Chapter 2 - Methods in Psychology

Question 1

the set of principles about the appropriate relationship between ideas using empirical evidence, used to establish facts:

Answer 1

the scientific method

Question 2

what is empiricism?

Answer 2

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

Question 3

what is dogmatism?

Answer 3

a description of the tendency to cling to one’s beliefs

Question 4

an explanation of a natural phenomenon which can never be proved right:

Answer 4

theory

Question 5

a falsifiable prediction made by a theory:

Answer 5

hypothesis

Question 6

who was the world’s first scientist? what did they study?

Answer 6

Mary Somerville, a remarkable astronomer, chemist, and physicist

Question 7

what does it mean to observe?

Answer 7

the use of one’s senses to learn about the properties of an event or an object

Question 8

what are the limits of everyday observation?

Answer 8

inconsistent, incomplete

Question 9

what are scientific methods for overcoming the limitations of observation?

Answer 9

measurement, description

Question 10

the description of a property in measurable terms:

Answer 10

operational definition

Question 11

the extent to which the thing being measured adequetly characterizes the property:

Answer 11

construct validity

Question 12

the tendency for a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing:

Answer 12

reliability

Question 13

the ability of a measure to detect conditions specified in the operational definition:

Answer 13

power

Question 14

what are the two key steps in the measurement of a property?

Answer 14

1) define the property
2) detect the property

Question 15

what is a demand characteristic?

Answer 15

an aspect of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects

Question 16

what is the problem with demand characteristics?

Answer 16

they make it hard to measure behaviour as it would naturally unfold

Question 17

what is naturalistic observation?

Answer 17

unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments

Question 18

what are the three main techniques for avoiding demand characteristics?

Answer 18

• privacy
• control
• unawareness

Question 19

the tendency for observers’ expectations to influence what they believe they observed and what they actually observed is known as:

Answer 19

observer bias

Question 20

how is observer bias avoided?

Answer 20

with a double-blind study

Question 21

a complete collection of people:

Answer 21

population

Question 22

a partial collection of people drawn from a population:

Answer 22

sample

Question 23

what are the two techniques psychologists use to analyze data?

Answer 23

• graphic representations
• descriptive statistics

Question 24

what are the two forms of graphic representation used by psychologists?

Answer 24

• frequency distribution
• normal distribution

Question 25

a graphic representation showing the number of times in which the measurement of a property takes on each of its possible values:

Answer 25

frequency distribution

Question 26

a mathematically defined frequency distribution in which most of the measurements are concentrated around the middle:

Answer 26

normal distribution

Question 27

what are descriptive statistics?

Answer 27

a brief summary of essential information from a frequency distribution

Question 28

tell how much the measurements differ from each other or how wide the distribution is:

Answer 28

variability

Question 29

the value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement:

Answer 29

range

Question 30

a statistic that describes the average difference between the measurements in frequency distribution and the mean of that distribution:

Answer 30

standard deviation

Question 31

what is a correlation?

Answer 31

the relationship between variables in which variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other

Question 32

true or false: correlation = causation

Answer 32

false

Question 33

correlation directions can be either _______ or _______, with a range (r) of ____ to ____

Answer 33

negative, positive -1.0, +1.0

Question 34

measures the direction and strength of a correlation:

Answer 34

correlation coefficient (r)

Question 35

correlations observed in the world around us:

Answer 35

natural correlations

Question 36

a natural correlation between two variables which cannot be taken as evidence of a causal relationship between them because a thrid variable might be causing them both:

Answer 36

thrid-variable problem

Question 37

what is experimentation?

Answer 37

a technique for establishing the causal relationships between variables

Question 38

the variable that is manipulated in an experiment:

Answer 38

independent variable

Question 39

the variable that is measured in an experiment:

Answer 39

dependent variable

Question 40

the technique for determining the causal power of a variable by actively changing its value:

Answer 40

manipulation

Question 41

a procedure that lets chance assign participants to the experiment or control group:

Answer 41

random assignment

Question 42

a problem that occurs when anything about a participant determines whether or not they will be included in the experimental or control group:

Answer 42

self-selection

Question 43

when p < 0.05, this means the results:

Answer 43

are statistically significant

Question 44

the attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish causal relationships:

Answer 44

internal validity

Question 45

the attribute of an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a representative way:

Answer 45

external validity

Question 46

a method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual:

Answer 46

case method/study

Question 47

a technique for choosing participants to ensure that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample:

Answer 47

random sampling

Question 48

acceptable technique if the similarity between a sample and population doesn't matter, when direct replication is available, and if the similarity between the two is a reasonable starting assumption:

Answer 48

nonrandom sampling

Question 49

is nonrandom sampling a fatal flaw in pschological science?

Answer 49

no

Question 50

an experiment that uses the same procedures as a previous experiment but with a new sample from the same population:

Answer 50

replication

Question 51

an error that occurs when researchers conclude that there is a causal relationship between two variables when there is not

Answer 51

type I error

Question 52

an error that occurs when researchers conclude that there is not a causal relationship between two variables when, in fact, there is:

Answer 52

type II error

Question 53

describes the core principles, based on respect for human dignity, that all research involving human participants must follow:

Answer 53

the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS)

Question 54

governs the standards for the ethical use and care of animals in research:

Answer 54

Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)