Chapter 1 & 2: Psychology and scientific thinking/ Research Methods Flashcards
What is Psychology?
The Scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior. Scientific investigations are systemic and empiricall
Behavior and mental state are ____
complex
What are the levels of analysis?
Social culture influences, Psychological, and Biological.
What are Social Culture Influences
Involves relating to other and personal relationships
What are psychological levels of analysis
involves thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
What are the biological levels of analysis?
Involves molecules and brain structure
Why is behavior difficult to predict?
Multiply determined: produced by many factors.
What are often interrelated in psychology?
Variables.
What is a variable in psychology?
Something that can be changed or altered, such as a characteristic or value.
What is Reciprocal Determinism?
People mutually influence each other’s behavior.
Common sense can be useful but it can also be ____ or ____
Flawed or incorrect.
Popular knowledge and truth do not always ___
Align
What is Naive Realism?
The belief that we see the world precisely as it is
(seeing is believing)
When is naive realism problematic?
In an ambiguous or complex situations (politics)
What is an example of correct common sense?
Happy employees ten to be more productive.
What are heuristics?
Rules-of-thumb that can be applied to guide decision-making.
What are heuristics?
Rules-of-thumb that can be applied to guide decision-making.
Heuristics can be ___
Adaptive
What can a scientific approach help with?
Clarify when common sense is useful and when it is problematic.
What is the meaning of Empirical?
knowledge is acquired through observation.
what is the meaning of Systemic?
Plan for objectively collecting information.
What are misconceptions about Theories?
- An educated guess
- Explains one specific event
Science is a safeguard against ___
Bias.
Who is not always objective and free of biases
scientists
What is confirmation Bias:
Tendency to seek out evidence that supports our belies and deny, dismiss or distort evidence that contradicts them.
What is belief perseverance?:
Tendency to stick to our initial beliefs, even when evidence contradicts them
What are metaphysical claims?
Claims that are not testable
what is an example of a non scientific question?
Is there an afterlife?
does God exist?
What is the moral thing to do?
Scientific knowledge is ___
tentative (not certain or fixed; provisional)
many scientific results fail to be ____
replicated
scientific knowledge is acquired _____
slowly, piece by piece
What is Pseudoscience?
Set of claims that seem scientific but aren’t.
What are examples of popular psychology
internet information, news articles, self-help books, and movies.
What is the issue with popular psychology?
often, untested
What does pseudoscience lack?
safeguards against biases
What are some warnings of Pseudoscience?
“EAT OLÉ”
Exaggerated claims
Anecdotes (Overreliance on)
Talk of “proof” instead of evidence
Overuse of ad hoc immunizing hypotheses
Lack of self-correction
Évidence (Absence of proper)
What is Add Hoc immunizing hypothesis?:
Add explanations and immunize their claims.
A hypothesis is added to a theory in order to save it from being falsified.
why are we drawn to pseudoscience?
we search for order in a complex world. We find comfort in our beliefs.
what is emotional reasoning?
we use emotions as guides to evaluate a claim
what is bandwagon fallacy?
accept a claim because many people believe it
what is not me fallacy?
the belief that we are immune from errors that afflict other people. Known as blind spot bias
What are some dangers of Pseudoscience?
Opportunity cost, direct harm, an inability to think scientifically
What is Opportunity cost?
people are led to forgo opportunities to seek effective care. They resort to other ways of dealing with the problem - usually a more natural remedy
What is direct harm?
Directly harming the individual or making the problem worse, causing other problems. This can cuase psychological and physiological problems and in some cases even death.
Inability to think scientifically
failure to think critically. Important to develop these critical thinking skills.
Inability to think scientifically
failure to think critically. Important to develop these critical thinking skills.
What is scientific skepticism?
Evaluating all claims with an open mind, but insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them as true. to refrain from accepting inadequately supported claims.
skepticism is not ___
cynicism
What does it mean to “rule out Rival Hypotheses”?
