Vocab
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Psychology
The study of the mind using biased or false data
Pseudopsychology
The factor that is manipulated by the researcher to determine its effect on another variable
Independent Variable
The factor that is being measure and that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable
Dependent Variable
Environmental factors - what a person is exposed to in life
Nurture
What people inherit - the biological groundwork that prepares a person to develop in certain ways
Nature
Research that is conducted for its own sake, that is, without seeking a solution to a specific problem
Basic Research
Practical application of accumulated theory, knowledge and technology toward a targeted purpose
Applied Research
The tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that you knew it all along.
Hindsight Bias
A prediction of assumption about behavior that is tested through scientific research
Hypothesis
Information acquired by direct observation and measurement using systematic scientific methods
Empirical Evidence
Things that people believe based on what they have experienced or heard.
Anecdotal Evidence
A representative segment of a target population
An unmeasured third variable that influences both the supposed cause and the supposed effect.
Confounding Variable
Students watched a cartoon either alone or with others and then rated how funny they found the cartoon to be.
IV: Students watching cartoon alone or with others
DV: How funny each student rated the cartoon to be
The participants who receive the treatment
Experimental Group
The group that does not receive the treatment
Control Group
An experiment in which neither the participant nor the researcher knows whether the participant has received the treatment or the placebo
Double Blind Study
An inert substance used in controlled experiments to test the effectiveness of another substance
Placebo
Workers at a company were assigned to one of two conditions: One group completed a stress management training program; another group of workers did not participate in the training. The number of sick days taken by these workers was examined for the two subsequent months
IV: Workers who completed a stress management training program or not.
DV: The number of sick days taken by the workers over two subsequent months.
The relationship between two variables
Correlation
The study of behavior in naturally occurring situations without manipulation or control on the part of the observe
Naturalistic Observation
An in-depth study of a single person or group to reveal some universal principle
Case Study
A survey population, selected by chance, which fairly represents the general population
Random Sample
Students at a University were split into two groups and each received a different text for a philosophy course. One group received a traditional textbook, while the other received an interactive textbook on a tablet computer. After the course, the final exam marks between the two groups of students was compared.
IV: Whether University students received a traditional textbook or an interactive textbook on a tablet computer
DV: The exam marks between the two groups of students