute's program and research protocols involving nonhuman animals. Ensures human treatment towards animals

Question 41

Informed assent

Answer 41

Process where minors agree to participate without being able to legally give consent; typically given by an adult

Question 42

Confederate

Answer 42

In an experiment, an aide of the experimenter who poses as a participant but whose behavior is rehearsed prior to the experiment

Question 43

Cross-sectional study

Answer 43

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

Question 44

Longitudinal study

Answer 44

Research that follows and retests the same people over time

Question 45

Positive (right) skew

Answer 45

The few extreme scores towards the high end of the distribution

Question 46

Negative (left) skew

Answer 46

The few extreme scores towards the low end of the distribution

Question 47

Bimodal distribution

Answer 47

A set of score with two peaks or modes around which values tend to cluster, so frequencies first increase then decrease around each peak

Question 48

Spurious correlation

Answer 48

A situation in which variables are associated through their common relationship with one or more other variables but do not have a causal relationship with one another.

Question 49

R-values

Answer 49

Statistical measure that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables

Question 50

P-values

Answer 50

(Probability Value) The likelihood that the observed result would have been obtained if the null hypothesis of no real effect were true