Scientific thinking principle #1
consider alternative explanations for findings
What is the meaning of “correlation is not causation”?
Scientific thinking principle #2
just because two things are associated - or correlated - does not mean that one causes the other
what is “falsifiability?”
scientific thinking principle #3
Must be possible to disprove a claim. applies to claims, hypotheses, and theories
What is “replicability”?
Scientific thinking Principle #4
psychological findings must be reproduced. Findings can occur by chance so this is a way to confirm the results
What is the meaning of “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”?
If a claim goes against what we already know, the evidence for the claim must be strong. (alien abductions - not good evidence, only self - reports)
what is “Occams Razor”?
Principle #6
When several explanations account for a phenomenon, the simplest explanation is often the best when the others can’t back anything up.
What are the goals of science
describe, explain, predict and control events
what are variables?
any factor or attribute that can assume two or more values. something in the world that varies
what is description?
identifies and provides an account of some phenomenon of interest, and its characteristics. psychologists describe what humans think and how they behave
importance of explanation
scientists seek to understand why phenomena occur
what are hypotheses
testable explanation derived from a theory
What are theories?
an explanation or a large number of findings in the natural world. a clearly put statement which explains why things are related the way they are
what is prediction?
Use of knowledge about events or variables to predict an outcome of interest
What is control?
influence over research settings, procedures, and application of scientific knowledge
what are the two contexts of control?
Research activities: variables, participants, experimental setting
Application of scientific knowledge
what is internal validity?
Making sure that cause-effect relationship identified in the study is really there and there are no other explanations for the results.
who was Plato?
“Wax tablet”
the analogy of memory - conceptualizing memory as an imperfect yet mailable substance like wax
Who was Aristotle?
Associations between ideas - memory comprised of links between ideas. (something may remind you of something else similar or the opposite)
Who was Descartes?
Dualism: the mind as distinct from matter. Neuroscientists now look at the brain as matter and energy which can be measured
what is introspection?
participants carefully reflect and report on their inner sensations and experiences
What are the theoretical frameworks of Psychology?
broad, theoretical perspectives that guide how people think about psychological phenomena and behavior
structuralism
School of psychology that aimed to identify the basic element of psychological experiences. used introspection as the main method
what are the problems with structuralism?
disagreement among introspectionist
imageless thought
Who is Titchner? (structuralism)
periodic table of psychological elements - wants to make psych more of a real science. interested in structural components of the mind and used introspection to do so
positive of structuralism?
attempted systematic observation
what is functionalism?
Focused on the functions and adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics such as thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. (asked why instead of what)
who was functionalism influenced by?
Darwin/evolution by natural selection
What is behaviorism?
The scientific study of observable behavior. focused on discovering general laws of learning. founded by John Watson
Negative to behaviorism
Went too far by suggesting that everything is learned
positives to behaviorism
clarifies learning principles
brought a focus on the observable verifiable subject matter
what is cognitive psychology?
understanding thinking is central to understanding behavior
what is psychoanalysis?
focuses on internal psychological processes of which we are unaware. unconscious memories and drives cause behavior. founded by Sigmund Freud.
What is nature VS. nurture
the question of whether our behaviors attribute mostly to our genes or to our rearing environments
what is free will?
the idea that we can play an active role and have a choice in how we behave.
What is determinism?
the view that free will is an illusion, and that our behavior is governed by internal or external forces over which we have no control.
what does basic research examine?
Examines the fundamental nature of phenomena
what is applied research?
helps to solve or evaluate a specific real-world problem
why do we need research designs?
avoid biases when evaluating information and attempt to see the world as it really is
what is intuitive thinking (system 1)
quick and reflexive; dekiberate. Requires little mental effort.
what is intuitive thinking? (system 1)
quick and reflexive. requires little mental effort.
what is analytical thinking (system 2)?
slow and reflective; deliberate. requires mental effort
what are the issues with intuitive thinking?
over-reliance leads to errors. research methods can help to avoid the pitfalls of intuitive thinking.
what are conceptual definitions?
