- is a testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
- directs research by enabling us to test and reject or revise theories.
- specifies the results that would support a theory and the results that would disconfirm it.
hypothesis
- is a statement of the procedures used to define research variables.
- the following carefully worded statement would be considered an example of this with regards to hunger: ‘hours without eating’.
- the following carefully worded statement would be considered an example of this with regards to generosity: ‘money contributed’.
- specifies the procedure used to manipulate the independent variable or to measure the dependent variable in an experiment.
- with regards to the variables used in a study, this answers the ‘what do you mean?’ question with a level of precision that enables others to repeat the study.
operational definition
- type of research design that describes behaviors but does not measure how closely associated they are or perform manipulations.
- type of research design that case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observations would all be considered examples of.
descriptive research
is an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in hope of revealing universal principles.
is an analysis of a special individual.
type of research method you would be using if you studied the impairments that an individual with a particular type of brain damage showed.
type of research method that Jean Piaget used when he drew conclusions about children’s thinking after carefully observing and questioning only a few children.
type of research method that may mislead us if the single individual being studied is atypical and unrepresentative of the larger population we wish to draw conclusions about.
case study
is the observing and recording of behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
type of research method that records behavior in natural environments.
type of research method the following would be an example of: watching chimpanzee societies in the jungle.
type of research method the following would be an example of: unobtrusively videotaping (and later systematically analyzing) parent-child interactions.
type of research method the following would be an example of: recording racial differences in students’ self-seating patterns in a school lunchroom.
naturalistic observation
-is a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.
-type of research method that asks people to report their behavior or opinions.
for this type of research method, the way questions are worded is an especially delicate matter, in terms of how it might affect people’s expressed opinions.
survey
- is a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.
- is typically sought in order to obtain a representative sample of a population.
- is the situation where every person in a given population has an equal chance of participating in a study.
random sample
- type of research design that associates different factors but does not manipulate them.
- type of research method that measures the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.
- type of research design that, by measuring associations, indicates the possibility of cause-effect relationships but does not prove them.
correlational research
- is a statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1).
- is a statistical measure of how strongly two things are related.
- type of statistical measure that can be visually illustrated using a type of graph known as a scatterplot.
- type of measure that is positive if two sets of scores, such as height and weight, tend to rise or fall together.
- type of measure that is negative if two sets of scores relate inversely, with one set going up as the other goes down.
correlational coefficient
- type of research design that manipulates factors to discover their effects.
- is a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process.
experimental research
- in an experiment, this is the group that is exposed to the treatment.
- in an experiment, this group is exposed to one version of the independent variable.
experimental group
- in an experiment, this is the group that is NOT exposed to the treatment.
- in an experiment, this group serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.
control group
- is the placement of participants to experimental and control groups by chance.
- effectively equalizes any pre-existing differences between participants in the experimental and control groups.
random assignment
- is an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the. research staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo.
- experimental procedure that controls for possible placebo and experimenter expectancy effects.
double-blind procedure
is an experimental result caused by expectations alone.
is any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.
placebo effect
is the experimental factor that is manipulated.
is the variable whose effect is studied in an experiment.
is the experimental factor that the experimenter varies independently of other possible confounding variables.
indépendant variable
- is a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment.
- type of variable that random assignment controls for.
confounding variable
- is the outcome factor in an experiment.
- is the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.
- is the experimental factor that can vary depending on what takes place during the experiment.
dependant variable
- is a statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.
- a difference is said to have this when sample averages are reliable and when the difference between them is relatively large.
- indicates that an observed difference is probably not due to chance variation between samples.
- psychologists judge this as existing only when the odds of a finding occurring by chance, if no real effect exists, are less than 5 percent.
- indicates the likelihood that a result will happen by chance but does not say anything about the importance of the result.
statistical significance
is an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate
informed consent
is the postexperimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants
debreifing
