Chapter 2 Flashcards
A testable prediction about the conditions under which an event will occur.
Hypothesis
An organized set of principles used to explain observed phenomena
Theory
Whhy is the application of empirical (evidence-based) & scientific methods to study people important?
- To investigate and measure thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviors
- Minimize bias and produce testable questions
Research whose goal is to increase the understanding of human behavior, often by testing hypotheses based on a theory
Basic research
Research whose goal is to make applications to the world and contribute to the solution of social problems.
Applied research
The specific procedures for manipulating or measuring a conceptual variable
operational definition
Why are operational definitions important in research?
- How we define variables dictates how we measure them
- Our measurement then dictates what/if any interpretations can be made
What are the three key types of measurement?
- Self-report
- Observations
- Technology
What are some examples of a self-report measurement?
- Questionnaires
- Polls
- Free-response questions
What are some examples of a technology measurement?
- Brain Activity
- MRI
- Heart-rate monitors
What are some possible limitations of self-report measurements?
- How questions are phrased influence responses
- When and where questions are asked
- Hard to classify responses and/or missing responses and/or errors in recollection
What are some possible limitations to observations?
- Awareness of observation may alter behavior and/or suppress it
- Interrater reliability may need to be established
What are some possible limitations to using technology of measurement?
- Costly and time consuming
- Not all behavior can be investigated using these advanced techniques.
The degree to which different observers agree on their observations.
Interrater reliability
The extent to which the measures used in a study measure the variables they were designed to measure and the manipulations in an experiment manipulate the variables they were designed to manipulate.
Construct Validity
What is a good example of construct validity?
Using the Rosenburg Scale to measure self-esteem
What are the different research designs and approaches?
- Descriptive Research
- Association Research
- Experiment (Inferential)
An association between two variables may be due to shared association with another variable
third-variable problem
T/F Correlations cannot determine causation
True
What are examples of descriptive research and what do they allow the researcher to investigate?
Observational and archival.
Method used to describe people and their tendencies
What are examples of association research and what do they allow the researcher to investigate?
Correlational
Examines the relationship between different variables of interest to evaluate their associations with each other.
What do experiments allow the researcher to investigate?
Examines cause and effect relationships
Research designed to measure the association between variables that are not manipulated by the researcher.
Correlational research
A form of research that can demonstrate causal relationships because (1) the experimenter has control over the events that occur and (2) participants are randomly assigned to conditions.
Experiment
In an experiment, a factor that experimenters manipulate to see if it affects the dependent variable.
independent variable
In an experiment, a factor that experimenters measure to see if it is affected by the independent variable.
Dependent variable
A method of assigning participants to the various conditions of an experiment so that each participant in the experiment has an equal chance of being in any of the conditions.
Random assignment
A method of selecting participants for a study so that everyone in a population has an equal chance of being in the study.
Random Sampling
establishes that exposure to the IV occurs before the DV’s are measured
Temporal Precedence
Why temporal precedence is important in determining causality
- Random assignment limits outside confounds influencing data
- Any differences observed when DV’s are compared across different conditions can be reasonably attributed to the effects of the IV.
- Researchers may find interventions that can be put in practice.
In the context of research, a method that provides false information to participants
deception
Accomplice of an experimenter who, in dealing with the real participants in an experiment, acts as if he or she is also a participant.
Confederate
The degree to which there can be reasonable certainty that the independent variables in an experiment caused the effects obtained on the dependent variables.
Internal validity
The degree to which there can be reasonable confidence that the results of a study would be obtained for other people and in other situations.
external validity
What are some examples of confounds?
- Experiments expectancy effects (expectation cause different treatment toward different participants which influences their behavior)
- Measurement errors
- External factors (weather, economy, power-outages)