How we specify our phenomenon or construct of interest?
what is operational?
what a researcher is measuring. defining a variable in terms of the procedures used to measure or manipulate it.
what is observational research?
different types of non-experimental studies in which behavior is systematically watched and recorded
what is naturalistic observation
watching behavior in real-world settings without trying to manipulate the situation
participant observation
the observer becomes a part of the group or social setting being studied
What structured observation?
researchers configure the setting in which behavior will be observed
naturalistic observation
watching behaviour in real-world settings without trying to manipulate the situation
What is ecological validity?
The extent to which the research findings apply in the real world
what is external validity?
the extent to which findings apply to other contexts besides the research setting
what are the advantages of naturalistic observation?
ecological and external validity
what is internal validity?
ability to draw cause and effect inerences
what is reactivity?
when the process of observing behavior causes that behavior to change
what are the disadvantages of naturalistic observation?
lack of internal validity and reactivity
what is intuitive thinking? (System 1)
quick and reflexive. requires little mental effort.
what is intuitive thinking? (System 1)
quick and reflexive. requires little mental effort.
name 3 advantages of a case study.
- Existence proofs
- In-depth exploration
- The flexibility of data collection techniques
- Provide supporting or disconfirming evidence
- Provide insights or “leads” for researchers to further investigate
name 3 disadvantages of a case study
- can not systematically test hypotheses
- can not draw causal inferences
- problems with generalizability
What is survey research?
uses questionnaires to gather information about people. can be descriptive or used to test hypotheses
what is population?
refers to all the cases or observations of interest to us
what are samples?
a subset of cases or observations from the population
what is a representative sample?
reflects the important characteristics of the population
what is random selection?
a procedure that ensures that every person in a population has equal chance of being chosen to participate
What is reliability? (Hint: 3 points)
the consistency of a measurement
consistency when consistency is expected
measures can be reliable but inaccurate
what is test-retest?
administer the same measure to the same participants on two or more occasions, under equivalent conditions
what is interrater reliability?
the extent to which independent raters or observers agree in their assessments
what is validity?
the extent to which a measure assesses what It purports to measure
what is the difference between validity and reliability? (hint: 3 pints)
validity - measuring the underlying construct
Reliability - consistency
Reliability is necessary for the validity
what is a leading question?
items are presented in an inbalances way that can suggest one viewpoint or response if preferable to another
what are loaded questions?
items that contain emotionally charged words that suggest one viewpoint or response is preferable to another, or they contain assumptions with which option to disagree is not provided
what are double-barreled questions?
items that ask about two issues within one question, forcing respondents to combine potentially different opinions into one judgment
what are double negatives?
items whose phrasing contains two negative words
what are the advantages of self-report measures?
- convenient - : retrieve information from a wide variety of people and cover more ground quicker
- often work well
- appropriate: many question need to be asked directly
what are the disadvantages of self-report measures?
- lack of personal insight - they don’t know as much about themselves as they think. May not know about consistency
- self-report measures assume honesty in responses: social desirability and bias – social context is cared about (ex: do you recycle as much as you say you do?)
what is social desirability bias?
a tendency to respond in a way that a person feels is socially appropriate rather than as the person truly feels
what is correlation?
A research design that examines the extent to which two variables are associated. the statistical association between variables. scores are associated in non random fashion
what is a positive correlation?
higher scores or levels of one variable tend to be associated with higher scores or levels of another variable
As X increases, Y increases; As X decreases, Y decreases
what is a negative correlation?
higher scores or levels of one variable tend to be associated with lower scores or levels of another variable
As X increases, Y decreases; As X decreases, Y increases
what is No Correlation?
no association between variables
what is Pearson’s r?
A statistic that measures the direction and strength of the linear relationship between two variables
what is a scatterplot?
