Scientific Method
A testable prediction
hypothesis
Examining one individual in depth to learn more about their behaviors
case study
the group that receives the placebo in an experiment
control group
A measure of central tendency for a distribution, represented by the score that occurs more often than any other
mode
An attempt to repeat the results of an original experiment
replication
Used to estimate wide spread attitudes or behaviors of a population
survey
the pseudo treatment is also known as
placebo
the tendency to believe after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
hindsight bias
A statement of the procedures used to define research variables
operational definition
Unobtrusive observations of people/animals in their natural environment
naturalistic observation
the group that receives the special treatment
experimental group
measure of variability that indicates the average difference between the scores and their mean
standard deviation
Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance
random assignment
The only research method that allows you to determine a causal relationship
experiments
In a weight-reduction experiment, an overweight individual was given what the researcher called a new type of diet pill that would help curb the desire to eat. In fact, the pill really contained powdered milk, but ever since the individual started taking the diet pill, he has reported that his desire to eat has decreased. This illustrates the
placebo effect
An observation that the higher the air temperature, the lower the activity of test animals would be an example of a
negative correlation
Dexter works for a magazine and is told by his editor to write an article on test scores in the local elementary school. He divides the students into groups based on grade level. He then examines the local test scores. In this study, the dependent variable is the ____________.
test scores of the students
Neither the participants nor the researcher collecting the data know which group receives treatment
double-blind procedure
modifying your behavior when you know you're being observed
Hawthorne effect
A researcher determines that the crime rate in a large city fluctuates with the phases of the moon. He concludes that the gravitational pull of the moon influences human behavior. He has committed what error?
incorrectly inferred causation from correlation