| scientific method | Method of studying nature based on systematic observation and rules of evidence.
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| empirical evidence | Evidence based on observations of publicly observable phenomena, such as behavior, that can be confirmed by other observers.
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| operational definition | A definition used in science that is explicitly based on the procedures, or operations, used to measure a scientific phenomenon, including behavior.
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| theories | Tentative explanations of facts and relationships in sciences.
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| hypothesis | A prediction based on a theory that is tested in a study.
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| sample | A group of human or nonhuman research participants studied to learn about an entire population of human beings or animals.
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| replication | Repeating studies based on the scientific principle that the results of studies should be doubted until the same results have been found in similar studies by other researchers.
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| descriptive studies | Methods of observation used to describe predictable behavior and mental processes.
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| survey method | A research method that uses interviews and questionnaires with individuals.
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| naturalistic observation | A research method based on recording behavior as it occurs in natural life settings.
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| clinical method | The method of studying people while they are receiving psychological help from a mental health professional.
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| correlational method | A research method that measures the strength of the relation between variables.
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| variable | A factor whose numerical value can vary.
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| quantitative measures | Capable of being measured in numerical terms.
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| coefficient of correlation | The numerical expression of the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.
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| formal experiment | A research method that allows the researcher to manipulate the independent variable to study its effect on the dependent variable.
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| independent variable | The variable whose quantitative value is independently controlled by the researcher.
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| dependent variable | The variable whose quantitative value is expected to depend on the effects of the independent variable.
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| experimental group | The group in an experiment that receives some value of the independent variable.
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| control group | The group in simple experiments that is not exposed to any level of the independent variable and is used for comparisons with the treatment group.
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| random assignment | The requirement that participants be assigned randomly to experimental conditions in formal experiments rather than in a systematic way.
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| experimental control | The requirement that all explanations for differences in the dependent variable are controlled in formal experiments, except for differences in conditions of the independent variable.
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| placebo effect | Changes in behavior produced by a condition in a formal experiment thought to be inert or inactive, such as a placebo pill.
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| blind experiment | A formal experiment in which the researcher who measures the dependent variable does not know which participants are in the experimental group or the control group. In double-blind experiments, the participants also do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group.
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| experimenter bias | Subtle but potentially powerful unintentional influences on the dependent variable caused by experimenters' interacting differently with participants in the experimental and control groups.
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