A graph that portrays the intersection of data on two variables for a single individual
what is Illusory Correlation?
The perception of a statistical association between two variables when none exists
why do we perceive illusory correlations?
Salience of events
We don’t tend to detect or remember “non-events”
What is “anti-mentalistic”?
belief says that thoughts, feelings, and consciousness are not separate things, but are simply the result of physical processes happening in the brain. It denies the existence of a “mind” or “soul” as a separate entity from the physical body. In simpler terms, it argues that everything that makes us who we are, including our thoughts and emotions, can be explained by physical processes in the brain.
what was the goal of behaviorism?
to make psychology a hard science.
What is “the black box”?
a way of thinking about the human mind as a mysterious container that takes in information and produces behavior, but the process in between is unknown. It’s like a box where you put something in one end and get something else out the other end, but you don’t know exactly what happens inside the box. This idea was used in the early days of psychology to study behavior without worrying about the complex thoughts and feelings going on inside the mind. In other words, psychologists would look at what people did and not try to guess what they were thinking.
what is cognitivism/cognitive psychology?
Understanding thinking is central to understanding behavior. A response to behaviorist ideas.
What is cognitive neuroscience?
Cognitive psychology and neuroscience combined. Examines the relation between brain functioning and thinking.
What is psychoanalysis
focuses on internal psychological processes o which we are unaware.
what are two points about psychoanalysis?
- Unconscious memories and drives cause behavior
- founded by Sigmund Freud
what is positive about psychoanalysis?
Focuses on unconscious drivers of bahaviour
what are the negatives of psychoanalysis?
- Freud’s “unconscious” processes are not the same as scientifically demonstrated non-conscious determinants of behavior
- Many unscientific claims which are not testable
What is applied research?
Helps to solve or evaluate a specific real-world problem
what is basic research?
Examines the fundamental nature of phenomena. Contributes to the core body of knowledge.
What are examples of basic research?
Whether stress levels influence how often students engage in academic cheating.
How caffeine consumption affects the brain.
Whether men or women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.
what are examples of applied research?
A study looking for ways to market products for millennials.
certain lighting and music to make customers sit around longer
(addressing real-world issues)
What is ecological validity?
the extent to which the research findings apply in the real world
what is external validity?
the extent to which findings apply to other contexts besides the research setting
what is a case study?
- Examines one person or a small number of people in depth often over an extended period of time
- an in-depth analysis of an individual, social unit, event, or some other phenomenon (comprehensive examination of a single case)
what are some advantages to case studies?
- existence proofs (proof shit can happen)
- in-depth exploration
- flexibility of data collection techniques
- provide supporting or disconfirming evidence
- provide insights or “leads” for researchers to further investigate
what are the disadvantages of case studies?
- Cannot systematically test hypotheses
- Observer bias
- Cannot draw causal inferences
- Problems with generalizability
What is a survey?
uses questionnaires to gather information about people
what are some examples of a survey?
- personality traits
- beliefs about distracted driving
- depression
what can surveys be?
descriptive or can be used to test hypotheses (a supposition or explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation)
what is a population?
refers to all the cases or observations of interest to us
what is a sample?
a subset of cases or observations from the population
Representative sample:
reflects the important characteristics of the population
what is random selection?
a procedure that ensures that every person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate
what do populations and samples refer to?
the whole world or a select population of interest. The group we are interested in as a whole
What is reliability in terms of evaluating our measures?
The consistency of a measurement (tool)
consistency when consistency is expected.
Measures can be reliable but inaccurate
what are the types of reliability for the assessment of measures? (hint: 2)
test-retest
interrater reliability
what is test-retest?
administer the same measure to the same participants on two or more occasions, under equivalent conditions
what is interrater reliability
The extent to which independent raters or observers agree in their assessments
which reliability type best fits with these notes?:
“Independent observers need to match their assessment”
Inter reliability
what is an example of measurement which should be consistent?
