AP psych chap 1

A scatterplot is a graph that is used to illustrate correlations. On a scatterplot, each point plots the values of two variables. If the points on the scatterplot show no pattern or relationship, the correlation is:

approchaing 0.00

A study of an individual may mislead us if the individual is atypical. This expresses a limitation of the _____ method of descriptive research.

case study

A(n) _____ is an observation technique in which one person or a small group is studied in depth.

case study

Noted developmental psychologist Jean Piaget based his theory in large part on in-depth examinations of his own three children. Piaget's work exemplifies the _____ research method.

case study

Which research method runs the greatest risk of collecting evidence that may be unrepresentative of what is generally true?

case study

Which research technique relies on the in-depth examination of an individual or group?

case study

A researcher is _____ her participants when she fully explains the study's purpose and any deception she may have used.

debriefing

Case studies and surveys are both types of _____ research.

descriptive

Cory creates a bar graph for a sales meeting. The graph MOST likely displays _____ statistics.

descriptive

A correlation coefficient of +0.80 indicates a(n) _____ relationship between two variables

direct

When the relationship between two variables is extremely strong, the correlation coefficient approaches:

either -1.00 or +1.00.

Cause-and-effect hypotheses may be tested in:

expriments

Robyn is considering leaving college to pursue a career in software development. She is impressed by an article that shows that some of the most successful entrepreneurs in this field did not complete college. Robyn is:

generalizing from a biased sample.

After a terrorist attack in Brussels, Sharon disagrees with others and believes that intelligence agencies could NOT have foreseen the event. Sharon is avoiding an error in thinking known as:

hindsight bias

Morton's family endured nearly three weeks of suffering after a horrific commuter-rail wreck left him in a coma. Morton was struggling for his life, and physicians predicted he would never wake up. On the nineteenth day, Morton suddenly awoke. Morton's Aunt Esther proudly exclaimed, "I knew Morty would pull through!" This illustrates:

hindsight bias

The head of an advertising agency predicts that the client's sales will double within six months after the new advertising campaign begins. This prediction is a(n):

hypothesis

The _____ is the score that divides a set of scores exactly in half.

median

Which research method is BEST for observing and recording behavior in various environments without trying to control the situation?

naturalistic observation

Dr. Zimmerman's study on love was controversial and other researchers wished to verify the results for themselves. In order to replicate the findings, which aspect of Dr. Zimmerman's study is MOST critical?

operational definition

Lucy is excited about her wedding this Sunday. She knows that she and Steve will be happy for the rest of their lives. No one has the heart to tell her that half of all marriages end in divorce. The tendency to make predictions about one's life with excessive certainty reflects an error in thinking called:

overconfidence

Rachael is excited about her wedding this Sunday. She strongly believes that she and Killian will be happy for the rest of their lives. But she also realizes that many marriages end in divorce and that she really cannot predict what will happen. She is trying to avoid _____, which she knows is a typical error in thinking.

overconfidence

A fake or "pretend" experimental treatment is called a:

placebo

The problem with common sense is that it is after the fact. In other words, common sense does NOT help us:

predict the future

When researchers state that the difference between sample averages is statistically significant, they mean that the difference is:

probably not caused by chance.

If a researcher chooses a sample of the population that gives each person an equal chance of participating, the researcher has selected a(n) _____ sample.

random

Researchers control factors such as age or attitudes that might influence a dependent variable by means of:

random assignment

Dr. Miller decided to conduct an exercise in his class in which two students each flipped a coin and record how many times they received heads or tails. One student had five heads in a row, while the other student's coin toss had no pattern. Dr. Miller explained that, while the five-head pattern is interesting, it is BEST explained by:

random events

Because a few extreme scores can create a deceptively large variation, the _____ offers only a crude estimate of the variation in a data set.

range

The _____ is the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

range

The process of redoing a study to see if its results hold up in different conditions with new participants is called:

replication

When trying to interpret a bar graph, it is important to check the _____ and note their _____.

scale labels; range

The self-correcting process psychologists use to ask questions and obtain answers is called:

scientfiic method

As compared with a theory, a hypothesis is more:

specific

When psychologists generalize from a sample, they do NOT need to keep in mind that:

unrepresentative samples are better than biased samples.