AP Psych Unit 1.2 - 1.6 Vocabulary

Which of the following is defined as a series of observations conducted under controlled conditions to study a relationship with the purpose of drawing causal inferences about that relationship.

• experiments

• surveys

• direct observation

• case studies

Which of the following is defined as a study in which a group of participants is selected from a population and data about or opinions from those participants are collected, measured, and analyzed. Information typically is gathered by interview or self-report questionnaire. If sampling is done correctly, the results may be generalized to the whole population.

• experiment

• survey

• direct observation

• case study

Which of the following is defined as a method of collecting data in which a researcher simply views or listens to the subjects of the research, without asking specific questions or manipulating any variables. The method of direct observation is useful in evaluation research or field research.

• experiment

• survey

• direct observation

• case study

Which of the following is defined as an in-depth investigation of a single individual, family, event, or other entity. Multiple types of data (psychological, physiological, biographical, environmental) are assembled, for example, to understand an individual’s background, relationships, and behavior. Although this type of research allows for intensive analysis of an issue, it is limited in the extent to which the findings may be generalized.

• experiment

• survey

• direct observation

• case study

Which of the following is defined as the extent to which results or findings obtained from a sample are applicable to a broader population. A finding that has this characteristic is also said to have greater external validity, in that conclusions pertain to situations beyond the original study.

• generalizability

• conditions

• random sampling

• random assignment

Which of the following is defined as: in statistics and experimental research, a category or level of a variable whose values are manipulated by a researcher. Study participants are then assigned to receive or be exposed to one or more of these.

• generalizability

• conditions

• random selection

• random assignment

Which of the following is defined as a procedure for random sampling of a set of participants or units from a larger set that relies on the use of a chance process (like tossing a coin) to minimize risk of researcher bias, either conscious or nonconscious.

• generalizability

• conditions

• random selection

• random assignment

Which of the following is defined as: in experimental design, the allocation of participants or units to the different conditions of an experiment entirely at random, so that each unit or participant has an equal likelihood of being assigned to any particular condition. In clinical trials, this decreases the confounding of the treatment factor with other factors by making the treatment and control groups approximately comparable in all respects except for the treatment.

• generalizability

• controls

• random selection

• random assignment

Which of the following is defined as a variable, other than the independent variable that you're interested in, that may affect the dependent variable.

• independent variable

• dependent variable

• confounding variable

• operational definition

Which of the following is defined as the variable in an experiment that is specifically manipulated or is observed to occur before the dependent, or outcome, variable, in order to assess its effect or influence.

• independant variable

• dependent variable

• confounding variable

• operational definition