chapter 2

Question 1

inferential statistics

Answer 1

are used to interpret data and draw conclusions

Question 2

statistical significance

Answer 2

is said to exist when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low

Question 3

replication

Answer 3

is the repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated (they help science identify and purge erroneous findings)

Question 4

a sample

Answer 4

is the collection of participants selected for observation in an empirical study

Question 5

What does empirical research always involve?

Answer 5

it always involves making statistical inferences about a population based on a sample

Question 6

placebo

Answer 6

is a substance that resembles a drug but has no actual pharmacological effect

Question 7

placebo effect

Answer 7

occurs when participants expectations lead them to experience some change even though they receive empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment

Question 8

social desirability bias

Answer 8

is a tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself

Question 9

halo effect

Answer 9

occurs when ones overall evaluation of a person, object, or institution spills over to influence more specific ratings

Question 10

experimenter bias

Answer 10

occurs when a researchers expectations/preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained

Question 11

What does research suggest about the experimenter bias?

Answer 11

that it may lead researchers to unintentionally influence the behaviour of their participants

Question 12

problems associated with experimenter bias:

Answer 12

double blind procedure

Question 13

double blind procedure

Answer 13

is a research strategy in which neither participants nor experimenters know which participants are in the experimental or control groups

Question 14

what are the 3 independent dimensions Bateson suggests are ethically acceptable for animals studies?

Answer 14

• extent of anticipated animal suffering
• The importance of the research problem addressed
• The likelihood of beneficial discoveries

Question 15

psychology is empirical, true or false

Answer 15

true

Question 16

what does the empirical approach entail?

Answer 16

testing ideas
basing conclusions
relying on healthy brand of skepticism

Question 17

anecdotal evidence

Answer 17

consists of personal stories about specific incidents/experiences

Question 18

cons of anecdotal evidence

Answer 18

they are often inaccurate and riddled with embellishments.

Question 19

scientific investigation

Answer 19

1. translate theory or intuitive idea into testable hypothesis
2. design study
3. collect data
4. analyze data
5. report findings

Question 20

operational definitions

Answer 20

describe actions/operations that will be used to measure/control a variable

Question 21

experiments allow researchers to…

Answer 21

detect cause and effect relationships

Question 22

independent variables

Answer 22

are a condition/event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable

Question 23

dependent variable

Answer 23

is the variable thats thought to be affected by manipulation of independent variable

Question 24

why is it called an independent variable?

Answer 24

it is free to be varied by experimenter

Question 25

whys is called dependent variable?

Answer 25

it is thought to depend on manipulations of independent variable

Question 26

control group

Answer 26

consists of similar subjects who do not receive the special treatment given to experimental groups

Question 27

extraneous variables

Answer 27

are any other variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study

Question 28

cofounding of variables

Answer 28

occurs when two variables are linked in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific efforts

Question 29

what happens when extraneous variable is cofounded with an independent variable?

Answer 29

a researcher cannot tell which is having what effect on the dependent variable

Question 30

descriptive/correlational research methods

Answer 30

include naturalistic observations, case studies, and surveys

Question 31

which methods cannot be manipulated?

Answer 31

descriptive/correlational research methods

Question 32

naturalistic observation

Answer 32

involves researcher engaging in careful observation of behaviour without direct intervening with subjects

Question 33

case study

Answer 33

is an in depth investigation of an individual participant/group of participants

Question 34

case studies are good for...

Answer 34

investigating certain phenomena like psychological disorders

Question 35

naturalistic observations are good for researchers...

Answer 35

to study behaviour under conditions less artificial than in experiments

Question 36

advantage of descriptive/correlational research

Answer 36

- they give researchers a way to explore questions that couldnt examine with experimental procedures - broadens scope of phenomena

Question 37

disadvantages of descriptive/correlation research

Answer 37

- investigators cannot control events to isolate cause and effect - cannot demonstrate conclusively that correlated variables are casually related

Question 38

median

Answer 38

the score that falls in middle of distribution

Question 39

mean

Answer 39

average

Question 40

mode

Answer 40

the most frequent score in distribution

Question 41

variablity

Answer 41

how much the scores in a data set vary from each other and the mean

Question 42

standard deviation

Answer 42

is an index of amount of variablity in set of data