Chapter 2: Answering and Asking Research Questions Flashcards
scientific theory
A statement that satisfies three requirements: It is about constructs; it describes causal relations; and it is general in scope, although the range of generality differs for different theories.
constructs
Abstract and general concepts that are used in theories and that are not directly observable.
interventions
Practical steps taken to change people’s behavior or to solve social problems.
construct validity
The extent to which the independent and dependent variables used in research correspond to the theoretical constructs under investigation.
independent variables
A concrete manipulation or measurement of a construct that is thought to cause other constructs.
dependent variables
A concrete measurement of a construct that is thought to be an effect of other constructs
social desirability response bias
People’s tendency to act in ways that they believe others find acceptable and approve of.
self-report measures
Those based on asking the individual about his or her thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
observational measures
Those based on directly watching and recording people’s behavior, including online behavior.
archival measures
Those based on examining traces of past behavior.
performance measures
Those that ask participants to perform some task as well as they can.
physiological measures
Those based on measurement of some physiological process such as heart rate or muscle movements.
EEG (electro-encephalographic) measures
Measures that use electrical signals on the scalp to very accurately detect the times at which specific neural events occur.
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
Indirectly measures the activation levels of specific brain regions
internal validity
The extent to which it can be concluded that changes in the independent variable actually caused changes in the dependent variable in a research study.
research design
A plan that specifies how research participants will be selected and treated.
nonexperimental research designs
A research design in which both the independent and dependent variables are measured.
random assignment
The procedure of assigning participants to different experimental groups so that every participant has exactly the same chance as every other participant of being in any given group.
confederate
A research assistant playing a specific role in the study such as pretending to be another participant
external validity
The extent to which research results can be generalized to other appropriate people, times, and settings.
individualist cultures
Those in which people are particularly likely to think of themselves as separate from other people and to define themselves in terms of their uniqueness.
collectivist cultures
Those in which people tend to think of themselves as linked to others, and to define themselves in terms of their relationships to others.
field research
Research that takes place outside the laboratory.
demand characteristics
Cues in a research setting that lead participants to make inferences about what researchers expect or desire and that therefore bias how the participants act.
replications
Conducting new studies in an effort to provide evidence for the same theoretically predicted relations found in prior research.
meta-analysis
A systematic technique for locating studies on a particular topic and summarizing their results.
informed consent
Consent voluntarily given by an individual who decides to participate in a study after being told what will be involved in participation.
deception
Keeping participants uninformed or actively misleading them about particular aspects of a study.
debriefing
Informing research participants— as soon as possible after the completion of their participation in research— about the purposes, procedures, and scientific value of the study, and discussing any questions participants may have.
