Chapter 2- Conducting Research in Psychology Flashcards
1
Q
Hindsight bias
A
the tendency to overestimate our ability to predict an event
-“i knew it all along”
2
Q
Logic
A
tells us how, the world should work, not how it actually does
ex- heavier objects should fall faster than light ones
3
Q
Standford Prison Experiment
A
- examined to see if normal people might behave in extreme ways when put into situations that have extreme demands
- students put in a prison, were assigned to either be a guard or prisoner
- they got way to into it, had to end the study
4
Q
Science is
A
- is cumulative
- a process more than a product
- is an attitude
5
Q
Scientific thinking
A
using cognitive skills to test theories
6
Q
Three attitudes of science
A
1- Question authority
2-Open skepticism
3-Intellectual honesty
7
Q
The scientific method
A
OPTIC Observe- behaviour Predict- propose a hypothesis Test- collect data, do experiments Interpret- confirm or disconfirm a prediction Communicate- publish your findings
8
Q
Theory
A
a set of related assumptions from which testable predictions can be made
-explain facts
9
Q
Hypothesis
A
a specific, informed, testable prediction of an outcome
10
Q
Peer-review
A
scientists evaluating other scientist’s findings
11
Q
Replication
A
the repetition of a study to confirm the results
12
Q
Pseudoscience
A
- claims to be science, but does not use the scientific method
- what science IS NOT
13
Q
Characteristics of pseudoscience
A
-lacks the cumulative progress seen in science
-disregards real world observations and established facts, contradicts what is already known
-lacks the internal skepticism
-only vaguely explains how conclusions are reached
-uses loose and distorted logic
ex- astrology, UFOS, aliens
14
Q
Research designs
A
plans of action for how to conduct a scientific study
-depends on the questions asked
15
Q
variable
A
-anything that changes or varies
ex- age, gender, weight, intelligence, anxiety
16
Q
population
A
entire group of people a researcher is interested in
-all rats, all girls, all uni students, etc
17
Q
sample
A
a subset of a population
- cannot collect data from entire population-> too much time and money
- research is always conducted on samples, not populations
- valid conclusions need sample that represents the population
18
Q
Descriptive designs
A
- study in which researcher defines a problem and variable, but makes no prediction
- just gathers data, describes it as it is
- doesnt establish hypothesis
- looks for patterns
19
Q
Three types of descriptive designs
A
Case studies, naturalistic observations, interviews/surveys
20
Q
Case study
A
observation of one person over a long period of time
- used to study rare phenomena
limitations: - lack of generalizability to other people
- cannot look at cause and effect
ex: study of DS, thought his parents were imposters
21
Q
psychobiography
A
examines the lives of historically important people
22
Q
Naturalistic observation
A
- researcher observes and records behaviour in the real world
- gives researchers a look at real behaviour in the real world, rather than a controlled setting
limitations: lack of control over variables - have to wait for behaviour, time
- cannot look at cause and effect
23
Q
ex naturalistic observation, bullying
A
most children report bullying is bad and they won’t join in, naturalistic observation says otherwise
-peers are present most of the time during bullying, barely anyone tries to stop it
24
Q
archival research
A
research involving the use of already existing information to gain insight to peoples behaviour
-form of naturalistic observation
ex- describing the characteristics of teachers who committed sexual offences by using RCMP database
25
physical traces
- physical evidence of peoples activities in a particular setting
- ex: collecting ppl's garbage to see what they consume vs. what they say they consume
26
Interview/Survery
- asking people directly or indirectly of what they think, feel, or have done
- specific questions
- good for large groups of people
27
Kinsley
first person to survey ppl about their sexual behaviour
28
representative sample
research sample that accurately reflects the population the researcher is studying
-obtained through random sampling
29
random sample
a sample in which every member in the population has an equal chance of being selected
30
social desirability bias
the tendency towards favourable self-presentation
- ex: not answering questions completely honest in an interview because you are thinking about what the interviewer is thinking/maybe that they would judge you
- leads to inaccuracies
31
Limitations of Interview/ Survery
- if not random sample, results are not generalized, biased responses
- if topics are controversial, some people might not answer honestly
32
Correlational Designs
studies that measures 2 or more variables and their relationship to each other
- is X related to Y
-does not show causation
advantages:
-useful when variables cannot be manipulated
ex- unethical to raise kids two diff ways to study parenting behaviour
33
Limitations of correlational designs
- does not estabilish whether one variable actually causes the other and vice versa
- correlation is not causation
- if two variables are correlated, there are at least 3 possible explanations/causes
34
Correlation coefficient
-tells us the strength and direction of relationship between two variables
-1 to +1
+1- perfect positive relationship (as x goes up, y goes up)
-1 perfect negative relationship (as x increases, y decreases)
0 tells us there is no correlation or relationship between the two variables
*positive relationships are not better than negative ones, just tells us the direction
ex- -0.78 is a stronger relationship than a coefficient of 0.33 (since it is closer to -1 than 0.33 is to 1)
35
Scatterplot
graph that depicts correlation
36
Experimental studies
allows the researcher the most control over the experimental situation
-golden design
best use is to infer cause
37
Two crucial characteristics of an experiment
1- Manipulation of the predicted cause (independent variable) and measurement of the response (dependent variable)
2-Random assignment of participants to control and experimental groups, each participant has an equal chance of being in a control or experimental group
38
Independent variable
"the cause"
what did you change
usually on X axis
39
Dependent variable
"the effect"
the outcome/response to experimental manipulation
