Asking and answering research questions

Question 1

scientific theory

Answer 1

a statement that satisfies three requirements: it is about constructs, it describes causal relationships; and is is general in scope, although the range of generalism differs for different theories

Question 2

constructs

Answer 2

abstract and general concepts that are used in theories and that are not directly observable.

Question 3

Interventions

Answer 3

practical steps taken to change people’s bahavior or to solve social problems

Question 4

construct validity

Answer 4

the extend to which the independent and dependent variables used in research correspondent to the theoretical constructs under investigation.

Question 5

Independent variable

Answer 5

a concrete manipulation or measurement of a construct that is thought to cause other constructs

Question 6

Dependent variable

Answer 6

a concrete measurement of a construct that is thought to be an effect of other constructs.

Question 7

Social desirability response bias

Answer 7

people’s tendency to act in ways that they believe others find acceptable and approve of

Question 8

self-report measures

Answer 8

those based on asking the individual about his or her thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.

Question 9

observational measures

Answer 9

those based on directly watching and recording people’s behavior. including online behavior

Question 10

archival measures

Answer 10

those based on examining traces of past behavior

Question 11

performance measures

Answer 11

those that ask participants to perform some tasks as well as they can

Question 12

physiological measures

Answer 12

those based on measurement of some physiological process such as heart rate or muscle movements

Question 13

EEG (electro-encephalographic)

Answer 13

measures use electrical signals on the scalp to very accurately detect the times at which specific neural events occur.

Question 14

fMRI Functional magnetical resonance imaging

Answer 14

indirectly measures the activation levels of specific brain regions

Question 15

Internal validity

Answer 15

the extend to which it can be concluded that changes in the independent variable actually causes changes in the dependent variable in a research study

Question 16

Research design

Answer 16

a plan that specifies how reseacrh participants will be selected ans treated

Question 17

Nonexperimental research design

Answer 17

a research design in which both the independent and dependent variables are measured

Question 18

Experimental research design

Answer 18

a research design in which researchers randomly assign participants to different groups ans manipulate one or more independent variables

Question 19

random assignment

Answer 19

the procedure of assigning participants to different experimental groups so that every participant has exactly the same chance as every other participant of being in any given group

Question 20

manipulate

Answer 20

intentionally varying some factor as the independent variable in an experimental research design

Question 21

confederate

Answer 21

a reseacrh assistent playing a specific role in the study, such as pretending to be just another participant.

Question 22

external validity

Answer 22

the extend to which research results can be generated to other appropriate people, times and settings.

Question 23

individialistic cultures

Answer 23

those in which people are particulary likely to think of themselves as seperate from other people and to define themselves in terms of their uniqueness

Question 24

collectivist cultures

Answer 24

those in which people tend to think of tehmselves as linked to others, and to define themselves in terms of their relationships to others.

Question 25

demand characteristics

Answer 25

cues in a research setting that lead participants to make inferences about what researchers expect or desire and that therefore bias how the participants act.

Question 26

field research

Answer 26

research that takes place outside the laboratory

Question 27

replication

Answer 27

conducting new studies in an effort to provide evidence for the same theoretically predicted relations found in prior research.

Question 28

meta-analysis

Answer 28

a systematic technique for locating studies on a particular topic and summarizing their results.

Question 29

informed consent

Answer 29

consent voluntarily given by an individual who patricipate in a study after being told what will be involved in participation

Question 30

deception

Answer 30

keeping participants uninformed or actively misleading them about particular aspects of a study

Question 31

debriefing

Answer 31

informing research participants- as soon as possible after the completion of their participation in research- about the purposes, procedures, and scientific value of the study, and discussing any questions participants may have