Psychology Research Methods Quiz

Study Notes

Specific: Pertains to a distinct category within a broader context.
Constitute: Refers to the components or elements that form a whole.
Naturalistic observation: A research method where subjects are observed in their usual environment without interference, allowing for the collection of genuine behavioral data.
Case study: In-depth investigation of one or more individuals, providing detailed insights but limiting generalization.
Longitudinal study: Gathers data from a same group over several years, tracking changes or stability in specific characteristics across development stages.
Cross-sectional study: Examines different age groups simultaneously, enabling comparisons to identify age-related differences.
Correlation: Quantifies the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.
Variable: Any element that can vary and potentially impact study outcomes.
Experimental group: The subset of participants subjected to an independent variable to assess its effects.
Control group: Treated identically to the experimental group except for the independent variable, serving as a baseline for comparison.
Eliminate: The act of removing or disregarding factors that may introduce bias or extraneous results.
Evaluate: The process of assessing the importance or relevance of data and outcomes.

Self-fulfilling prophecy: When a researcher’s expectations lead to behaviors that confirm the initial hypothesis, impacting both researcher and participant actions.
Single-blind experiment: Participants do not know if they are in the treatment or control group, minimizing bias in response.
Double-blind experiment: Neither participants nor researchers know the group assignments, eliminating bias from both sides.
Placebo effect: Changes in participants due to their belief in the efficacy of a treatment, rather than the treatment itself.

Statistics: A field focused on organizing and interpreting data to draw meaningful conclusions.
Significant: A term used to describe findings that are unlikely to have occurred by chance, indicating meaningful results.
Descriptive statistics: Methods for summarizing and conveying data succinctly and effectively.
Frequency distribution: A method of organizing data to show how frequently each score or observation appears.
Normal curve: A graphical representation of data that follows a bell-shaped distribution, indicative of normally distributed outcomes.
Central tendency: Refers to measures that represent the center or most common value within a data set, though not fully defined in the provided content.