the thing you are measuring
usually on Y axis
40
Experimental group
participants who receive treatment or whatever is thought to change behaviour
-ex, in sugar experiment, the EG will receive real sugar
41
Control group
participants who don't receive treatment
- treated exactly the same as EG
- sometimes get a placebo, in the sugar example they would get artificial sweetener
42
placebo
a substance that appears identical to actual treatment, but lacks the active ingredient
43
Confounding variable
BAD
additional variable whose influence cannot be separated from the independent variable
ex- in sugar experiment, would be the unequal # of boys and girls, gender is the confounding variable
44
Issues in Experimental studies
Participant expectancy effects
| Experimenter expectancy effects
45
Participant expectancy effects
- occur when participants know what group they're placed in (either experimental or control) and it affects their behaviour
- ex: kids might act more hyper if they knew they were given the sugar substance
46
Participant expectancy effects solution
Single blind studies- studies in which the participant do not know which group they're in
47
Experimenter expectancy effects
- occur when the behaviour is influenced by the experimenter's knowledge of who is in the control and experimental group
ex: experimenter might treat the kids who have the sugar substance differently -> could affect the results
48
Experimenter expectancy effects solution
-double blind studies: where the participant and researcher both don't know who's in what group
49
GROUND BREAKING RESEARCH- Experimenter Expectancy effects
- rosenthal hypothesized that people who believed they were successful would be more likely to see success in others
- told one group they did well on test, told other group they did shitty
- asked them to rate people in pictures on how successful they were
- he unintentionally created behaviours that favoured his hypothesis
50
Self-fulfilling prophecy
- predicting/expecting something -> because you believe that prediction/expectation will happen, it comes true
- *due to behaviours that fulfill this prediction/expectation
ex: teacher believes a student is special, gives them harder questions, give more feedback, could create a higher performing student/ a smarter student
51
Measures
tools and techniques used to asses thought or behaviour
52
operational definitions
describe the way variables are measured or manipulated
| ex- researcher studying self esteem, rate it on a 10 point scale
53
A good measure is
Reliable- produces the same results every time
| Valid- accurate
54
reliability
the precision
55
validity
the accuracy
| -how close it is to the true value
56
Self reports
people's written or oral accounts of their thoughts, feelings, or actions
57
two kinds of self-report measures
Interview and questionnaires
58
interview
- researcher asks a question, participant answer in any way they want
- very open ended
59
questionnaires
- taken without interviewer
- answers are limited to the responses provided
- pros: inexpensive, can collect a large amount of data
60
Cons of self reports
- people are not always the best sources of information about themselves
- social desirability, people don't want to reveal what they think/feel for fear of looking bad
- we have to assume that people are accurate witnesses to their own experiences
61
Behavioural measures
based on the systemic observations of actions, either in normal environment or lab setting
PROS:
- reduces social desirability bias
- provides more objective and direct measurements
CONS:
- people may modify their behaviour if they know they are being watched, way to combat this is to measure behaviours that ppl can't control (assess eye movements when performing a mental task)
- time consuming
-ex: researcher interested in aggression, bring ppl into a lab, place them in a situation that elicits aggressive behaviour, videotape the response
62
Physiological measures
measures of bodily responses
ex- blood pressure, heart rate,
sweating, respiration
brain imaging technologies
63
Multiple measurement
the use of several measures to acquire data on one aspect of behaviour
- offsets limitations of any single measurement
- calls for it when studying complex phenomena
64
Statistics
the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of numerical data
-used to make sense of numbers
65
Descriptive statistics
summarizing and organizing data, ex plotting numbers in a table or graph
66
Operational definition
assigning a definition to something you can't define-> necessary
-abstract concepts
67
Frequency distribution
-a graph of the scores on a variable
| arranged by the number of times each score was obtained
68
Central tendency
- single values that represent a whole set
| - do not show how variable the data may be
69
Three ways to calculate central tendency
Mean- average
Median- middle number, if even take the average of two middle numbers
Mode- number that occurs the most
70
Measures of variability
numbers that are calculated to summarize the extend to which a sample of scores differs from one another
-info about the spread of scores
71
Examples of Measures of variability
Range: the difference between the highest/lowest
-fails to take into account all other scores in distribution
Standard deviation: quantifies the amount of variation/spread around the mean
-higher SD = more spread, lower SD= less spread
Variance- average deviation from the mean
72
Inferential Statistics
used to draw conclusions
| -predictions about a population based on observations of a sample (size of sample is important!!!)
73
t test
type of inferential statistic that tests the differences between the two means
74
Ethics
are the rules governing the conduct of a person or group
- the standards of right and wrong
- essential to conducting research on humans and animals
75
Ethical research with humans requirements
- informed consent
- respect for persons
- beneficence( minimize costs, maximize benefits)
- privacy and confidentiality
- justice (equal everything)
76
Debriefing
the process of informing participants the exact purposes of the study
-used to minimize deception
77
Research Ethic Boards (REBS)
organizations that evaluate research proposals to ensure the research regarding humans doesn't cause harm or distress
78
differences between science and pseudoscience strategy
science- disconfirmational
| pseudoscience- confirmational
