3.01 Psychology as science Flashcards
system of gathering data so that bias and error in measurement are reduced
scientific method
tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations
hypothesis
tendency of observers to see what they expect to see
confirmation bias
to re-do an experiment and get the same results
replicate
watching animals or humans behave in their normal environment
naturalistic observation
major advantages of naturalistic observation
realistic picture of behavior
disadvantages of naturalistic observation
observer effect, observer bias, lack of control over natural environment
tendency of people or animals to behave differently when they know they are being observed
observer effect/Hawthorne effect
a naturalistic observation in which the observer becomes a participant in the group being observed (to reduce observer effect)
participant observation
people who do not know what the research question is (to reduce observer bias)
blind observers
watching animals or humans behave in a laboratory setting
Laboratory observation
advantages of laboratory observation
control over environment,
allows use of specialized equipment
major disadvantage of laboratory observation
artificial situation may result in artificial behavior
study of one individual in great detail
Case Study
major advantage of case study
tremendous amount of detail
major disadvantage of case study
findings are not always universally applicable
researchers ask a series of questions about the topic under study
survey
2 advantages of survey
large amounts of data and numbers of participants, allows study of covert behaviors
3 disadvantages of survey
requires a representative sample, dishonest responses, courtesy bias
randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects
representative sample
the entire group of people or animals in which the researcher is interested
population
anything that can change or vary in an experiment
variable
measure of the relationship between two variables
correlation
mathematical relationship between two variables
correlation coefficient (r)
perfect correlation range for r
from -1 or +1
variables are related in the same direction:
as one increases, the other increases;
as one decreases, the other decreases
Positive correlation
variables are related in opposite direction:
as one increases, the other decreases
Negative correlation
correlation does not prove __
causation
a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see whether corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the determination of cause-and-effect relationships
experiment
definition of a variable of interest that allows it to be directly measured
Operational Definition
the variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter
independent variable
the variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the experiment
dependent variable
subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable
experimental group
subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment
control group
the process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group
Random assignment
the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior
Placebo effect
subjects do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control group (reduces placebo effect)
Single-blind study
tendency of the experimenter’s expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study
Experimenter effect
neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental or control group (reduces placebo effect and experimenter effect)
Double-blind study
variable that the researcher failed to control, or eliminate, damaging the validity of an experiment
confounding variable
