Psychology Chapter 2

It is unique with a genetic makeup and a personal history of an individual that no one else shares

case study

Haley reads about coffee.......then decides she is not drinking coffee again. What is this described by?

Media reports of psychological information leave out details about the nature of the sample used in a given study.

this measure of central tendency is found by adding up all of the scores and dividing that number by the total number of scores.

mean

A statistical procedure that summarizes a large body of evidence where the researcher asses the strength of the relationship between variables.

meta-analysis

A measure of central tendency that is the most common score in a sample

mode

The observation of behavior in a real-world setting without disturbing the environment

naturalistic observation

A harmless substance that has no physiological effect, given to participants in a control group during a study.

placebo

Experimental studies refer to the __________________ as a phenomenon in which the expectation of the participants produces an outcome.

placebo effect

The entire group about which the investigator wants to draw conclusions.

population

A person who is given a role to play in an experiment so that the social context can be manipulated. (DR. STANLEY'S INTERVIEWS)

confederate

What guideline does an office worker at a correctional facility violate when he tells his friends information about the inmates he works with?

confidentiality

Those who are not subjected to the change that the manipulated variable represents.

control group

Research that examines the relationship between variables with the purpose of determining whether and how two variable change together. (AARON WANTING TO STUDY SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND HOURS ON THE COMPUTER)

correlational Research

A type of correlational study in which variables are measured at a single point in time.

cross sectional study

A key aspect of the process of testing hypotheses

data analysis

Any aspect of a study that communicates to the participants how the experimenter wants them to behave.

demand characteristic

The outcome; the variable that may change in an experiment in response to changes in the independent variable

dependent variable

Research that determines the basic dimensions of a phenomenon. Examples of this are surveys, case studies, interviews, and observation

descriptive research

A sample that gives every member of the population an equal chance of being selected.

random sample

A measure of dispersion that is the difference between the highest and lowest scores.

range

The degree to which an experimental design actually reflects the real world issues

external validity

In the context of psychology, what is an educated guess that derives logically from a theory?

hypothesis

A special kind of systematic observation, used by correlational researchers that involves observing measures of the variables of interest in over time.

longitudinal design

The degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable.

internal validity

The subset of the population chosen by the investigator for the study.

sample

What is the median out of these scores? 10,10, 20, 30, 50

20

The influence of the experimenter's expectations on the outcome of research.

Experimenter Bias

Jamie studies time management where people arrive before noon are in the experimental group and people who arrive after noon are in the control group. What is wrong with her study?

She has not used true random assignment

A team of psychology students want to embarrass other students for a study. What APA guideline do they need? (something like that)

They must obtain consent of the participants after informing them.

An experimental design in which neither the experimenter nor the participants are aware of which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group until results are calculated.

double-blind experiment

A carefully regulated procedure in which the researcher manipulates one or more variables that is believed to influence some other variable

experiment

Those who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents.

experimental group

A correlational study to determine whether a casual relationship exists between variables

experimental relationship

A manipulated experimental factor; the variable that the experimenter changes to see what its effects are.

independent variable

The first step of the scientific method that involves conducting a scientific inquiry involves _______________.

observing a phenomen

In the context of psychology, what is a definition that provides an objective description of how a variable is going to be measured and observed in a particular study?

operation definition

A measure of dispersion that indicates how much the scores in a sample differ from the mean in the sample.

standard deviation

What is used to gain knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning?

the empirical method

A broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observations and to make predictions about future observations.

theory

A variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationship between two other variables

third variable problem