Chapter 2

Question 1

testability

Answer 1

• Researchers should be able to put scientific theories to empirical tests
• It is particularly important that theories are falsifiable

Question 2

deductive line of reasoning

Answer 2

going from theory -> hypothesis -> prediction

Question 3

inductive line of reasoning

Answer 3

going from prediction -> hypothesis -> theory

Question 4

abduction

Answer 4

• starting from an observation, then guessing what happened (ie. looking at symptoms and figuring out likeliest explanation for them)
• Usually start out with incomplete observations
• Problem because sometimes people have biases that mess up their abductive reasoning -> Ex. focusing on the worst possible potential result (ie. Assuming you have lung cancer instead of stress), or focusing on the potential result that’s the most appealing to you

Question 5

theory

Answer 5

• overarching framework meant to organize and explain phenomena and data
• Generates hypotheses that test boundaries of the theory

Question 6

hypothesis

Answer 6

• A tentative statement about variables -> derived from an existing theory
• ex. “People who play violent video games are more aggressive than those who don’t”

Question 7

data can…

Answer 7

• support hypotheses

- Be (in)consistent with hypotheses

Question 8

data cannot…

Answer 8

• Confirm hypotheses

- (Dis)prove hypotheses

Question 9

what makes theories good?

Answer 9

• Supported by data
• Falsifiable
• Parsimonious

Question 10

falsifiability

Answer 10

• Ability to show a theory to be wrong
• There can exist data that are inconsistent with a theory
• Freud’s ideas were not falsifiable (ex. Oedipus complex -> subconscious, so can’t be proven/disproven)
• Can be considered as a matter of degree

Question 11

correlational/non-experimental theory

Answer 11

— is related to —

Question 12

experimental theory

Answer 12

— causes —

Question 13

what do good hypotheses do?

Answer 13

• Make predictions that expose itself to falsification

- Make specific predictions

Question 14

what do bad hypotheses do?

Answer 14

• make predictions that are difficult to falsify

- Make general predictions (= weak support)

Question 15

how does parsimony relate to falsifiability?

Answer 15

• More parsimonious -> more falsifiable
• Fewer conceptual relationships (assumptions) = less data required to counter a theory
• Fewer adjustments to established relationships in science = less data required to test adjustments
• We are evaluating the whole theory

Question 16

conceptual variable

Answer 16

broad, general, abstract ideas (ex. aggression)

Question 17

essentialism

Answer 17

• These is an unchanging, underlying essence of an entity that can be defined
• Sense of fixedness
• Ex. “A dog is a dog because it has a dog-ness to it”; there’s nothing you can do to a dog that would make it no longer a dog
• Focus is on the meaning of words
• we don’t use this!!

Question 18

operationalism

Answer 18

• using operational definitions
• Observable indicator of each variable, used for the purposes of this particular study
• Enable reliable measurement or manipulation of each variable in your hypothesis
• These operational definitions might not be right, but are a place to start
• Ex. How would you operationally define aggression?

Question 19

literature review

Answer 19

when research is summarized using narrative techniques and without following the typical 6-section format

Question 20

prediction

Answer 20

• specific prediction about the outcome and operational definitions of particular experiment
• ex. “People who play mortal combat 3 will score higher on the cook-medley hostility scale than people who play my little pony”

Question 21

5 sources of ideas

Answer 21

• Common assumptions
• Observation of the world around us
• Practical problems
• Theories
• Past research

Question 22

common assumptions

Answer 22

• Questioning common sense/folk wisdom beliefs (ex. “Do opposites really attract?”)
• Valuable because these assumptions aren’t always correct; the real world is often more complicated than folk wisdom would have us believe

Question 23

observation of the world around us

Answer 23

• Observing personal or social events (ex. Tipping behaviour in restaurants)
• By viewing the world inquisitively, sometimes we’ll discover things by accident or luck (ex. Pavlov’s discovery of classical conditioning)

Question 24

practical problems

Answer 24

Experiencing a practical problem can trigger a research project idea (ex. Designing graphic warning labels on cigarette boxes to discourage smoking)

Question 25

past research

Answer 25

Familiarizing yourself with past research can help generate new ideas for research (ex. Noticing inconsistencies in previous results, alternative explanations that could be explored, etc.)

Question 26

6 major sections in a research article

Answer 26

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Method
• Results
• Discussion
• References

Question 27

Abstract

Answer 27

summarizes the entire report

Question 28

Introduction

Answer 28

explains the problem and the specific hypothesis being tested

Question 29

method

Answer 29

describes exact procedures used in the study

Question 30

results

Answer 30

describes the specific findings

Question 31

discussion

Answer 31

concludes the article by speculating about its broader implications, addressing alternative explanations, discussing why a hypothesis was/was not supported by data, or makes suggestions for further research

Question 32

references

Answer 32

lists all the sources that were cited in the article (in APA format)