- Personality characteristics (extraverted In Jan should be extraverted in June)
example of a measurement that is reliable, yet inaccurate?
bathroom scale
what is psychometrics?
the field of psychology devoted to testing, measurement, assessment and related activities.
What is Validity?
the extent to which a measure assesses what it appears to measure
what is necessary for validity?
Reliability
What are examples of misleading terms in regards to correlation?
Associate, related, linked
what is a crucial concept of correlation?
Variables are measured, not manipulated
what does a value of +1.00 or -1.00 indicate?
a perfect correlation
what does a perfect correlation mean?
the same thing (speed of the car and how hard you push the gas pedal)
what could be a third variable between shoe size and intelligence?
malnutrition which could be correlated with low IQ and small feet
what should we do before making firm conclusions?
Make an effort to look into research - ask how things are measured.
We often cannot accurately estimate relationships without ___
statistics
(we perceive patterns that do not exist. and we fail to notice patterns that do exist)
We often cannot accurately estimate relationships without ___
statistics
(we perceive patterns that do not exist. and we fail to notice patterns that do exist)
Association between the full moon and strange occurrences
what is illusory correlation?
The perception of a statistical association between two variables when none exists
what is an example of illusory correlation?
Association between the full moon and strange occurrences
what may stem from illusory correlation?
Superstition
Why do we perceive illusory correlations?
Salience (things that stand out that we tend to notice) of events. We don’t tend to detect or remember “non-events”
what type of thinking should we engage in terms of the media?
we have to engage in system 2 thinking (analytical/critical thinking). The media will say what they have to say and what will be “popular”
what type of thinking should we engage in terms of the media?
we have to engage in system 2 thinking (analytical/critical thinking). The media will say what they have to say and what will be “popular”
What do experiments allow us to make?
causal inferences: the process of drawing a conclusion that a specific treatment (i.e., intervention) was the “cause” of the effect (or outcome) that was observed.
what do experimenters do?
manipulate variables
What makes a study an experiment?
- Random Assignment of participants to conditions
- Manipulation of an independent variable
What is an experiment?
- The researcher manipulates one or more variables, attempts to control factors, and then measures how the manipulated variables affect participants’ responses
- Participants are randomly assigned to groups
what is an independent variable?
the variable manipulated by the researcher.
The presumed cause in the cause-and-effect relationship
what is a dependent variable?
- the response that is measured, to determine whether the independent variable has produced an effect
- The presumed effect in the cause-and-effect relationship
What is a random Assignment?
The participants in the experiment are randomly sorted into groups
what is the experimental group?
The group of participants that receives the manipulation
what is a control group?
the group of participants that does not receive the manpulation
What is experimental design?
process of carrying out research in an objective and controlled fashion so that precision is maximized and specific conclusions can be drawn regarding a hypothesis statement.
what is a confounding variable?
a variable that is not controlled for in an experiment or study and that may be affecting the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Confounding variables can cause spurious correlations and can lead to false conclusions about causality.
what is an example of confounding variable?
a study that examines the relationship between hours of sleep and academic performance. If the study only takes into account hours of sleep and academic performance, it might conclude that more hours of sleep lead to better academic performance. However, a confounding variable, such as access to quality study materials, might also be affecting academic performance. If the study had taken into account both hours of sleep and access to study materials, it might conclude that better access to study materials, rather than more hours of sleep, is leading to better academic performance.
what do cause-and-effect inferences require?
- that groups be equal
- if not, we have alternative explanations
purpose of Random Assignment?
Create equal groups
what is the placebo effect?
refers to a change in symptoms experienced by a person after receiving treatment with no active ingredients. It occurs due to belief in the treatment, positive attention from the provider, and other psychological and social factors, and can impact results in clinical trials.
What are blinded experiments?
Participants are unaware if they are in the experimental group or the control group
explain Nocebo effect?
harm resulting from the mere expectations of harm
what are experimenter expectancy effects?
