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Psychology & Life Chapter 2
The Process of Research, Psychological Measurement, Ethical Issues in Human and Animal Research,
32
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
07/07/2012

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Term
theory
Definition

An organized set of concepts that explains a phenomenon or set of

phenomena.

Term
determinism
Definition

The doctrine that all events—physical, behavioural, and

mental—are determined by specific causal factors that are potentially

knowable.

Term
hypothesis
Definition

A tentative and testable explanation of the relationship

between two (or more) events or variables; often stated as a prediction

that a certain outcome will result from specific conditions.

Term
observer bias
Definition

The distortion of evidence because of the personal motives

and expectations of the viewer.

Term
standardization
Definition

A set of uniform procedures for treating each participant

in a test, interview, or experiment, or for recording data.

Term
operational definition
Definition

A definition of a variable or condition in terms of

the specific operation or procedure used to determine its presence.

Term
variable
Definition

In an experimental setting, a factor that varies in amount and

kind.

Term
independent variable
Definition

In an experimental setting, a variable that the

researcher manipulates with the expectation of having an impact on

the value of the dependent variable.

Term
dependent variable
Definition

In an experimental setting, a variable that the

researcher measures to assess the impact of a variation in an

independent variable.

Term
experimental methods
Definition

Research methodologies that involve the

manipulation of independent variables in order to determine their

effects on the dependent variables.

Term
confounding variable
Definition

A stimulus other than the variable an experimenter

explicitly introduces into a research setting that affects a participant’s

behaviour.

Term
expectancy effects
Definition

Results that occur when a researcher or observer subtly

communicates to participants the kind of behaviour he or she expects

to find, thereby creating that expected reaction.

Term
placebo effect
Definition

A change in behaviour in the absence of an experimental

manipulation.

Term
control procedures
Definition

Consistent procedures for giving instructions, scoring

responses, and holding all other variables constant except those being

systematically varied.

Term
double-blind control
Definition

An experimental technique in which biased

expectations of experimenters are eliminated by keeping both

participants and experimental assistants unaware of which participants

have received which treatment.

Term
placebo control
Definition

An experimental condition in which treatment is not

administered, used in cases where a placebo effect might occur.

Term
between-subjects design
Definition

A research design in which different groups of

participants are randomly assigned to experimental conditions or to

control conditions.

Term
random assignment
Definition

A procedure by which participants have an equal

likelihood of being assigned to any condition within an experiment.

Term
experimental group
Definition

A group in an experiment that is exposed to a

treatment or experiences a manipulation of the independent variable.

Term
control group
Definition

A group in an experiment that is not exposed to a

treatment or does not experience a manipulation of the independent

variable.

Term
sample
Definition
A subset of a population selected as participants in an experiment.
Term
population
Definition

The entire set of individuals about which generalizations will

be made based on an experimental sample.

Term
representative sample
Definition

A subset of a population that closely matches the

overall characteristics of the population with respect to the distribution

of males and females, racial and ethnic groups, and so on.

Term
within-subjects design
Definition

A research design that uses each participant as his

or her own control; for example, the behaviour of an experimental

participant before receiving treatment might be compared to his or her

behaviour after receiving treatment.

Term
correlational methods
Definition

Research methodologies that determine to what

extent two variables, traits, or attributes are related.

Term
correlation coefficient (r)
Definition

A statistic that indicates the degree of

relationship between two variables.

Term
reliability
Definition

The degree to which a test produces similar scores each time

it is used; stability or consistency of the scores produced by an

instrument.

Term
validity
Definition

The extent to which a test measures what it was intended to

measure.

Term
self-report measures
Definition

The behaviours that are identified through a

participant’s own observations and reports.

Term
behavioural measures
Definition

Overt actions and reactions that are observed and

recorded, exclusive of self-reported behaviour.

Term
case study
Definition

Intensive observation of a particular individual or small group

of individuals.

Term
debriefing
Definition

A procedure conducted at the end of an experiment in which

the researcher provides the participant with as much information

about the study as possible and makes sure that no participant leaves

feeling confused, upset, or embarrassed.

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