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| a characteristic that is well designed for survival and reproduction in a particular environment |
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| examination of systematic data originally collected for other purposes (such as marriage licenses or arrest records) |
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| an intensive examination of an individual or group |
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| a variable that systematically changes along with the independent variable, potentially leading to a mistaken conclusion about the effect of the independent variable |
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| the extent to which two or more variables are associated with one another |
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| a mathematical expression of the relationship between two variables |
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| the beliefs, customs, habits, and language shared by the people living in a particular time and place |
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| a discussion of procedures, hypotheses, and participant reactions at the completion of the study |
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| cue that makes participants aware of how the experimenter expects them to behave |
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| the variable measured by the experimenter |
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| procedure for measuring or recording behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in their natural state (including naturalistic observations, case studies, archival studies, and surveys) |
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| a theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in the physical and psychological predispositions that helped our ancestors survive and reproduce |
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| a research method in which the researcher sets out to systematically manipulate one source of influence while holding others constant |
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| procedure for uncovering causal processes by systematically manipulating some aspect of a situation |
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| a researcher's prediction about what he or she will find |
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| the variable manipulated by the experimenter |
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| the extent to which the results of an experiment can be generalized to other circumstances |
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| the manipulation of independent variables using unknowing participants in natural settings |
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| the extent to which the findings of a particular research study extend to other similar circumstances or cases |
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| the extent to which an experiment allows confident statements about cause and effect |
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| the process by which characteristics that help animals survive and reproduce are passed on to their offspring |
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| recording everyday behaviors as they unfold in their natural settings |
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| error introduced into measurement when an observer overemphasizes behaviors he or she expects to find and fails to notice behaviors he or she does not expect |
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| features or characteristics that individuals carry into social situations |
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| instrument for assessing a person's abilities, cognition, motivations, or behaviors |
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| the practice of assigning participants to treatments so each person has an equal chance of being in any condition |
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| the consistency of the score yielded by a psychological test |
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| a group of respondents having characteristics that match those of the larger population the researcher wants to describe |
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| environmental events or circumstances outside the person |
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| social cognitive perspective |
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| a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, and remembering social experiences |
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| the tendency for people to say what they believe is appropriate or acceptable |
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| social learning perspective |
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| a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on past learning experiences as determinants of a person's social behaviors |
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| a rule or expectation for appropriate social behavior |
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| the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by other people |
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| sociocultural perspective |
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| the theoretical viewpoint that searches for the causes of social behavior in influences from larger social groups |
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| a technique in which the researcher asks people to report on their beliefs, feelings, or behaviors |
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| scientific explanation that connects or organizes existing observations and suggests fruitful paths for future research |
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| the extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure |
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