Ch. 1

Question 0

What are the three criteria for scientific research?

Answer 0

1. Systematic Empiricism- rely on systematically obtained observations to draw conclusions about the world
2. Public Verification- Findings must be observed replicated and verified by other researchers
3. Solvable Problems- Must study questions that are potentially answerable through systematic empiricism

Question 1

What is research?

Answer 1

• asking important questions
• refraining the question into testable hypothesis
• learning about what others’ have found
• collecting data
• analyzing results/ statistics
• finding the “answer”

Question 2

Why is psychology a science?

Answer 2

• Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes.
• The same methods that are used for biology, chemistry, and physics can be applied to study behavior, thought emotion, and psychological processes.

Question 3

What are two types of research?

Answer 3

• Basic research- conducted to understand psychological processes without regard for whether or not the knowledge is immediately applicable
• Applied research- conducted to find solutions for problems rather than to enhance general knowledge about psychological processes

Question 4

What are the goals of behavioral research?

Answer 4

• Describing behavior
• Predicting behavior
• Explaining behavior

Question 5

Describing behavior

Answer 5

• for example..

• what type of cereal certain people buy
• voting preferences
• changing in behavior across the lifespan
• patterns of aggression among chimpanzees

Question 6

Predicting behavior

Answer 6

• For example…

• Who will do well in a particular job
• what personalities put people at risk for criminal behavior
• factors that predict happiness

Question 7

Explaining behavior

Answer 7

• Research goes beyond what happened to see why it happened

* most behavior researchers view explanations as the primary goal of science

Question 8

Behavioral science and commonsense

Answer 8

• Psychologist some time to study things we already know
-for example, repetition helps us remember.
• commonsense can be both a tool and hindrance
-repetition helps us remember, but under what circumstances? For what type of learning is repetition best used? Etc.

Question 9

What is pseudoscience?

Answer 9

• Pseudoscience claims of evidence that masquerade as science but violate the basic criteria of scientific investigation

Question 10

Theories and models

Answer 10

• Theory- is a set of propositions that attempts to specify the interrelationships among a set of concepts.
• Model- attempts to describe how concepts are related (but not why)

Question 11

What is cognitive load theory?

Answer 11

This theory suggests that learning happens best under conditions that are aligned with human cognitive architecture such as limited working memory.

Question 12

Formulating a hypothesis- deduction

Answer 12

• Process of reasoning from general proposition (theory) to specific implications of that proposition (hypothesis)
Ex- if CLT is true, students will learn less overwhelmed with stimuli.

Question 13

Formulating hypothesis- induction

Answer 13

• Abstracting a hypothesis from a collection of facts

-this kind of hypothesis is an empirical generalization.

Question 14

What is conceptual definition?

Answer 14

• Much like a definition that one would find in dictionary

* fuzzy a precise scientific communication

Question 15

What is operational definition?

Answer 15

•Specifies precisely how concept is measured or manipulated in a particular study.

Question 16

What is a variable?

Answer 16

• And attribute that can very across individuals

-example of variables : fear, motivation, height, gender.

Question 17

What are the types of variables?

Answer 17

• Independent variable -A variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the researcher
-variable that predicts a dependent variable
-A variable any quasi-experiment when participants are assigned based on the characteristic(quasi-independent variable)
• dependent variable-A variable that is measured or observed an individual

Question 18

What is logical impossibility of proof!

Answer 18

• Confirming a hypothesis with research findings does not necessarily mean the hypothesis is correct.

Question 19

What is practical and possibility of disproof?

Answer 19

• Failing to find research support for his processes does not necessarily mean that the theory is incorrect

Question 20

How does science progress?

Answer 20

• Series gay marriage was accumulated supporting evidence from several studies.
• all ideas must pass through a scientific filter if they are to become widely excepted by the field.

Question 21

What is descriptive research?

Answer 21

• Describes the behaviors, thoughts, or feelings of a particular group of individuals

• presidential or congressional approval rating
• developmental changes in behavior over time
• marketing studies of consumer preferences
• incidence of particular mental disorder

Question 22

What is correlational research?

Answer 22

• Investigates the relationship between two or more variables
-is self-esteem related to how shy people are?

Question 23

What is Experimental research?

Answer 23

• Can determine whether certain variables cause changes in behavior, thoughts, or emotion.
-experiments involve the manipulation of at least one variable and control of extraneous influences so that causal effect on the dependent variable can be isolated.

Question 24

What is Quasi-experimental research?

Answer 24

• Examines affects of naturally occurring events
• The researchers unable to manipulate the independent variable control all other factors that might influence people’s responses
-example: how do we answer the question– does graduating from high school increase one’s salary later in life?