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chapter 2 Flashcards

methods in psychological science

1
Q

empiricism

A

conviction that accurate knowledge of the world can be acquired by observing it

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2
Q

scientific method

A

Good for reducing bias (hindsight bias) and helps provide better theories (prediction and control)
Steps:
1. Identify: identify question of interest
2.gather: gather info and form hypothesis
3.Test: test hypothesis my conducting research
4. analyze: analyze data, draw conclusions
5. Build: build knowledge and repeat

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3
Q

qualities of a good theory

A

comprehensive, testable, falsifiable, simple , generative (provides new insights)

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4
Q

law of parsimony

A

if 2 theories can explain and predict that same phenomenon equally well, the theory that is more simple and makes fewer assumptions is preferred

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5
Q

conceptual definition

A

what the concept/ variable means

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6
Q

operational definition

A

how to measure the concept / variable

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7
Q

self report measures

A

those that ask people to report their own knowledge, beliefs, feelings, experiences, or behaviours

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8
Q

behavioural observation

A

psychologists may use the occurrence , frequency , or timing of a behavioural occurrence. (however if someone knows that they are being observed it may effect behaviour)

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9
Q

unobtrusive measures

A

research methods that collect data without disturbing or influencing participants, ensuring their actions remain natural

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10
Q

archival measures

A

refer to using pre-existing records and data

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11
Q

physiological measures

A

psychologists have long used this in research. ex., heart rate, neuroimaging. Becoming more important in most areas of psych. Hard to fake but also hard to interpret

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12
Q

demand characteristics

A

cues used by participants to work out what the experiment is about, leading participants to alter their responses or behaviours to meet what they think is expected.
solutions: naturalistic observations, privacy and control, and unawareness

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13
Q

observer bias

A

when a researcher’s expectations, opinions, or prejudices influence what they perceive or record in a study.
solution: double blind study

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14
Q

research designs

A

the systematic study plan used to turn a research question into a research study. Important because if you can understand how various studies are conducted, it will be easier to evaluate the study, its findings, and its conclusion.

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15
Q

descriptive research

A

seeks to identify how humans/ animals behave. (case study naturalistic observation, survey research).

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16
Q

case study

A

in depth analysis of a specific individual , group, or event. Data can be collected in many ways. Tends to be focused on extraordinary people or phenomenon (ex Phineas Gage: man who was studied after an iron rod went through his skull).
advantages: in depth analysis, may challenge previously held beliefs or theories, may be generative
disadvantages: cannot determine causation, may not generalize, potential bias

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17
Q

naturalistic observation

A

research where behaviour is observed as it occurs in a natural setting. the use of coding system allows for systematic observation (in quantitative research), can also use qualitative.
advantages: observing behaviour in real settings and can provide a wealth of information
disadvantages: cannot determine causation, generalizations are limited, and presence of observer may impact behaviour

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18
Q

survey research

A

research involving the collecting of info about a topic by administering questionnaires / interviewing people.
advantages: efficient to collect and can be informative
disadvantages: no cause and effect, self reports can be inaccurate, unrepresentative conclusions can lead to invalid conclusions, and inferences are based on probabilities.

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19
Q

correlational research

A

a research design in which the researcher examines the relationship between 2 or more variables. allows us to make predictions. strictly quantitative (m ay include groups/categories but are represented numerically). Data may come from various methods
advantages: allows us to see if there is a relationship and make predictions, establish a relationship to study under more controlled conditions, study phenomena that are unethical/unpractical in a lab
disadvantages : cannot determine causation

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20
Q

correlation coefficient

A

statistic that indicates the direction and strength of the relation between 2 variables. strength indicated by how close it is to -1 or +1. positive= if one variable increases so does the other. negative= as one variable increases, the other decreases

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21
Q

experiments

A

can determine causation. have 3 essential characteristics:
1. the researcher manipulates 1 or more variables
2. the researcher measures whether this manipulation influences the other variables
3. the researcher attempts to control extraneous factors
advantages: can determine causation, can control extraneous factors to rule out alternative explanations
disadvantages: confounding variables, may not generalize to real life/ low external validity, placebo effects, experimenter/ observer expectancies

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22
Q

independent vs dependent variable

A

IV= factor that is manipulated or controlled by experimenter (cause)
DV= factor that is measured by the experimenter and may be influences by IV (effect)

