Chapter 2-Psychological research Flashcards
What is the importance of psychological research, and
how do psychologists use the scientific method to
confirm facts vs. opinions?
Research is what makes thoughts not just opinions but facts.
They use the empirical system to experiment their theories
What are the steps in scientific method?
1) Identify the question
2)Form a hypotheses based on their theories
3) Test the hypotheses
4) Draw conclusions
5)Report your results
How do the processes of inductive and deductive
reasoning assist in the formulation of theories and
hypotheses?
Scientists use inductive reasoning to formulate
theories which are then used to generate hypotheses
that are tested through deductive reasoning
How do researchers use case (clinical) studies to
examine behavior, and what are some benefits and
drawbacks to this method?
study of one (or very few individuals) in great detail.
◦ Advantage: tremendous amount of detail
◦ Disadvantage: cannot generalize (apply findings
to the larger population as a whole)
How do researchers use naturalistic and laboratory
observations to examine behavior, and what are the
advantages and disadvantages associated with these
settings/research methods?
watching animals or humans behave in their normal environment.
*Major Advantage:
◦ Realistic picture of behavior.
*Disadvantages:
* Difficult to set up and control
How do researchers use surveys to examine behavior,
and what are some benefits and drawbacks to this
method?
Given to ppl at random to fill out
Advantages:
Data from large numbers of people.
Study covert behaviors.
◦Disadvantages:
Have to ensure “representative” sample (or results will not be meaningful).
People are not always accurate (courtesy bias).
How does a research sample differ from a population?
Sample-randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger
population of subjects
Population-The entire group of which the researcher is interested in
How do researchers use archival research to examine
behavior, and what are some benefits and drawbacks to
this method?
The use of existing records to answer various research
questions
◦Advantages:
Researchers never directly interact with
participants, so control of setting not an issue.
Less investment of time and money.
◦Disadvantages:
With no control over data collected, research
questions have to be tailored to existing data
sets.
No guarantee of consistency between records
from one source to another.
How do researchers use longitudinal and cross-
sectional research to examine behavior, and what are
some benefits and drawbacks to these methods?
data-gathering is administered repeatedly to the same
group of individuals over an extended period of time
Advantage:
Same individuals are researched over time, so
concern about differences that may exist between
generations of participants is eliminated.
Disadvantages:
More investment of time and money—take years or
decades to complete.
Participants may drop out of study over time
(attrition).
What is the correlational technique, what does it tell
researchers about relationships between variables, and
how are correlational relationships determined?
a measure of the relationship between two variables
◦ Variable - anything that can change or vary.
◦ Measures of two variables go into a
mathematical formula and produce a correlation
coefficient (r), which represents two things:
direction of the relationship.
strength of the relationship.
◦ Knowing the value of one variable allows
researchers to predict the value of the other
variable.
What is an experiment, and how do researchers use
operational definitions, independent and dependent
variables, experimental and control groups, and random
assignment in designing an experiment?
a deliberate manipulation of a
variable to see if corresponding changes in
behavior result, allowing the determination
of cause-and-effect relationships
(go back to)
What are the placebo and the experimenter effects,
and how do single-blind and double-blind studies
control for these effects?
Placebo-participants expectation can influence behavior
Experimenter- experimenter expectation can influence the results
Single blind-Participants don’t know if they are in the experimental or control group
Double-blind study - neither the experimenter nor the
subjects knows if the subjects are in the experimental or
control group
How do statistical analysis, reliability, and validity
relate to the outcome of a study?
Statistical analysis-uses statistics to validate a study
Reliability- the ability to consistently produce a given result
Validity – the extent to which a given instrument or tool
accurately measures what it’s supposed to measure
What are some of the ethical concerns in
conducting research related to both humans and
animals?
1) informed consent
2) deception-only with a purpose
3) debrief
4) ability to leave whenever
What is “critical thinking,” and what are its criteria?
making reasoned judgments or claims
1. There are very few “truths” that do not need
to be subjected to testing.
2. All evidence is not equal in quality.
3. Just because someone is considered to be
an authority or to have a lot of expertise
does not make everything that person
claims automatically true.
4. Critical thinking requires an open mind.
What are “pseudo psychologies,” including
phrenology, palmistry, and graphology?
systems of explaining human behavior that are not based on or consistent with scientific evidence
