Ch. 2 Scientific Principles in psychology Flashcards
What are the driving forces behind scientific inquiry?
curiocity, skepticsm and open-mindedness
What stops people from sometimes taking action?
- a large group with lots of bystanders
- assume nothing to be concerned about if no one else looks concerned
- diffusion of responsibility
What is diffusion of responsibility?
a psycholoigcal state in which each personfeels decreased personal responsibility for intervening.
What are the 5 steps for scientific inquiry?
- Identify question of interest
- Gather information and form hypothesis
- Test hypothesis by conducting research
- Analyze data and collect tentative conclusions and report findings
- Build a body of knowledge
What is hypothesis?
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. Takes form of an IF and THEN statement -Specific prediction about some phenomenon
What is a theory?
Set a formal statement that explains how and why certain events are related to each other
how does confidence in a theory increase?
When research consistently supports the hypotheses drawn from the theory
What is hindsight reasoning?
the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were
What is a drawback of hindsight understanding?
Events of that past circumstance that may seem predictable after the fact are too dynamic to actually pinpoint that one predictability and there’s many other factors that go into it
what is the benefit of applying hindsight understanding in psychological research?
It allows the researchers to create hypothesis for future research projects about behaviour and why they occur
what is an alternative to hindsight understanding?
Understanding through prediction and control.
What is the strongest test of scientific understanding?
theory development
What do good theories generate?
An integrated network of predictions.
What are some important characteristics of a good theory?
- Incorporates existing facts and observations organizing it in a meaningful way.
- It is testable. New hypothesis and evidence can be gathered.
- Predictions made by the theory are supported by the findings of new research.
- Conforms to the law of parsimony.
What is parsimony?
If two theories can explain and predict the same phenomena equally well the simpler theory is the preferred one.
What are some important advantages to prediction based on understanding a.k.a. theory building?
- Satisfies our curiosity
- Increases knowledge
- Generates principles that we can apply to new situation
What is a variable?
Any characteristic or factor that can vary such as people sex height hair colour age income and grade point average are variables they vary from one person to another and many also very within a given person overtime
What is an operational definition?
Defined the variable in terms of the specific procedures used to produce or measure it they translate abstract concepts into something observable and measurable.
What do self-report measures do?
They ask people to report on their own knowledge beliefs feelings experiences or behaviour.
What is social desirability bias?
The tendency to respond in a socially acceptable manner rather than according to how I’m truly feels or behaves.
What is the downfall of self-report measures?
Can become distorted by a social desirability bias.
Consistent observations are _______
Reliable.
What is arecord overt behaviour approach to measurement?
Directly observable
What are unobtrusive measures?
Record behaviour in a way that keeps participants unaware that certain responses are being measured.
What are archival measures?
Records or documents that already exist.
What are some examples of psychological tests?
- Personality tests
- Intelligence tests
- Neurophysiological tests
What are some ways that psychologists measure behaviour?
- Obtaining peoples self reports and reports from others who know the participants
- Directly observed behaviour using unobtrusive measures
- Analyze archival data
- Administer psychological tests
- Record physiological responses
What are some examples of physiological measures that psychologists my assess?
Measure of heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, hormonal secretions and brain functioning.
