Chapter 2- Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

hindsight bias

A

people have the tendency upon hearing research findings (and many other things) to think that they knew it all along

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2
Q

applied research

A

research that has clear practical applications

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3
Q

basic research

A

research that explores questions that are of interest to psychologists but is not intended to have immediate, real-world applications

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4
Q

hypothesis

A

expresses a relationship between two variables

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5
Q

dependent variable

A

depends on the independent variable

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6
Q

independent variable

A

manipulated by the researchers, effects the dependent variable

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7
Q

theory

A

aims to explain some phenomenon and allows researchers to generate testable hypotheses with the hope of collecting data to support the theory

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8
Q

operational definition

A

an explanation of how you will measure a variable

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9
Q

validity

A

measures what it set out to measure

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10
Q

reliability

A

can be replicated, consistent

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11
Q

sampling

A

the process by which participants are selected for research

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12
Q

sample

A

the group of participants

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13
Q

population

A

includes anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be in the sample

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14
Q

representative sample

A

representative of the characteristics of the larger population

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15
Q

random sampling

A

every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected, best done using a computer, a table of random numbers, or picking names out of a hat

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16
Q

stratified sampling

A

a process that allows a researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population on some criteria

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17
Q

laboratory experiment

A

experiments conducted in a laboratory, a highly controlled environment

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18
Q

field experiment

A

experiments conducted out in the world

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19
Q

confounding variables

A

any difference between the experimental and control conditions, except for the independent variable, that might affect the dependent variable

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20
Q

participant-relevant confounding variables

A

differences between the experimental and control groups that are due to the participants (ex. they choose which group to be in)

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21
Q

situation-relevant confounding variables

A

differences between the experimental and control groups that are due to the situational differences (to control these, the situation must be the same for all participants)

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22
Q

random assignment

A

each participant has an equal chance of being placed in to any group

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23
Q

controls

A

making everything in an experiment the same except for the independent variable

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24
Q

group-matching

A

a process used to ensure that the experimental and control groups are equivalent on some criterion

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25
Q

experimenter bias

A

the unconscious tendency for researches to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis, not a conscious act

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26
Q

double-blind procedure

A

occurs when neither the participants nor the researcher are able to affect the outcome of the research

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27
Q

single-blind procedure

A

occurs when only the participants do not know to which group they have been assigned

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28
Q

response or participant bias

A

the tendency for subjects to behave in certain ways (i.e. circle the midpoint on a scale or pick the right-handed option more than the left-handed option)

29
Q

social desirabliity

A

the tendency for subject to try to give answers that reflect well upon them

30
Q

Hawthorne effect

A

merely selecting a group of people on whom to experiment has been determined to affect the performance of that group

31
Q

placebo method

A

when participants in the experimental group receive a drug and participants in the control group are given an inert but otherwise identical substance

32
Q

correlations

A

expresses a relationship between two variables without ascribing cause

33
Q

negative correlation

A

the presence of one thing predicts the absence of the other

34
Q

positive correlation

A

the presence of one thing predicts the presence of the other

35
Q

survey method

A

involves asking people to fill out surveys

36
Q

response rate

A

the number of people who answer and return a survey

37
Q

naturalistic observation

A

observing participants in their natural habitats without interacting with them at all

38
Q

case study method

A

used to get a full, detailed picture of one participant or a small group of participants

39
Q

descriptive statistics

A

statistics that describe a set of data

40
Q

frequency distribution

A

a organization of data that tells you how many of each dependent variable option there was

41
Q

measures of central tendency

A

attempt to mark the middle of a set of data (mean, median, mode)

42
Q

mean

A

the average of all the scores in a distribution, add up all the data and divide by the total number of data points

43
Q

median

A

the central score in the distribution, write the data down in order and pick the data point in the middle

44
Q

mode

A

the score that appears the most frequently

45
Q

extreme scores or outliers

A

data points that are significantly larger or smaller than the rest of the data

46
Q

positive skew

A

when a distribution contains an extreme score that is very high, the mean is higher than the median

47
Q

negative skew

A

when a distribution contains an extreme score that is very low, the mean is lower than the median

48
Q

measures of variablitity

A

descriptive statistical measures that attempt to describe the diversity of the distribution

49
Q

range

A

the distance between the highest and lowest scores

50
Q

standard deviation

A

the square root of the variance, relates the average distance of any score in the distribution from the mean

51
Q

variance

A

relates the average distance of any score in the distribution from the mean

52
Q

z score

A

a measure of the distance from a score to the mean in units of standard deviation (0=mean, +2=2 SD above the mean, -2=2 SD below the mean)

53
Q

normal curve

A

a theoretical bell shaped curve for which the area under the curve lying between any two z-scores has been predetermined, 68% fall within 1 SD, 95% fall within 2 SD, 98% fall within 3 SD

54
Q

correlation coefficient

A

a statistic that computes the strength of a correlation (+1=perfect positive correlation, -1=perfect negative correlation, 0=no correlation)

55
Q

scatter plot

A

a graph of a correlation using data points on an x,y coordinate plane

56
Q

line of best fit/regression line

A

the line drawn through the scatter plot that minimizes the distance of all the points from the line, slope indicates correlation

57
Q

inferential statistics

A

used to determine whether or not findings can be applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected

58
Q

sampling error

A

the extent to which the sample differs from the population

59
Q

p value

A

gives the probability that the difference between the two groups is due to chance, must be less than 0.05 in order to be considered statistically significant

60
Q

statistical significance

A

p value is less than 0.05

61
Q

institutional review board (IRB)

A

an ethics board of an institution of research, reviews research proposals for ethical violations and/or procedural errors, must approve a research project before researchers can begin collecting data

62
Q

coercion

A

participation must be voluntary

63
Q

informed consent

A

participants must know that they are involved in research and give their consent

64
Q

anonymity

A

participants’ privacy must be protected, researchers do not collect any data that allows them to match a person’s responses with his or her name

65
Q

confidentiality

A

participants’ privacy must be protected, the researcher guarantees that they will not identify the source of any of the data

66
Q

debriefing

A

participants should be told about the purpose of the study and provided with ways to contact the researchers about the results

67
Q

counterbalancing

A

using participants as their own control group

68
Q

percentiles

A

indicate the distance of a score from 0

69
Q

risk

A

participants can not be placed at significant mental or physical health risk