Term
|
Definition
| Methods designed to observe and describe behavior |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When behavior changes as a result of the observation process |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The extent to which results generalize to other situations or are representative of real life |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A descriptive research technique that records naturally occurring behavior as opposed to behavior produced in a laboratory |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A descriptive research technique in which the effort is focused on a single case, usually an individual |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A descriptive research thechnique designed to gather limited amounts of information from many people, usually by administering some kind of questionnaire |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A procedure guaranteeing that everyone in the population has an equal likelihood of being selected for the sample |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The arithmetic average of a set of scores |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The most frequently occurring score in a set of scores |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The middle point in an ordered set of scores; half of the scores fall at or below the median score, and half fall at or above the median score |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A measure of how much the scores in a distribution of scores differ from one another |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The difference between the largest and smallest scores in a distribution |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An indication of how much individual scores differ or vary from the mean |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Mathematical techniques that help researchers describe their data |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Mathematical techniques that help researchers decide whether data are representative of a population or whether differences among observations can be attributed to chance |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A statist that indicates whether two variables vary together in a systematic way; correlation coefficients vary from +1.00 to -1.00 |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Values for both variables move in the same direction; Ex: More hours worked, more money made |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Values for the two variables move in opposite directions; ex: the more time spent practicing, the less errors made |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| No statistical relationship is present: a value on one measure reveals nothing about the other measure. Ex: no correlation between hand washing and GPA |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A technique in which the investigator actively manipulates the environment to observe its effect on behavior |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The aspect of the environment that is manipulated in an experiment. It must consist of at least two conditions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The behavior that is measured or observed in an experiment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The subjects in an experiment that receive the change |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The subjects in an experiment that don't receive a change |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An uncontrolled variable that changes along with the independent variable. Can skew data about the dependent variable and mess up the experiment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When confounding variables are effectively controlled in an experiment, allowing for the determination of cause and effect |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A technique ensuring that each participant in an experiment has an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions in the experiment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An inactive, or inert, substance that resembles an experimental substance |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Experimental participants do not know which conditions they have been assigned. This is used to control subject expectancies |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Neither participants nor research observers are aware of who has been assigned to the experimental and control groups; it's used to control for both subject and experimenter expectancies. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The principle that before consenting to participate in research, people should be fully informed about any significant factors that might affect their willingness to participate |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| At the conclusion of an experimental session, informing the participants about the general purpose of the experiment, including any deception that was involved |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The principle that personal information obtained from a participant in research or therapy should not be revealed without the individual's permission |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Standard Deviation of Normal Distribution |
|
Definition
| 34% on either side of mean |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Scores are bounded at one end, usually with zero being the lower bound; measures unusual statistics like number of siblings people have. The mean > than the median or mode, which are usually zero |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Correlation does not always imply causation |
|
|
