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Psychology 1211 (at TRU) > Ch 2: How Psychologists Do Research > Flashcards

Ch 2: How Psychologists Do Research Flashcards

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1
Q

Theory

A

An organized system of assumptions and principles that purports to explain a specified set of phenomena and their interrelationships

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2
Q

Hypothesis

A

A statement that attempts to predict or to account for a set of phenomena; scientific hypotheses specify relationships among events or variables and are empirically tested

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3
Q

Operational definition

A

A precise definition of a term in a hypothesis, which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process or phenomenon being defined

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4
Q

What makes psychological research scientific?

A
  1. Precision; use of theories, hypothesis, and operational definitions
  2. Skepticism; not just about debunking a claim, but showing why the claim is invalid
  3. Reliance on empirical evidence
  4. Willingness to make “risky predictions”; that can be refuted, apply to the principle of falsifiability
  5. Openness; the free flow of ideas, full disclosure of procedures used in a study
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5
Q

Principle of falsifiability

A

The principle that a scientific theory must make predictions that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation.

Must predict not only what will happen, but what will not happen

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6
Q

Confirmation bias

A

The tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms one’s own belief

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7
Q

Representative sample

A

A group of individuals, selected from a population for study, that matches the population on important characteristics such as age and sex

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8
Q

Descriptive methods

A

Methods that yield descriptions of behaviour but not necessarily causal explanations

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9
Q

Case study

A

A detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated

Ex: Behaviour of child that was abused/neglected provides insight into developmental stages at a certain age

Pros: Provides in depth info on individuals; unusual cases can shed light on situations or problems that are unethical or impractical to study in other ways

Cons: Individual may not be representative; memories may be selective or inaccurate; if vital info is missing, then difficult to interpret findings

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10
Q

Observational studies

A

A study in which the researcher carefully and systematically observes and records behaviour without interfering with the behaviour; it may involve either naturalistic or laboratory observation

Used to describe behaviour, rather than explain why it happens.

Pros: Can see how subjects act in a normal social environment

Cons: In a lab setting it can be hard to maintain natural behaviour

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11
Q

Naturalistic observation

A

Used to find out how people or animals act in their normal social environment

Pros: Often useful in first stages of a research program

Cons: Researcher has little to no control; observations may be biased; does not identify cause and effect

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12
Q

Laboratory observation

A

Provides researchers with more control of the situation; access to equipment, control over number of people observed, etc.

Pros: Allows researcher more control; use of sophisticated equipment

Cons: Behaviour may differ from that in a natural environment; observations may be biased; does not identify cause and effect

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13
Q

Psychological tests

A

Procedures used to measure and evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and values

Used in education, industry, and scientific research

Pros: Yields info on personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, and abilities. Can be improvement over self-evaluation, removes distorted view of self

Cons: Difficult to construct tests that are reliable and valid

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14
Q

Objective tests (aka inventories)

A

Measure beliefs, feelings, or behaviours of which an individual is aware

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15
Q

Projective tests

A

Designed to tap unconscious feelings or motives

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16
Q

Standardize (tests)

A

In test construction, to develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test

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17
Q

Norms (tests)

A

In test construction, established standards of performance

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18
Q

Reliability (tests)

A

In test construction, the consistency of scores derived from a test, from one time and place to another.

When a test produces the same results from one time and place to the next, and from one scorer to another.

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19
Q

Validity (tests)

A

The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure

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20
Q

Surveys

A

Questionnaires and interviews that ask people directly about their experience, attitudes, or opinions

Pros: Provides a large amount of info on large numbers of people

Cons: Might be impossible to make generalizations if the sample is nonrepresentative; responses may be inaccurate or untrue; people can misinterpret questions

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21
Q

Volunteer bias

A

A shortcoming of findings derived from a sample of volunteers instead of a representative sample

22
Q

Correlational study

A

A descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena

Pros: Shows whether variables are related; allows general predictions

Cons: Does not identify cause and effect. Ex: A correlates to B, A could cause B, or B could cause A, or they may not directly affect each other

23
Q

Correlation

A

A measure of how strongly two variables are related to one another; does not establish causation between variables

24
Q

Variables

A

Characteristics of behaviour or experience that can be measured or described by a numeric scale

25
Q

Positive correlation

A

An association between increases in one variable and increases in another

Or between decreases in one and decreases in another

26
Q

Negative correlation

A

An association between increases in one variable and decreases in another

27
Q

Coefficient of correlation

A

A measure of correlation that ranges in value from -1.00 to +1.00

28
Q

Independent variable

A

A variable that an experimenter manipulates

29
Q

Experiment

A

A controlled test of a hypothesis in which the researcher manipulates one variable to discover its effect on another

30
Q

Dependent variable

A

A variable that an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable

31
Q

Control condition

A

In an experiment, a comparison condition in which participants are not exposed to the same treatment as in the experimental condition

32
Q

Random assignment

A

A procedure for assigning people to experimental and control groups in which each individua has the same probability as any other of being assigned to a given group

33
Q

Placebo

A

An inactive substance or fake treatment used as a control in an experiment or given by a medical practitioner to a patient

34
Q

Single-blind study

A

An experiment in which participants do not know whether they are in an experimental or a control group, but the researchers do

35
Q

Double-blind study

A

An experiment in which neither the people being studied nor the researchers know who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group until after the results are tallied

36
Q

Field research

A

Descriptive or experimental research conducted in a natural setting outside the laboratory

37
Q

Descriptive statistics

A

Statistical procedures that organize and summarize research data

Ex: arithmetic mean, standard deviation

38
Q

Arithmetic mean

A

An average that is calculated by adding up a set of quantities and dividing the sum by the total number of quantities in the set

39
Q

Standard deviation

A

A commonly used measure of validity that indicates the average difference between scores in a distribution and their mean

Tell us how typical a mean is; narrow distribution indicates mean is more typical; a more spread out distribution indicates mean is less typical

40
Q

Inferential statistics

A

Statistical procedures that allow researchers to draw inferences about how statistically meaningful a study’s results are

Ex: significance tests, confidence interval, effect size

41
Q

Significance tests

A

Statistical tests that show how likely it is that a study’s results occurred merely by chance

42
Q

Confidence interval

A

A statistical measure that provides, with a specified probability, a range of values within which a population mean is likely to be

43
Q

Cross-sectional study

A

A study in which people (or animals) of different ages are compared at a given time

44
Q

Longitudinal study

A

A study in which people (or animals) are followed and periodically reassessed over a period of time

45
Q

Effect size

A

An objective, standardized way of describing the strength of the independent variable’s influence on the dependent variable

46
Q

Meta-analysis

A

A set of techniques for combining data from a number of related studies to determine the explanatory strength of a particular independent variable

47
Q

Bayesian statistics

A

Statistics that involve a formula for calculating the likelihood of a hypothesis being true and meaningful, taking into account relevant prior knowledge

48
Q

Informed consent

A

The doctrine that anyone who participates in human research must do so voluntarily and must know enough about the study to make an intelligent decision about whether to take part

49
Q

Experimenter effects

A

Unintended changes in participant behaviour due to cues from researchers; can be limited by a double-blind study

50
Q

List the principles for studying human beings

A
  1. Respect for human dignity
  2. Respect for free and informed consent; participants join voluntarily and have enough info to make an intelligent decision
  3. Respect for vulnerable persons; ex: children
  4. Respect for privacy and confidentiality
  5. Respect for justice and inclusiveness
  6. Balancing harms and benefits
  7. Minimizing harm
  8. Maximizing benefit

Psychology 1211 (at TRU) (8 decks)

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