chapter 2 methods Flashcards
two variables that exhibit no apparent relationship
zero correlation
the influence of language, or wording, on people’s responses to survey questions
wording effects
a bias whereby only a motivated fraction of a population respond to a survey or participate in research
volunteer bias
Any group of individuals who may not be able to provide free and informed consent to participate in research
vulnerable populations
something that varies in the context of a research study
variable
a method using questions to collect information on how people think or act
survey
a medical procedure to remove or otherwise destroy tissue
ablation
the tendency for participants to agree or respond “yes” to all questions regardless of their actual opinions
acquiescent response bias
A person’s affirmative permission to take part in a research study. In cases of decisional impairment, assent must be obtained in addition to informed consent.
assent
A concept of research ethics whereby researchers strive to do ‘good’ in a research study.
beneficence
An in-depth analysis of a unique circumstance or individual.
case study
The understanding that one variable directly affects another variable.
casuality
A person who is acting as a participant, but in reality, is another researcher.
confederate
Other variables that may influence one or both variables that we are measuring, thereby influencing the correlation coefficient.
confounding variable
A measure (denoted as r) that captures the direction and strength of a relationship between variables.
correlation
A numerical representation of the strength of the relationship between variables (denoted as r).
correlation coefficient
Facts or information collected, examined, and considered for decision-making processes.
data
the act of withholding information about the purpose and procedures of the study during the informed consent process
deception
Information provided to participants about what the researcher was investigating and how their participation will contribute to the research question.
debriefing
the extent to which research findings in the lab can be generalized to the real world
ecological validity
Participants respond to questions in ways that would be seen as acceptable by others.
socially desirable bias
When the freedom of ‘choice’ to participate in research is compromised as a result of undue influence from another source.
situational vulnerability
Memories whose contents relate to specific facts and pieces of meaningful information not based on personal experience.
semantic memories
Rational explanations to describe and predict future behavior.
scientific theories
A six-step method of acquiring knowledge and methodologically answering questions.
scientific method
A type of graph that has one variable on the x-axis (the horizontal axis) and the other variable on the y-axis (the vertical axis) and provides a visual representation of relationships between variables.
scatterplot
A sample that deviates from a true representation of a population.
sampling error
An unfair or unequal representation of a population of people or things that results from flawed sampling strategies (intentional or not).
sampling bias
A subset (or portion) of a population.
sample
The tendency for people to answer the question the way they feel they are expected to answer or in systematic ways that are otherwise inaccurate.
response bias
A set of principles or standards of behavior for psychologists to follow in research.
research ethics
A term referring to a ‘do-over’ of a study using the same methods, but different subjects and investigators.
replication
reactivity / HAWTHORNE EFFECT
A change in a person or animal’s behavior that is the result of being observed by others.
The belief or theory that reason is the key source of knowledge.
rationalism
Memories whose contents pertain to how something is done, such as the motor skills involved in walking and riding a bicycle.
procedural memories
When variables change in the same direction; as one variable increases, the other variable increases, or as one variable decreases, the other variable decreases.
positive correlation
All members of a group.
population
A research method in which a researcher becomes part of the group under investigation.
participant observation
how a researcher decides to measure a variable.
operational definition
Variables that change in the opposite direction. An increase in one variable leads to a decrease in the other.
negative correlation
Observation of behavior as it happens, without an attempt to manipulate or control the subjects’ natural environment.
naturalistic observation
A straight line on a scatterplot showing the general relationship of data points.
line of best fit
The act of doing harm
maleficence
An ethical principle in research whereby those people who participate in the research process should also be the same people who stand to benefit from the research outcomes.
justice
An ethical principle that psychologists should engage in accurate, honest, and non-biased practices in the science, teaching, and practice of psychology.
integrity
A committee of independent people who review and assess whether a research project will be carried out in a way that is consistent with general ethical principles.
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
The extent to which two or more observers (raters) agree with each other about their observations. It is usually assessed as a correlation.
interrater reliability
An experiment has ________________when there are no other explanations for the relationship between an independent and dependent variable. That is, there are no extraneous variables present in the experiment.
internal validity
The process by which research participants learn about and understand the purpose, benefits, and potential risks of participating in a research study.
informed consent
tests and analyses that allow us to draw conclusions from our data, such as whether there is a measurable difference between two groups.
inferential statistics
The variable that the experimenter manipulates. must have at least two levels (different conditions or treatments)
independent variable
An attribute of participants that is necessary to be a part of a research study.
inclusion criterion
The tendency to describe our own behavior as better than average.
illusory superiority
An educated prediction about the outcome of an experiment.
hypothesis
A part of the cerebral cortex known to play a role in the transference of certain types of memories into long-term memory stores.
hippocampus
An experiment that takes place in ‘real-world’ settings in which a researcher manipulates and controls the conditions of the behavior under observation.
field experiment
The ethical principle of developing trusting relationships between researchers and participants.
fidelity
Any variables that are not the focus of study, but that may influence the outcome of research if not controlled.
extraneous variables
Whether the results from a study can be applied beyond the scope of the original study. For example, whether it can apply to other settings, other people, and other time periods.
external validity
An attribute of a person that would prevent them from participating research study.
exclusion criteria
Memories whose contents pertain to specific events (“episodes”).
episodic memory
A part of the cerebral cortex found on the ventral part of the temporal lobes and known to play a role in behavior and memory.
entorhinal cortex
The combination of inclusion and exclusion criteria to create a set of characteristics shared by all participants that ensure that those participating will meaningfully help to address the research question
eligibility criteria
Instances that diminish a potential participant’s capacity to provide informed consent.
decisional impairment
The variable that the experimenter believes is affected by the independent variable, and measures after the independent variable occurs
dependent variable
Any means to capture, record, or otherwise, describe a group. These methods are concerned with identifying ‘what is’ rather than ‘why it is.’
descriptive methods
Statistical information that describes a dataset, including frequencies, measures of central tendency such as mean, median, mode, and also measures of variability including range, variance, and standard deviation.
descriptive statistics
research aims to be what two things
valid and reliable
accuracy of a measurement
validity
consistency or repeatability of a measurement
reliability
the tendency of people to overestimte their ability to have predicted an outcome that count not possibly have been predicted
hindsight bias
a process that allows a researcher to ensure the sample represents the population on some criteria
stratified sampling
- the group that believes the experimenter is conducting the experiment on them, but the experimenter is not
- group exposed to the fake condition of the independent variable
- measure the effect of participant expectations on dependent variable
placebo group
