02. Definitions

Question 1

An observation

Answer 1

an objective statement that reasonable observers agree is true

Question 2

Theory

Answer 2

an idea or a conceptual model that is designed to explain existing observations and make predictions about new observations that might be discovered

Question 3

Hypothesis

Answer 3

prediction about a new observation that is made from a theory

Question 4

Parsimony/ Occam’s razor

Answer 4

The simpler the explanation is the better it tends to be. When there are two or more explanations, the simplest explanation is usually preferred.

Question 5

Experiment (cause-effect)

Answer 5

A procedure in which a researcher systematically manipulates (varies) one or more independent variables and looks for changes in one or more dependent variables, while keeping all other variables constant. Most direct and conclusive approach to testing a hypothesis about a cause-effect relationship between two variables

Question 6

Variable

Answer 6

anything that can change or assume different values (condition or measure of behaviour)

Question 7

Independent variable

Answer 7

The variable that is hypothesised to cause some effect on another variable (usually factors which influence behaviour)

Question 8

Dependent variable

Answer 8

he variable that is hypothesised to be affected (usually a measure of behaviour)

Question 9

Within subject experiment

Answer 9

(Sometimes repeated-measures experiments), each subject is tested in each of the different conditions of the independent variable (that is, the subject is repeatedly tested)

Question 10

Between-groups experiments

Answer 10

(Sometimes, between-subjects experiments), there is a separate group of subjects for each different condition of the independent variable.

Question 11

Correlational study

Answer 11

study in which the researcher does not manipulate any variable, but observes or measures two or more already existing dependent variables to find relationships between them.

Question 12

Descriptive study

Answer 12

The description of the behaviour of an individual or set of individuals without assessing relationships between different variables (may or may not use numbers). May be broad or narrow in focus.

Question 13

Laboratory study

Answer 13

any research study in which the subjects are brought to a specially designated area that has been set up to facilitate the researcher’s collection of data or control over environmental conditions

Question 14

Field study

Answer 14

any research study conducted in a setting where the researcher does not have control over the subjects’ experiences

Question 15

Self -report methods

Answer 15

procedures in which people are asked to rate or describe their own behaviour or mental state in some way

Question 16

Introspection

Answer 16

Form or self-report. The personal observations of one’s thoughts, perceptions, and feelings (used by founders of psychology inc. Wilhelm Wundt).

Question 17

Observational methods

Answer 17

All procedures by which researchers observe and record the behaviour of interest rather than relying on subjects’ self-reports.

Question 18

Test

Answer 18

Subcategory of observational methods- the researcher deliberately presents problems, tasks, or situations to which the subject responds

Question 19

Naturalistic observation

Answer 19

Subcategory of observational methods- the researcher avoids interfering with the subjects’ behaviour

Question 20

Hawthorne effect

Answer 20

Changes in subjects’ behaviour as a result of knowing they are being watched

Question 21

Descriptive statistics

Answer 21

Are used to summarize sets of data

Question 22

Inferential statistics

Answer 22

Help researchers decide how confident they can be in judging whether the results observed are due to chance. Ways of answering a question using the laws of probability

Question 23

Mean

Answer 23

the arithmetic average

Question 24

Median

Answer 24

The centre score (arrange numbers from lowest to highest)

Question 25

Variability

Answer 25

the degree to which the numbers in the set differ from one another and from their mean

Question 26

Standard deviation

Answer 26

Measure of variability. The farther most scores are from the mean, the greater the standard deviation.

Question 27

Correlation coefficient (inferential statistics)

Answer 27

a statistic to measure the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables. Produces a result from -1.00 to +1.00 (close to 0 = statistically unrelated)

Question 28

Positive correlation

Answer 28

an increase in one variable coincides with a tendency for the other variable to increase (towards +1.00)

Question 29

Negative correlation

Answer 29

an increase in one variable coincides with a tendency for the other variable to decrease (towards -1.00)

Question 30

Define p (probability)

Answer 30

Level of significance. Probability that a difference as great as or greater than that observed would occur by chance

Question 31

Bias

Answer 31

refers to nonrandom (directed) effects caused by some factor or factors extraneous to the research hypothesis

Question 32

Biased Sample

Answer 32

Occurs when the members of a particular group are initially different from those of another group in some systematic way, or are different from the larger population that the researcher is interested in

Question 33

Define WEIRD

Answer 33

Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic

Question 34

Reliability

Answer 34

has to do with measurement error, not bias. A measure is reliable to the degree that it yields similar results each time it is used with a particular subject under a particular set of conditions, sometimes referred to as replicability

Question 35

interobserver (or interrater) reliability

Answer 35

the same behaviour seen by one observer is also seen by a second observer. This requires that the behaviour in question be carefully defined ahead of time

Question 36

operational definition

Answer 36

The specification of exactly what constitutes an example of your dependent measure

Question 37

Validity

Answer 37

A measurement procedure is valid if it measures or predicts what it is intended to measure or predict. A procedure may be reliable and yet not be valid. Lack of validity can be a source of bias.

Question 38

face validity

Answer 38

If the measurement procedure appears to assess the variable that it is supposed to measure

Question 39

Observer-expectancy effects

Answer 39

A researcher who wants or expects a subject to respond in a particular way may unintentionally communicate that expectation and thereby influence the subject’s behaviour

Question 40

Autism

Answer 40

A disorder characterised by a deficit in the ability to form emotional bonds and to communicate with other people; it typically manifests before age 3

Question 41

Blind

Answer 41

In scientific research, the condition in which those who collect the data are deliberately kept uninformed about aspects of the study’s design (such as which subjects have had which treatment) that could lead them either unconsciously or consciously to bias the results

Question 42

Subject-expectancy effects

Answer 42

If different treatments in an experiment induce different expectations in subjects, then those expectations, rather than anything else about the treatments, may account for observed differences in how the subjects respond

Question 43

Double-blind experiment

Answer 43

An experiment in which both the observer and the subjects are blind with respect to the subjects’ treatment conditions.

Question 44

Criterion validity

Answer 44

A measure has criterion validity if it correlates significantly with another, more direct measure of the variable