psy chp 2

the procedures by which scientists conduct research, consisting of five basic processes: observation, prediction, testing, interpretation, and communication

a set of related assumptions from which scientists can make testable predictions

a specific, informed, and testable prediction of the outcome of a particular set of conditions in a research design

the repetition of a study to confirm the results; essential to the scientific process

claims presented as scientific that are not supported by evidence obtained with the scientific method

plans of action for how to conduct a scientific study

a characteristic that changes, such as age, gender, weight, intelligence, anxiety, and extraversion

the entire group population a researcher is interested in

subsets of the population studied in a research project

the tendency toward favorable self-presentation that could lead to inaccurate self-reports

study designs in which the researcher defines a problem and variable of interest but makes no prediction and does not control or manipulate anything

a study design in which a psychologist, often a therapist, observes one person over a long period of time

a study in which the researcher unobtrusively observes and records behavior in the real world

a research sample that accurately reflects the population of people one is studying

studies that measure two or more variables and their relationship to one another; not designed to show causation

a statistic that ranges from -1.0 to +1.0 and assesses the strength and direction of association between two variables

a research design that includes independent variables and random asssignment of participants to control and experimental groups or conditions

a property that is manipulated by the experimenter under controlled conditions to determine whether it causes the predicted outcome of an experiment

in an experiment, the outcome or response to the experimental manipulation

the method used to assign participants to different research conditions so that all participants have the same chance of being in any specific group

a group consisting of those participants who will receive the treatment or whatever is predicted to change behavior

a group of research participants who are treated in exactly the same manner as the experimental group, except that they do not receive the independent variable or treatment

a substance or treatment that appears identical to the actual treatment but lacks the active substance

studies in which participants do not know the experimental conditions (group) to which they have been assigned

studies in which neither the participants nor the researchers administering the treatment know who has been assigned to the experimental or control group

results that occurs when the behavior of the participants is influenced by the experimenter’s knowledge of who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group

a statement that affects events to cause the predictions to become true

a research and statistical technique for combining all research results on one question and drawing a conclusion

a measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables or the magnitude of an experimental effect

written or oral accounts of a person’s thoughts, feelings, or actions

measures based on systematic observation of people’s actions either in their normal environment or in a laboratory setting

measures of bodily responses, such as blood pressure or heart rate, used to determine changes in psychological state

the use of several measures to acquire data on one aspect of behavior

Collection, analysis, interpreation, and presentation of numerical data

measure used to describe and summarize research data

the arithmetic average of a series of numbers

the score that separates the lower half of scores from the upper half

a statistic that represents the most commonly occurring score or value

a stastistical measure of how much scores in a sample vary around the mean

the rules governing the conduct of a person or group in general or in a specific situation—or more simply, standards of right and wrong

the explanation of the purposes of a study following data collection

organizations that evaluate research proposals to make sure research involving humans does not cause undue harm or distress

research method similar to an experimental design except that it makes use of naturally occurring groups rather than randomly assiging subjects to groups