Chapter 2 - Conducting Research In Psychology Flashcards
Behavioral measures
Measures based on systematic observation of people’s actions either in their normal environment or in a laboratory setting.
Big data
Extremely large amount of data captured from online behaviors (especially social media), Which are then collected and analyzed for patterns by sophisticated analytic programs.
Case study
A study design in which psychologist, often a therapist, observes one person over a long period of time.
Confounding variable
The variable who’s influence on the dependent variable cannot be separated from the independent variable being examined.
Control Group
A group of research participants who are treated in exactly the same manner as the experimental group, except that they do not receive the independent variable, or treatment.
Correlation designs
Studies that measure two or more variables in their relationship to one another; not designed to show causation.
Correlation coefficients
Statistics that range from -1.0 to +1.0 and assess the strength and direction of association between two variables.
Debriefing
The explanation of the purposes of a study following data collection.
Demand characteristics
Subtle, often unconscious, cues given by experimenters to the participants as to how they should behave in the role of participant.
Dependent variable
In an experiment, the outcome or response to the experimental manipulation.
Descriptive designs
Study designs in which the researcher defines a problem and variable of interest but makes no prediction and does not control or manipulate anything.
Descriptive statistics
Measures used to describe and summarize research.
Double-blind studies
Studies in which neither the participants nor the researchers administering the treatment know who has been assigned to the experimental or control group.
Effect size
A measure of strength of the relationship between two variables or the extent of an experimental effect.
Ethics
The rules governing the conduct of a person or group in general or in a specific situation - or more simply, standards of right and wrong.
Experiment
A research design that includes independent independent variables and random assignment of participants to control and experimental groups or conditions.
Experimental group
A group consisting of those participants who will receive the treatment or whatever is predicted to change behavior.
Experimenter Expectancy effects
A result that occurs when the behavior of the participants is influenced by the experimenters knowledge of who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group.
Fabrication
Presenting or publishing scientific results that are made up.
Falsification
Is the changing, altering, or deleting scientific data.
Fraternal twins
Twins that developed from two different eggs fertilized by two different sperm.
Frequency
The number of times a particular score occurs in a set of data.
Gene–by–environment interaction research
A method of studying heritability by comparing genetic markers; allows researchers to assess how genetic differences interact with the environment to produce certain behaviors and some people but not in others.
Hypothesis
A specific, informed, and testable prediction of the outcome of a particular set of conditions in a research design.
Identical twins
Twins that develop from a single fertilized egg that splits into two independent cells.
Independent variable
A property that is manipulated by the experimenter under controlled conditions to determine whether it causes the predicted outcome of an experiment.
Inferential statistics
Analyses of data that allow us to test hypotheses and make an inference as to how likely a sample score is to occur in a population.
Institutional review boards (IRBs)
Organizations that evaluate research proposals to make sure research involving humans does not cause undue harm or distress.
Interviews
Occur between two people, one asking questions and the other answering them and the answers are open ended. Sometimes interview questions are predetermined and sometimes they are spontaneous.
Longitudinal designs
Make observations of the same people overtime, ranging from months to decades.
Mean
The arithmetic average of a series of numbers.
Measures
The tools and techniques used to assess thought or behavior.
Median
The score that separates the lower half of scores from the upper half.
Meta-Analysis
A research technique for combining all research results on one question and drawing a conclusion.
Mode
A stastic that represents the most commonly occurring score or value.
Naturalistic observation
A study in which the researcher unobtrusively observes in records behavior in the real world.
Normal distribution
A bell curve; a plot of how frequent data are that is perfectly symmetrical, with most scores clustering in the middle and only a few scores at the extremes.
Physiological measures
Measures of bodily responses, such as blood pressure or heart rate, used to determine changes in psychological state.
Placebo
A substance or treatment that appears identical to the actual treatment but lacks the active substance.
Plagiarism
Is when someone presents words or ideas of other people as their own.