Chapter 2: Methods In Psychology Flashcards
General principles that characterize the scientific method
2 questions
1) what do people do?
2) why do they do it?
The “what” aspect
Observe, measure, describe
The “why” aspect
Look for relationships
Empiricism
Accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation
Dogamatism
Believing in faith
Theory
Hypothetical explanation
Parsimony (IMPORTANT)
The simplest explanation that still explain evidence is the best
Falsifiable predictions
Prove things wrong, can not prove them right
Observations =
Illusions
Empirical method
Set of rules, procedures to gather data, and test hypothesis
Psychology is challenging because:
1) the complexity
2) the variability
3) the reactivity
The two methods
1) Observation
2) Explanation
Observation
Not just causal observation
You need measurement
What is good? If a mom tells a baby to be good, what is good? *if the kid operates within those parameters, then the kid is good
Operational definition
A description of a property in concrete, measurable terms
Validity of a good student
Must be reliable, come prepared, and have blue hair (not valid)
Demand characteristics
People behave as they think someone else wants or expects
Naturalistic observation
Observing one in their natural habitat
Spying
Controlling demand characteritics
Anonymous responses
Measure involuntary behaviour
Cover story (lying)
Double blind experiment
An observations who true purpose is hidden from the observer and the person being observed
Description of data
It tells a story
Descriptive statistics
What your data looks like
Measures of central tendency
Mean
Average
Mode
The most
Most common answer
Median
The middle number
Standard deviation
The flattest line
A measure on how extreme a score is, compared to the mean
Data analysis is looking for patterns
1) measure the variables
2) asked many people
Correlations allow us to predict. Although….
Prediction is not cause
Predict direction and strength of correlation
Positive correlation
Means x and y move in same direction
Negative correlation
Going in opposite directions
Strength
How much or how often does the movement in A relate to movement in B
Perfect correlations in psychology are very ____
Rare!
Correlation does not mean causation
A small correlation
.10
Medium correlation
.30
Large correlation
.50
Third variable problem
Solve through experiments
Manipulation (change one of the variables)
Independent variables “X”
Dependent variable “Y”
What changed as a result of manipulating “X”
Experiment
Manipulate dependent variable
Measure dependant variable
See if there is a change
Example: if I go to charge my phone one night and it does not work, I will go and try a different outlet (changing the dependent variable) if that doesn’t not work, I will change the core (independent variable). I will never change the cord and try a new outlit
Random assignment
Random assignment refers to the use of chance procedures in psychology experiments to ensure that each participant has the same opportunity to be assigned to any given group.
Statistical testing
P<0.05
Les than 5% chance that the data would look how it does if random assignment failed
Have confidence in findings
Descriptive statistics
(measure of central tendency)
Mean, mode, median
Inferential statistics
Example: P values
Let you infer causation (let you make conclusions)
You can prove everything wrong but nothing right— example
Crows are always black.
As soon as you see a grey crow, you’re automatically wrong
3rd variable example
Shoe size relates to the grade you are in.
Why are they correlated?
3rd variable. Growing up related to shoe size
Shoe size relates to the grade you’re in, as well as the size of your foot
External validity
Can I replicate this outside the lab?
Representative sample
Doctor asks for urine sample, you pee a little in a cup, you don’t give him all your pee
Replication
Incredibly important!
Get the same result every time to prove experiment works
Scientific method
A procedure for finding truth by using empirical evidence
Validity
The goodness with which a concrete event defines a property
Power
An instruments ability to detect small magnitudes of property
