Chapter 2: Methods in Psychology

Question 1

Dogmatists vs. empiricists:

Answer 1

Dogmatists: Understand illness by developing theories of the bodies functions
Empiricists: Understand illness by observing sick people.

Question 2

Empiricism:

Answer 2

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation.

Question 3

Scientific Method:

Answer 3

Using empirical evidence to establish facts.

Question 4

Theories:

Answer 4

Ideas about how something works.

Question 5

Hypothesis:

Answer 5

Falsifiable prediction made by a theory.

Question 6

Can theories be right?

Answer 6

NEVER, they can only be proved wrong.

Question 7

Empirical method:

Answer 7

A şet of rules and techniques for observation to gather evidence.

Question 8

Why are humans hard to study?

Answer 8

Complexity: we have thoughts, feelings, and actions
Variability: people do things differently
Reactivity: We act differently when observed

Question 9

Methods of Observation

Answer 9

Finding out what people do

Question 10

1. Measurement

Answer 10

Define what we’re measuring and how do we detect it.

Question 11

1. Operational Definition

Answer 11

Description of a property in measurable terms

Question 12

1. Construct Validity

Answer 12

the extent to which the thing being measures adequately characterizes the property.

Question 13

1. Power:

Answer 13

Detector’s ability to detect the presence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property.

Question 14

1. Reliability:

Answer 14

Detector’s ability to detect the absence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property.

Question 15

1. Demand Characteristics:

Answer 15

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

Question 16

1. Naturalistic Observation:

Answer 16

technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments.

Question 17

1. What are ways to reduce demand characteristics?

Answer 17

Privacy
Involuntary Behaviors (they cannot control how they react)
Unawareness (Not telling people what’s expected)

Question 18

1. Observer Bias:

Answer 18

tendency for observer’s expectations to influence both what they believe they observed and what they actually observed.

Question 19

1. Double-Blind Study

Answer 19

study in which neither the researcher nor the participant know how the participants are expected to behave.

Question 20

2. Methods of Explanation:

Answer 20

Figuring out why people do what they do

Question 21

2. Correlation

Answer 21

variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other.

Question 22

2. positive correlation

Answer 22

more = more
less= less

Question 23

2. negative correlation

Answer 23

more=less
less=more

Question 24

2. natural correlation

Answer 24

The correlations we observed in the world around is.

Question 25

2. Third variable problem

Answer 25

natural correlation between two variables cannot be taken as evidence of a causal relationship between variations.

Question 26

2. Experimentation

Answer 26

a technique for determining whether there is a causal relationship between variables.

Question 27

2. manipulation

Answer 27

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

Question 28

2. Independent variable

Answer 28

variable that is manipulated in an experiment

Question 29

2. dependent variable

Answer 29

variable that is measured in an experiment

Question 30

2. Self-selection

Answer 30

a problem that occurs when anything about a participant determines the participant’c condition.

Question 31

2. Random Assignment

Answer 31

a procedure that assigns participants to a conditions by chance

Question 32

2. Internal Validity

Answer 32

an attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish causal relationships.

Question 33

2. External Validity

Answer 33

an attribute of an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way

Question 34

2. population

Answer 34

a complete collection of people

Question 35

2. sample

Answer 35

a partial collection of people drawn from a population

Question 36

2. case method

Answer 36

a procedure for gathering scientific information by studying a single individual.

Question 37

2. Random sampling

Answer 37

a technique for selecting participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal change of being included in a sample

Question 38

2. Replication

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Thinking critically about evidence

Answer 39

Doubt your conclusions
consider what you don’t see

Question 40

Ethics of psychology

Answer 40

Informed consent, freedom from coercion, protection from harm, risk-benefit analysis, deception, debriefing, and confidentiality

Question 41

Respecting animals

Answer 41

1. Show consideration for animals comfort health, and humane treatment
2. minimize pain
3. Pain can only be used when other procedures are unavailable
4. anesthesia must be used when necessary

Question 42

Being truthful

Answer 42

1. report truthfully on what they did and what they found
2. they can’t fabricate results
3. can’t mislead by omission