AP Psychology Unit 2 Flashcards

Psychological Concepts and Research Methods

• Hindsight bias: The belief that one could have predicted an event after knowing the outcome, encapsulated by the phrase "I knew it all along."

• Theory: A well-substantiated hypothesis supported by a significant amount of data.

• Hypothesis: A testable prediction derived from a theory; it represents the first step in the experimental process.

• Operational definition: Explicit procedures used to define research variables, ensuring clarity on how variables will be measured and manipulated.

Research Techniques

• Case study: A detailed observational method focusing on a single individual to uncover universal principles or insights.

• Survey: A research method that gathers information through interviews or questionnaires to understand how people think and behave.

• Population: The complete group of individuals that a study intends to analyze or describe.

• Random sample: A subset of the population selected randomly, ensuring each member has an equal chance of being included, promoting representativeness.

• Naturalistic observation: Observing behavior in its natural context without interfering or altering the environment.

Correlation and Experimentation

• Correlation: A statistical measure that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.

• Correlation coefficient: A numerical value ranging from -1 to +1 that quantifies the degree of correlation between two variables.

• Illusory correlation: The false perception of a relationship between two variables where none actually exists.

• Experiment: A research method wherein one or more independent variables are manipulated to observe their effect on a dependent variable.

• Random assignment: The process of allocating participants to different experimental conditions by chance, helping to minimize preexisting differences.

• Double-blind study: An experimental design in which both the participants and researchers are unaware of who receives the treatment or placebo, reducing bias.

Variables in Research

• Placebo effect: Changes in participants' behavior or feelings induced solely by their expectations rather than the treatment itself.

• Independent variable: The variable that is manipulated in an experiment to observe its effect.

• Confounding variable: An external variable that could influence the results of an experiment, thus complicating the interpretation of the effects of the independent variable.

• Dependent variable: The measured outcome in an experiment that is expected to change as a result of manipulations to the independent variable.

Statistical Measures

• Mode: The most frequently occurring score in a dataset.

• Mean: The average value of a dataset, calculated by summing all the values and dividing by their number.

• Median: The middle value in a sorted list of numerical data, or the average of the two central values if the list has an even number of entries.

• Range: The difference between the highest and lowest values in a dataset, providing a measure of variability.

• Standard deviation: A calculated measure reflecting how much scores in a dataset deviate from the mean, indicating the spread of data points.

• Normal curve: A symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution curve where most scores are near the average, with fewer scores at the extremes.

• Statistical significance: Indicates the likelihood that a result occurred by chance, guiding the interpretation of data results.

Ethical Considerations

• Informed consent: The process of informing participants about the study's risks and obtaining their agreement to partake.