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23
Q

3 criteria for causation

A
  1. covariance: as the independent variable changes, the dependent variable changes
  2. Temporal precedence: the manipulation (independent variable) occurs before the measurement (dependent variable)
  3. internal validity: degree which experiment supports clear connections
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24
Q

experimental/ treatment group

A

group that receives treatment or an active amount of independent variable

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25
control group
group not exposed to treatment or receives zero level of the independent variable. used as a comparison group
26
random assignment
every participant has an equal chance to be in any group. rules out selection bias and internal differnces
27
internal validity
extent to which a piece of evidence supports a claim about cause and effect
28
external validity
extent to which you can generalize findings of a study to other situations, people, settings, etc.
29
reliability
the tendency for a measure to produce the same result whenever it is used to measure the same thing
30
test retest reliability
when the assessment is consistent at different points of time
31
interrater reliability
when assessments from different researchers/ evaluators are consistent
32
internal reliability
when items with in an assessment are consistent
33
validity
the characteristic of an observation that allows 1 to draw accurate inferences from it.
34
face validity
when the measure appears to assess what it is meant to measure
35
content validity
when the measure assesses all of the parts of a defined construct
36
convergent validity
when the measure correlates (positively or negatively) with other constructs it should be associated with.
37
discriminant validity
when the measure correlates weakly or not at all with constructs it is not associated with
38
generalizability
the process of deriving a concept, judgement, principle, or theory from a limited number of specific cases and applying it more widely , often to an entire class off objects, events, or people. threats to generalizability: undergraduate samples, WEIRD samples, gender bias, cohort effects
39
descriptive statistics
summarize and describe characteristics pf a data set (aka distribution) ex. average grade in the class
40
inferential statistics
tell us how confident we can be in drawing conclusions or inferences about a population based on findings from a sample ex. does grade in 1 class predict grades in other classes
41
measure of central tendency
measure that describes a distribution in terms of a single statistic that is in some way "typical" of the sample as a whole. (mode, mean, median)
42
mode
most frequent response in a distribution
43
mean
the mathematical average of a set of scores
44
median
when ordered from lowest value to highest value, the score that is in the middle of the distribution.
45
measure of variability
measures that provide info about the spread of scores in a distribution (range, standard deviation)
46
range
the difference between the highest and lowest scores of a distribution
47
standard deviation
a common measure of variation around the mean. (square root of the variable and denoted as SD )
48
statistical significance
term that suggest that it is unlikely that a particular finding occurred by chance alone.
49
p value
the probability of finding the observed , or more extreme, results when there is no effect. p
50
practical significance
statistical significance only tells us there is likely an effect. does not tell us how much of an effect or its practical value.
51
effect size
how large of an effect is or how strong of a relationship is there
52
key ethical consideration for research
informed consent, confidentiality, protection from harm, lack of coercion
53
general ethical principles of the APA
1. Beneficence and nonmaleficence: does it benefit science and society without harm 2. fidelity and responsibility: as psychologist or researcher you have a role and limitations (what you are capable of doing in that role) 3. integrity: being honest and transparent in your role and research 4. justice: making sure that people that benefit from the research are the ones partaking/ will have access to findings 5. respect for peoples rights and dignity: each person has a right to confidentiality, informed consent, and autonomy.
54
3 Rs of animal research
1. replacement: try not to use animals 2.reduction: reduce amount of animals used. 3.refinement: study should cause as little distress as possible
55
theory vs hypothesis
T= an explanation of a natural phenomenon H= a falsifiable prediction made by a theory
56
power
a detectors ability to detect the absence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property
57
population
a complete collection of people
58
sample
a partial collection of people drawn from a population
59
frequency distribution
a graphic representation showing the number of times that the measurement of a property takes on each of its possible values
60
normal ditribution
a mathematically defined distribution in which the frequency of measurements is highest in the middle and decreases in both direction
61
self selection
a problem that occurs when anything about a participant determines that value of the independent variable to which the participant was exposed
62
type I error
an error that occurs when researchers conclude that there is an casual relationship between 2 variables when there in fact is not
63
type 2 error
an error that occurs when researchers determine that there is not a casual relationship between 2 variables when there in fact is

Psych 105 (final) (9 decks)

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