Chapter 2 Flashcards
Which of the following are the necessary components of scientific investigation?
inquiry, open mindedness, skepticism
When following the scientific process, what does someone do immediately AFTER they have formed a hypothesis?
Test the hypothesis in an experiment.
A _____ is a specific prediction about a phenomenon.
hypothesis
How do theories compare to hypotheses?
Theories are broader than hypotheses.
The hindsight bias gives the impression that psychology is just ______ because after-the-fact explanations for almost any result are easy to arrive at.
common sense
What is the first step in the scientific process?
Identify a question of interest.
What is a good theory?
incorporates existing facts and observations within a single broad framework.
What is a variable
any characteristic or factor that can vary.
What is the difference between a theory and a hypothesis?
hypothesis is an assumption made before any research has been completed for the sake of testing. A theory on the other hand is a principle set to explain phenomena already supported by data.
Plus a theory is much broader
The notion that the simplest theory is usually the correct one is known as the law of _________ or Occam’s razor.
Parsimony
What is an operational definition?
A variable in terms of the specific procedures used to produce or measure it. They translate abstract concepts into something observable and measurable.
_______-_______ measures are used to ask individuals about their own knowledge, attitudes, feelings, experiences, or behaviour.
self report
The speed with which a person responds to a stimulus is known as
reaction time
What kind of measure involves recording what people are experiencing, such as their heart-rate, blood pressure and so on?
Physiological measure
The tendency to respond in a socially acceptable manner rather than according to how one truly feels or behaves is known as which of the following?
Social desirability bias
What does it mean when researchers measure overt behaviour?
It means that the behaviour is directly observable
When observations are consistent, such as when two observers watching the same behaviour consistently agree, we can determine that it is _______
reliable
What is an unobtrusive measure?
recording behavior without participants knowing
Psychologists use ________
measures to gather information about behaviour from already existing records and documents.
archival
What does it mean when researchers measure overt behaviour?
It means that the behaviour is directly observable.
What is the MAIN advantages of using multiple measures of a variable instead of a single type of measure?
It provides a more complete picture.
In psychology, ______ research seeks to identify how humans and other animals behave, particularly in natural settings.
descriptive
An in-depth analysis of an individual, group or event is known as a
case study
Dr. Moreno is doing neuropsychological testing. Which of the following best describes the type of measurement technique Dr. Moreno is using?
Psychological testing
Heart rate and hormonal secretions are both examples of
physiological measures
using _____ measures of a variable yields a more complete picture than using a single type of measure
multiple
Case studies and natural observation are both examples of ______ research methods.
descriptive
Name a limitation of the case study
it cannot be used to determine cause and effect relationships
A personality test and an IQ test are both examples of
psychological tests
A potential drawback of case study research concerns ______
: Will the principles uncovered in a case study hold true for other people in other situation.
Generalization
Naturalistic observation involves the study of
naturally occurring behaviour.
Which of the following are examples of psychological tests that measure variables?
Cognitive and personality assessment
A researcher observes primary school children while they are playing. This is an example of
naturalistic observation.
Heart rate and hormonal secretions are both examples of
physiological measures
What are some disadvantages to naturalistic observation?
There may be bias in interpretation.
Observers may inadvertently influence participants.
What is considered to be the major limitation of a case study?
It is a poor method for determining cause-and-effect.
Political polls are an examples of _____ research.
survey
A key component in survey research is the ______, which is defined as all the individuals that we are interested in drawing a conclusion about.
population
One disadvantage to
_________ observation is that the human observer may inadvertently influence the participants being studied because of his/her presence.
naturalistic
True or false: A representative sample is one that reflects the important characteristics of the population.
true
A _____ sample is one that reflects the important characteristics of the population.
representative
What is a population vs. a sample?
A population consists of all the individuals about whom we are interested in drawing a conclusion
A sample is a subset of individuals from the larger population of interest.
