the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.

Thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be directly observed.

Any action that people can observe or measure

The tendency to favor information that confirms your existing beliefs.

The feeling after something happens that you knew it was going to happen.

Being more confident than correct; overestimating the accuracy of your beliefs.

Information from experiments or observations rather than theories.

A step-by-step method for conducting research.

A prediction that you can test through study and experimentation.

Something that can be proven wrong through tests.

The process of having other experts examine your work to check its validity.

Repeating a study to see if the same results are obtained.

The consistency of a research study or measuring test.

The accuracy of a test or research to measure what it claims to measure.

A major organization for psychologists in the United States.

The plan for a research study, determining how to collect and analyze data.

The specific procedures or techniques used to identify, select, process, and analyze information about a topic.

Data that can be counted or measured and given a numerical value.

Data that describes qualities or characteristics.

A scale used to represent people's attitudes or feelings; respondents specify their level of agreement to a statement.

Interviews where everyone is asked the same questions in the same way.

A method of gathering information by asking questions to people.

How the way a question is phrased can influence the answers given.

The tendency of respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others.

Watching behaviors occur naturally without interfering.

A detailed examination of a single subject or group.

A study that investigates the relationship between two variables to determine if they vary together.

A situation where an unseen variable affects the results of a study.

A graph in which the values of two variables are plotted along two axes, the pattern of the resulting points revealing any correlation present.

A number between -1 and 1 that describes the strength and direction of a relationship between variables.

A relationship where if one variable increases, the other does too.

A relationship where if one variable increases, the other decreases.

A method where the researcher manipulates one variable to see if it affects another.

The variable that is changed or controlled in a scientific experiment.

The variable that is tested and measured in a scientific experiment.

An extra variable that wasn't accounted for that could affect the results of an experiment.

Clearly defining how you will measure your variables in research.

The group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested.

The group in an experiment that does not receive the test variable.

Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, which helps ensure that any differences observed after the treatment are due to the treatment and not a preexisting difference.

A change in a participant's illness or behavior that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect, rather than the actual treatment.

When a researcher's expectations influence the outcome of a study.

When the participants do not know whether they are receiving the treatment or not.

When neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving a particular treatment.

A condition in which participants receive a placebo instead of the actual treatment.

A group of subjects selected from a larger population for study.

A randomly chosen sample of subjects from a larger population that accurately reflects the characteristics of the larger population.

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of being included.

A sample that does not accurately represent the population from which it was drawn.

The extent to which research findings can be applied to larger populations.

The science of collecting, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting data.

Statistics that summarize data, such as mean or standard deviation

Statistics used to infer the properties of a population, based on a sample of data.

A statistical measure that describes the center of a data set; includes mean, median, and mode.

The average of a set of numbers.

The middle number in a set of numbers arranged in order.

The number that appears most frequently in a data set.

The difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set.

A bell-shaped curve that shows data distribution; most scores fall near the middle.

The phenomenon that extreme values in data tend to be closer to the average on subsequent measurements.

When more scores fall on the low side of the scale and tail on the high side.

When more scores fall on the high side of the scale and tail on the low side.

A measure of how spread out numbers are around the mean.

The percentage of scores in a distribution that a specific score is greater than.

A distribution of data with two modes or peaks.

The likelihood that a result from data collected by an experiment is not due to chance.

A measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables.

A method of combining data from many different research studies.

Groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it is ethical.

Permission granted in the knowledge of the possible consequences, typically that which is given by a patient to a doctor for treatment with full knowledge of the possible risks and benefits.

Agreement by a minor or other not able to give legal consent to participate in the activity.

Keeping information given by participants in a research study private.

Misleading participants about the true purpose of a study or the events that will transpire.

Actors who take part in a study pretending to be real participants.

Explaining to participants at the end of a study the true purpose of the study and exactly what transpired.

This approach looks at how our unconscious mind and childhood experiences shape our behaviors and emotions.

Focuses on observable behaviors and how they're learned through interactions with the environment.

Emphasizes personal growth and the concept that everyone has the potential to achieve their own form of greatness.

Examines how we process information, including how we think, understand, and remember information.

Investigates the physical and biological bases of behavior, such as brain structures, chemicals, and genetics.

Considers how behaviors and mental processes might have developed over time to increase survival chances.

Looks at how our behaviors and thoughts are influenced by the society and culture we live in.

Integrates biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors to provide a comprehensive understanding of human behavior.