Researchers’ hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study
what are double-blind experiments?
a study design where neither the participant nor the researcher knows which treatment the participant is receiving. This helps reduce bias and increase the validity of the results by preventing the placebo effect and the influence of the researcher’s expectations on the outcome.
explain Nocebo effect.
harm resulting from the mere expectations of harm
What is the experimenter expectancy effect?
researchers hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study (unintentionally biasing a study)
what are double blind experiments?
when neither the researchers nor the participant are aware of who is in the experimental or control group
what are demand characteristics?
cues that participants pick up from a study that allows them to generate the researchers hypotheses
what do demand characteristics counteract with?
cover stories and distractor facts
what can be affected by demand characteristics?
responses
two points about naturalistic observation
High external validity
Cannot draw causal inferences
two points about case studies
provide depth, especially for unique cases
cannot draw causal inferences (can’t day one thing causes another)
two points about surveys & correlation designs
Provide description & and prediction; breadth
Cannot draw causal inferences
two points about experimental design
Can draw causal inferences
Low in external validity; narrow focus
what do ethics represent?
represent a system of moral principles and standards
what do ethics represent?
represent a system of moral principles and standards
what do psychologists study/
sentient beings: humans and animals
what is the importance of research ethics?
- progress in psychology depends on willing participants
- ethics can impact methodology
- deception in research
what was tuskegee syphilis study?
- 1932-1972
-asked how syphilis spread through the body - recruited 600 financially poor black men
- 23 had advanced syphili and were not informed or treated
problems with tuskegee syphilis study
important information was with held
coerced to participate
direct harm: low benefit
what is respect for persons?
respect autonomy & protect those with developing impaired, or diminished autonomy
what is concern for welfare?
quality if life; physical and mental health
what is justice?
fair and equitable
what is research ethics board?
the independent institutional committee that evaluates whether proposed research projects with human participants comply with the TCPS-2 principles and guidelines.
tri-council policy mandate
“To promote research that is conducted according to the highest ethical standards.”
what is informed consent
- Informing research participants of what is involved in a study before asking them to participate
- The principle that people have the right to make a voluntary, informed decision about whether to participate in a study
-complex endeavor
what is deception?
Researchers intentionally withhold information from (passive) or intentionally mislead (active) participants about the nature of the study
- a problem in psychology where people will change their response when they know they’re being measures
- does not harm participants
what is deception?
Researchers intentionally withhold information from (passive) or deliberately mislead (active) participants about the nature of the study
- a problem in psychology where people will change their response when they know they’re measured
- does not harm participants
when is deception permitted?
- A study cannot be conducted without deception
- Does not harm participants
- Does not involve a medical or therapeutic intervention
- The study is likely to yield significant positive benefits
what is debriefing
A conversation or communication with the participant that conveys additional information about the study.
when it come to deception this is opportunity to bring he participants in and answer questions
what does debriefing provide?
- information about the purpose of the study
- gives participants the change to ask questions
- minimize negative effects/feelings
what is animal research?
Is the knowledge gained worth the suffering?
Animals give us important “models” to learn from
Some research may not generalize
what is descriptive stats?
numrical characterizations that describe data
what is a central tendency?
The measure of the “typical” or “central” scores in a data set
Dataset or “distribution” of scores
Example: Age in a university class: 18, 20, 22, 22, 23
what is a mean?
The average of the distribution of scores
Advantages and disadvantages of mean
- Adv: includes all numerical information in the dataset
- dis: heavily influenced by outliers
what is the median?
the middle score in a data set
what is the mode?
the more frequently occurring score in the dataset
what is variability (dispersion)
measures of how scores vary
how loosely or tightly bunched the scores are
range
difference between the highest and lowest scores
standard deviation
the measure of variability that takes into account how far each data point is from the mean
inferential stats
Mathematical methods that allow us to determine whether we can generalize findings from our sample to the full population
statistical sig
Unlikely to be due to chance alone
Conventional threshold is 5/100 or p < 0.05