A procedure where a population is divided into subgroups based on characteristics like gender and ethnic identity is _______ _______ sampling.
stratified random
True or false: The point of getting a representative sample is that we can be quite confident but not certain that the findings closely portray the population as a whole.
true
True or false: The strongest advantage of survey research is that we can be confident that the findings closely portray the population as a whole if a representative sample is used.
True
When every member of a population has an equal probability of being chosen to participate in a survey, this procedure is known as
random sampling
The strongest advantage of survey research is
it is an efficient way to collect data.
A disadvantage of survey research is that it relies on ______-_________ which can be distorted by social desirability bias.
self-reports
Dr. Cuczek is studying the impact of breastfeeding on attachment style in infants. Her SAMPLE will be which of the following?
The babies in her research study
With a _______ sample, each member of the population has a equal opportunity of being chosen to participate in a survey.
random
A procedure where a population is divided into subgroups based on characteristics like gender and ethnic identity is _____ random sampling.
stratified
Professor Chen has determined that there is a relationship between scores on an anxiety scale and the number of worries a person reports having in day to day life. Professor Chen has performed _____ research.
correlational
True or false: The strongest advantage of survey research is that we can be confident that the findings closely portray the population as a whole if a representative sample is used.
true
Bidirectionality is an issue in _______ research
correlation
Statistically determining whether two variables are related can be done by conducting what type of research?
Correlation
Which of the following is not one of the interpretive problems encountered in correlation research?
- The bidirectionality problem
- The third-variable problem
- The statistical bias problem
- The problem of spuriousness
The statistical bias problem
A researcher determines there is a relationship between academic success and self-esteem. However, he can not show if the academic success actually decreases or increases self-esteem. This is an example of _________ research.
correlational
What is the correlational coefficient?
A statistic that indicates the direction and strength of a relation between two variables
Researchers have found a relationship between variable X and variable Y. The interpretive problem in correlational research is that we don’t know if X influences Y or Y influences X. This illustrates
the bi-directionality problem
A perfect positive correlation would be expressed as
+1.00
A correlation with a coefficient of .89 is an example of a _____ correlation.
positive
A statistic that indicates the direction and strength of the relation between two variables is know as the correlation ________.
coefficient
According to the ______-_______ problem, Z varies and causes X and Y to change in unison.
third variable
A statistic that indicates the direction and the strength of the relationship between two variables and ranges from -1.00 to +1.00 is
a correlation coefficient
True or false: A negative correlation occurs when higher scores on one variable are associated with lower scores on a second variable.
true
When more ice cream is consumed, there are more drownings. This is an example of a _______ correlation
a positive correlation
People who are high in job satisfaction leave their jobs less often than people who are low in job satisfaction. This exemplifies which type of correlation?
negative
A negative correlation occurs when ______ scores on one variable are associated with ______ scores on a second variable.
higher, lower
A _______ correlation means that X and Y are not related statistically. Thus, there is no relationship between the variables.
zero
A ______ depicts the correlation between variables. There is a horizontal axis and a vertical one.
scatterplot
Which type of research can BEST establish whether relations found in the laboratory generalize to the outside world?
- experimental
- case study
- correlational
correlational
When two variables are predictably related, we can estimate a person’s score on one variable. This is how ________ data allows us to make predictions.
correlational
Which correlation coefficients indicates that there is no relationship between the two variables?
0.00
What is a powerful tool for examining cause-and-effect relationships?
an experiment
True or false: A positive correlation means that higher scores on one variable are associated with lower scores on a second variable.
false
A ______ is most often used to depict the correlation between variables.
scatterplot
A most powerful tool for determining cause-and-effect is the
experiment
The factor that is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter is known as
the independent variable
The effect factor that is measured by the experimenter is known as the
dependent variable
Cause-and-effect can be determined best with the use of a(n) _______
experiment
An experimenter manipulates the ______ variable and measures the -_______ variable
independent. dependent
The group that receives a treatment or an active level of the independent variable is known as
the experimental group
The ________ variable is the variable the experimenter can manipulate or control in an experiment.
independent
What is the purpose of the control group?
