Chapter 2 Flashcards
Empiricism
Involves using evidence form senses at the basis for conclusions.
5 steps for the scientific method
1) identify a question
2) form hypothesis
3) test hypothesis
4) analyze data
5) build a body of knowledge
Hypothesis
A tentative explanation or prediction about some phenomenon. Gives support to a theory.
Theory
A set of formal statements that explain how and why certain events or phenomena are related to one another
What makes a good theory
- organizes info in a meaningful way
- its testable
- supported by research
- conforms to law of parsimony
Law of parsimony / Occams Razor
All things being equal, the simplest explanation is the best explanation.
Operational definition
- defines a variable in terms of specific procedures used to produce or measure it
- a description of a property in concrete, measurable terms
Self-report measures
Partipants report on thier own knowledge, feelings, experiences.
Special desirability bias
Desire to make a good impression, effects data form being accurate.
Measures of overt behaviour
Observers record observable behaviour.
Issues with measures of overt behaviour
participants can change their behaviour when being observed.
Demand characteristics
Aspects of an observational setting that make people behave as they think they should
Solution to demand characteristics
Observing people without them knowing (unethical)
Archival measures
Makes use of pre-existing records or documents
Psychological tests
Specialized tests designed to measure certain variables
Descriptive research
Seeks to explain how we behave, esp. in natural environments
- All variables measured
- Tend to examine natural contexts
- Extraneous factors not controlled
- Some examples include case studies, naturalistic, observation, and surveys
What are the 3 conditions for random sampling not to be needed
- Similarity of a sample and a population doesn’t matter
- Multiple experiments conducted on different samples
have similar results - Similarity of sample and population is sometimes
reasonable
Correlational research
Looking for a correlation between variables
Bidirectionality problem
If X and Y are correlated, which one causes which?
Third variable problem
A third variable could be the cause of either X or Y.
Independent variable
Manipulated variable
Dependant variable
Measured variable
Can random assignment prevent third variable problems ?
YES, cause any differences within the ppl wouldn’t matter as they were randomly assigned
Between groups design
2 groups with 2 experiences, 1 group per experience
Repeated measures design
Each participant is exposed to each experience
Inferential statistics:
tests the significance of differences between groups to see if the effect we
are observing is meaningful
Significance:
the likelihood that a relationship between two or more variables is caused by something other than chance
Internal validity
The degree to which the experiment supports a causal conclusion
External validity
The degree to which the results of the study can be generalized to other pops, settings and conditions
Replication
Respected study with similar results
Meta-analysis
Combining the results of many studies of the same topic to guest overall significance of the findings
