1. Research Methods Flashcards
What are the 5 personality traits?
Extroversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional Stability Openness to Experience
What is Psychology?
Scientific study of mind an behaviour
What is exploratory research?
Research that is not completed
it starts with a question
Theory
A collection of ideas in a systemic manner which explains why something occurs
Hypothesis
A prediction based on a theory
What types of tools do psychologists use to asses research? (4 Types)
Observational
Surveys
Behavior measures
Physiological measures
Types of research designs (3 types)
Descriptive
Correlations
Experimental
what is Descriptive Design?
Name the Pro/Cons
Researcher describes the phenomenon, no manipulation of variables.
Pros: Great for initial research in an understudied area
Cons: Does’t explain why or when something happens.
Doesn’t specific relations between variables.
what is Correlations design?
Name the Pro/Cons
stats show the relation between two concepts.
Pros: Allows the identification of relationships as they naturally occur
Cons: Correlation does not indicate causation
what is Experimental Design?
Name the Pros/COns
Manipulation of IV to see if it affects the DV.
Pros: Can help infer a cause
Cons: Can’t look at natural relationships
what is the IV?
Independent Variable
Manipulated by the researcher
What is the DV?
Dependent Variable
Measured by the researcher, effect of the cause
What does the researcher try to control for?
Extraneous Variable
Time, Location, game, etc.
When is a Quasi experiment used?
When a group can not be assigned.
the right people for some reason, cannot participate, or do not exist
What is Operationalizing?
When the researcher takes an abstract concept and turns it into a variable that properly assesses the construct.
Ex. Aggression = number of times someone looses their temper
What is the Placebo effect?
Perception of an effect, but no effect was present
Name the 5 main ethics
Safety and well-being of Participant Safety and well-being of Researcher Do no harm Informed consent Minimize deception Anonymous/Confidential
What is Generalizability?
How much validity is retained across different contexts, groups, conditions, etc.
Mean
Average of Scores
Median
Middle scores (center of the score range)
Mode
Most Frequent Score
Variability
How much scores vary from each other and from the mean
Standard Deviation
numerical determination of variability or the spread of data
high variability means it has a….
high standard deviation
low variability means it has a….
low standard deviation
What shape does a normal distribution make?
Bell Curve
How do you test a hypothesis with statistics?
Compare mean scores between groups
AND
The strength of correlation coefficient
Statistical significance is…
Also: How is it tested?
The extent that the results are true and not a fluke.
If probability value (p-value) is less than 0.05, than the findings are not a fluke.
Type 1 error is a…
False positive
Type 2 error is a…
False negative
Sampling Bias
When a sample is not representative of a population
Reactivity
participants alter behavior because they are being observed
Social desirability
Participants alter responses to seem socially acceptable
Response Sets
Participants respond in a way that is not related to the question
Experimenter Bias
the experimenter’s expectation of outcome effect the results
Double-blind Study
Both researchers, and participants are unaware of assignment of conditions