To provide a standard of behaviour to which the experimental group can be compared.
An ________ variable must have at least two levels.
independent
A common experimental design where each group in the experiment is composed of a different set of participants is called a
between groups design
The ________ group is not exposed to the treatment or receives a zero-level of the independent variable.
control
A _________ assignment ensures that at the start of a study, the groups in an experiment are equivalent.
random
When each participant is exposed to all the conditions of an independent variable it is called a ______ _______, or a within subjects design.
repeated measures
________ is a procedure in which the order of conditions is varied so that no condition has an overall advantage relative to the others.
counterbalancing
What is a powerful tool for examining cause-and-effect relationships?
An experiment
______ assignment is a procedure in which participants have an equal chance of being assigned to groups within an experiment, thereby balancing differences across experimental and control groups.
random
When each participant is exposed to all the conditions of an independent variable it is called a ______ ______ or repeated measures design.
within subjects
An interaction occurs when one ______ variable has a different effect depending on the level of another ______ variable
independent, dependent
A researcher studying memory makes sure that each of the three conditions in her experiment occurs first, second, and third and equal number of times across participants. The researcher is using ______ so that no one condition will have an advantage over the others.
counterbalancing
________ refers to how well an experimental procedure tests what it is designed to test.
validity
Researchers can better capture the complexities of real life by manipulating at lest two _______ ________ in their experiments
independent variables
The effect factor that is measured by the experimenter is known as the
dependent variable
The procedure in which each participant has an equal chance of being placed in the control or experimental groups in an experiment is called
random assignment
The degree to which an experiment supports clear causal conclusions is called
internal validity
When one independent variable has a different effect on different levels of another independent variable it is called a(n)
interaction
When two variables are intertwined and it is impossible to determine which has influenced a dependent variable then _______ of variables has occurred.
confounding
When an experimental procedure tests what it is designed to test it is called
validity
What are the advantages of manipulating two independent variables in the same experiment?
It is easier to observe interactions.
It may better capture the complexity of real life.
It may be more efficient.
What refers to a substance that has no pharmacological effect?
Placebo
________ refers to how well an experimental procedure tests what it is designed to test.
Validity
How does a placebo effect decrease internal validity?
By providing an alternative explanation for why responses change after exposure to a treatment
Explain the the experimenter expectancy effect
When a researcher’s expectations about the findings of his or her research are inadvertently conveyed to participants and influence their responses.
In a _________-________ procedure neither the experimenter nor the participants knows what treatment group the participants has been assigned to.
double blind
Generalizability is reflected in an experiment’s
external validity.
A placebo effect presents a threat to
internal
The process of repeating a study to determine whether the original findings can be duplicated is
replication
Experimenters typically have a commitment to the hypothesis they are testing and they may inadvertently influence experimental participants to respond in a hypothesis consistent manner. This is
the experimenter expectancy effect.
When researchers combine the results of different studies it is called a ____-_______.
meta-analysis
_______ refers to how well an experimental procedure tests what it is designed to test.
validity
A researcher is conducting a study to see if he will get the same results with participants from Mexico as he did when his participants were from Canada. The research is conducting a(n) _______-_______ replication.
cross cultural
The ____________ procedure is one in which both participants and experimenters are unaware as to which participants are in which experimental conditions.
double-blind
_______ review boards are required at all universities to review research proposals that may have ethical issues.
ethics
The principle of _______ consent strongly emphasizes the importance of explaining all aspects of a procedure and ensuring that the procedure is understood.
informed
When researchers combine the results of different studies it is called a ____-_______
meta-analysis
The purpose of debriefing is to
explain the true purpose of the study to participants after it is over
Animals are involved in approximately ______ percent of psychology studies in Canada.
7-8
The purpose of deception is to
obtain natural spontaneous responses from participants
When deception is used, _______ must occur after the study is complete. This is to explain to the participants the true purpose of the study.
debriefing
