Chapter 2 - Research Methodology

Question 1

What should a good scientific theory do/be?

Answer 1

A good scientific theory can be proven wrong and parsimonious (simple).

Question 2

What does it mean to operationalize a variable?

Answer 2

To operationalize a variable means to define or quantify the variable, especially when its more abstract.

Question 3

Give an example of a measured variable.

Answer 3

Measured variables are variables you are not interfering with, just collecting the data as it exists.
Ex: survey results on people’s anxiety after going to the
gym

Question 4

Give an example of a manipulated variable.

Answer 4

A manipulated variable is a variable that is manipulated.
Ex: If you were testing antidepressants on someone’s
mood, you determine how much, how often, and over
what period of time these drugs are taken

Question 5

What does a correlation tell you?

Answer 5

A correlational study investigates the relationship between 2 or more variables. Variables are just measured, not manipulated in a correlational study.

Question 6

What is the difference between positive and negative correlations? Give examples.

Answer 6

When a variable is said to have a positive correlation, both variables move in the same direction.
Ex: The more hours you spend studying, the higher
your test scores
Whereas when a variable is said to have a negative correlation, variables move in opposite directions.
Ex: The more days a week you drink, the lower your
GPA

Question 7

Describe how issues relating to directionality and third variables affect the interpretation of correlational findings.

Answer 7

Correlations can be misleading.
Directionality - a correlation cannot firmly tell you the direction of causality.
Ex: You do not if you fail your exams because you drink
too much beer, or you drink too much beer because
you fail your exams.
Third variables - There are cases where both variables in the correlation do not influence one another but instead they are caused by a third variable.
Ex: Ice cream sales and crime rates are positively
correlated. This doesn’t mean they influence each
other but instead they are both caused by a third
variable (heat)

Question 8

What is an illusory correlation?

Answer 8

When you think there is a correlation between 2 variables but there actually isn’t one.
Ex: When you’re running late, all the lights seem to
turn red

Question 9

What are the distinguishing characteristics of an experiment?

Answer 9

In an experiment, there are two variables: an independent variable and a dependent variable. To start an experiment, experimental groups (“conditions”) must be created. And through random assignment, everything is held constant but the independent variable. If the experiment is successful, you will be able to say that the independent variable caused the dependent variable.

Question 10

Define and give an example of an independent variable.

Answer 10

The variable that is manipulated. The one the experimenter is in charge of.
Ex: Whether or not a group takes vitamin C supplements

Question 11

Define and give an example of a dependent variable.

Answer 11

The variable that is measured.
Ex: The amount of times each group gets sick throughout the quarter

Question 12

Define and give an example of random assignment.

Answer 12

Random assignment is when you randomly assign each group to a condition to make sure on average groups are about the same.
Ex: You tell people to close their eyes and pick out of a hat and randomly pick up a piece of paper that has their condition for the experiment.

Question 13

Define and give an example of a confound.

Answer 13

An additional variable that varies by condition, influences the dependent variable, but is not the independent variable.
Ex: You are testing how different TV shows affect aggression but for one condition you have college students watch their TV show at 8am, but for the other group you have them watch theirs at 2pm.

Question 14

How does an experiment differ from a correlational study?

Answer 14

A successful experiment allows you to say that one variable caused another, while you cannot do that with correlational studies. Also, sometimes a correlational study is better because doing an experiment is not ethical or practical.

Question 15

What is reactivity?

Answer 15

When people know they are being watched they behave differently.

Question 16

What is observer bias?

Answer 16

Observers can have their own biases, therefore you have to make sure they are trained.

Question 17

Give an example of an experimenter expectancy effect. How can you avoid these effects?

Answer 17

This is when the experimenter knows the hypothesis and what they’re trying to prove, so they influence the results.
You can avoid this by conducting double blind studies where the experimenter and the participants do not know the treatment each person is assigned to.

Question 18

What is a representative sample and why is it important?

Answer 18

This is when the sample resembles the population. The best way to get this is through random sampling.

Question 19

Explain what volunteer bias is and how it could affect survey research.

Answer 19

Volunteer bias can cause survey data to be inaccurate because there are systematic differences between those who choose to volunteer and those who don’t.

Question 20

What is “socially desirable responding?”

Answer 20

This is when people lie on a survey to look a little better than they actually are.

Question 21

What are “wording effects” in survey research?

Answer 21

Small changes in surveys can drastically influence your results. You need to make sure your questions are written in the simplest language possible.
Ex: “interested in botany” (39%) vs. interested in plants and trees (77%)

Question 22

What are the three major goals of science? Give examples of psychological questions that would be answered with each of the three approaches.

Answer 22

Description, prediction, and explanation.
Description - describe what a phenomenon is
Prediction - predict when and where it will occur
Explanation - explain the mechanisms behind why it occurs

Question 23

What is peer review and why is it important?

Answer 23

Peer review is a process by which other scientists with similar expertise evaluate and critique research reports. It provides a check to ensure the quality of the methods and the validity of the conclusions.

Question 24

In the context of scientific studies, what is replication?

Answer 24

Replication involves repeating a study to see if the results are the same (or similar). It increases confidence in the findings.

Question 25

What is a false positive?

Answer 25

A false positive occurs when the hypothesis under investigation is false but the study produces a seemingly trustworthy result by chance.

Question 26

What types of questionable research practices might decrease the replicability of a study?

Answer 26

Small samples - random chance influences smaller sample sizes more than larger ones

HARKing - “hypothesizing after the results are known”. Results cannot be used to support a hypothesis if the results themselves helped from that hypothesis.

P-Hacking - running statistical tests over and over with different variations until one of them yields a statistically significant result. This overestimates the strength of your results.

Underreporting null effects - when a researcher only reports the studies or measures that support the hypothesis. This can cause readers to make invalid inferences and mislead them about the strength of the evidence.

Question 27

What is meta-analysis?

Answer 27

A “study of studies” that combines the findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion.

Question 28

What is the main weakness of the case study method?

Answer 28

Since case studies only focus on one person or organization, scientists cannot apply their findings to the general population.

Question 29

Describe the two main types of observational research.

Answer 29

Participant Observation - the researcher is involved in the situation

Naturalistic Observation - the observer is passive, remains separated from the situation, and makes no attempt to change or alter ongoing behavior

Question 30

What’s the difference between a population and a sample?

Answer 30

The group you want to know about is the population. To learn about the population, you study a sample, a subset of the population.

Question 31

What are the ethical guidelines regarding when deception can be used in a psychological study?

Answer 31

Researchers use deception only when other methods are not appropriate and when the deception does not involve situations that would strongly affect people’s willingness to participate. If deception is used, a careful debriefing must take place after the study’s completion, in which the researchers inform the participants of the study’s goals.

Question 32

What is construct validity?

Answer 32

The extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure.
Ex: Your psychology professor gives you a chemistry test at the end of the quarter

Question 33

What is external validity?

Answer 33

The degree to which the findings of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, or situations.

Question 34

What is internal validity?

Answer 34

The degree to which the effects observed in an experiment are due to the independent variable and not to confounds

Question 35

What is reliability?

Answer 35

The stability and consistency of a measure over time.

Question 36

What can inferential statistics tell us?

Answer 36

Allow us to determine if differences between two or more groups were big enough or just due to chance.