Chapter 2 - Methodology

Question 1

Discuss the difference between correlational and experimental methods. (2)

Answer 1

-correlation is when you only observe and do not manipulate variables to see how they relate
-experimental method is when the researcher manipulates variables to see how that influences another variable

Question 2

What is the biggest limitation to the correlation method?

Answer 2

-3rd variable or confounding variable means you cannot make causal statements

Question 3

What is the independent variable?

Answer 3

-manipulated to influence the dependent variable (X)

Question 4

What is the dependent variable?

Answer 4

-measured variable that changes based on independent (Y)

Question 5

What is the advantage of the experimental method?

Answer 5

-it can determine causation

Question 6

What did the Capilano suspension bridge experiment show?

Answer 6

-misattribution of arousal in attraction

Question 7

What is an extraneous variable?

Answer 7

-variable other than the independent variable that might influence the dependent variable

Question 8

What does random assignment ensure?

Answer 8

-everybody has an equal chance of being in any coniditon

Question 9

When is an experiment high in internal validity? Use an example. (2)

Answer 9

-the observed effects can be confidently attributed to the IV rather than to other confounding factors.
-Researcher tests new teaching method using random assignment and control for confounding variables would be high internal validity

Question 10

When is something high in external validity? Example. (2)

Answer 10

-high when findings are generalizable to the real world
-Researcher has a diverse sample that represents population

Question 11

What is social psychologists dilemma?

Answer 11

-as internal validity increases external validity decreases and vice versa

Question 12

What are the three types of methods used to study social problems? (3)

Answer 12

-observational
-correlational
-experimental

Question 13

What is an archival analysis?

Answer 13

-examination of the documents of a culture

Question 14

What are two types of observational methods? (2)

Answer 14

-ethnography
-archival analysis

Question 15

What is a correlational method?

Answer 15

-surveys

Question 16

What does the probability level or p-value tell researchers? When is it significant? (2)

Answer 16

-how likely it is that the results of their experiment occurred by chance and not because of the IV
-less than 5 in 100

Question 17

What is psychological realism?

Answer 17

-trying to overcome the artificiality of the experimental setting by making things as real as possible

Question 18

What is basic research? What is applied research? (2)

Answer 18

Basic: research to find out why people behave the way they do - purely for intellectual curiosity
Applied: solving a social problem and building a theory