Chapter 2 - Research Methods Flashcards
erroneous belief that you knew something all along after an event has occured
hindsight bias
form of overconfidence
tendency to overestimate extent to which others share personal beliefs or behaviors
false consensus effect
describes a belief that requires people to accept information as irrefutible and to refrain from questioning authority
dogmatism
rules or techniques that provide a framework for observations
methods
objective statements made using direct observations
facts
ideas that help explain existing facts
theories
predictions about new facts, based on existing theories
hypotheses
person who takes part in an experiement who is seemingly a subject but is really working with the reasearcher
confederate
variable that a researcher can manipulate
independent variable
study in which different groups are exposed to different independent variables
between-group experiement
study in which each participant is exposed to several different independent variables
within-subject experiement
group that is subject to an independent variable
experiemental group
group that is given no treatment or who are given treatment that should have no effect
control group
process by which participants in an experiement are randomly placed into groups
random assignment
group of participants in an experiment that is identical to at least one other group in terms of a particular variable
matched sample
set of participants, one from one group, one from another, who are identical in terms of a particular variable
matched pair
situation in which an observer expects a certain behavior and only notices actions that support that behavior
observer bias, observer expectancy effect
study of people and animals in their own environment
naturalistic observation
observers who do not know what the research is about and thus are not subject to observer bias
blind observers
in depth study of one or a few individuals
case study
study of people or animals in a controlled setting
laboratory observation
technique in which the participants of a survey are chosen randomly so as to get a fair representation of a population
random sampling
series if questions about a person’s behavior or opinion in the form of a questionairre or interview
survey
form of data collection in which people are asked to describe their own behavior or mental state
self-report method
form of data collection in which people provide oral descriptions of themselves; could be strictly structured or conversational
interview
series of questions with a strict purpose that has been developed using careful controls such as precise wording, carefully constructed questions, and random sampling
questionairre
type of observational method in which participants are provided with stimuli or problems and researchers collect data about how they perform a certain task
testing
process of observing and recording a subject’s behavior
observational method
statistics researchers use to summarize data sets
descriptive statistics
statistics that use probability laws to predict how likely it is that observed results apply to a broader population
inferential statistics
three most typical scores in a set of data; mean, median, mode
measures of central tendency
degree to which numbers in a data set differ from each other and from the mean
variability
difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set
range
measure of dispersion of a set of values using information from each individual score
standard deviation
difference between an individual data point’s actual value and the mean value of the whole data set
deviation score
representation of a frequency distribution in which veritical or horizontal bars are proportional in length to the value they represent; bars are different categories and can be rearranged
bar graph
summary of how frequently each of the scores in a data set occurs
frequency distribution
graphical representation of an evenly distributed data set in which the curve is symmetrical and bell shaped due to even distribution of results and tendency to accumulate around the center
normal curve
representation of a frequency distribution using rectangles in which the width of a rectangle represents an interval and the area of a rectangle is proportional to the corresponding frequency
histogram
graphical representation of an unevenly distributed data set in which scores cluster together on one end
skewed distribution
indication that the difference between between average scores from two reliable samples is not due to chance
statistical significance
random variable that is accidentally introduced into an experiment
error
a statistic that identifies the probability that the results of a study could have occured by chance
level of significance
personal and sometimes unreasonable judgment that a reasearcher may make that could affect the results
bias
aspects of a setting that can cause participants to behave the way they think the researcher wants them to
demand characteristics
degree to which a measurement measures what it is intended to measure
validity
degree to which a measurement yields similar results every time it is used with a particular subject under particular conditions
reliability
extent to which a study superficially measures what it is intended to measure
face validity
indication of how closely a measurement correlates with another criterion of the characteristic being studied; school achievement correlates with intelligence, so if a large enough group of people who do well in school also perform well on an intelligence test the test has…
criterion validity
type of criterion validity in which you can use the results of a test to predict score or performance in another area; a career test might have this
predictive validity
type of validity that uses a specific procedure that measures or correlates with a theoretical or intangible concept; an intelligence test with this validity can measure intelligence
construct validity
type if validity indicating that a researcher is able to control all extraneous values so that only the independent variable infleunces the result; proves there is a causal relationship between dependent and independent variable
internal validity
type of validity indicating that a test can be generalized to the rest of the population; likely to have this using a representative sample
external validity
occurence in which participants expect to behave in a certain way given their treatment, causing them to adjust their behavior
subject-expectancy effect
experiement in which both the subject and observer are kept blind, negating the subject and observer expectancy effects
double-blind experiment
substance or procedure which resembles medical therapy but has no intrinsic therapeutic value
placebo
give a verbal description of the true nature and purpose of a study sfter the study occurs; used to avoid deception and not undermine informed consent
debrief
3 ethical considerations in psychological research
right to privacy
possibility if discomfort or harm
use of deception
scientific and professional organization that represents psychologists in the US
american psychological association (APA)
ethics review panel established by a publicly runded research institution to evaluate all proposed research by that institution
institutional review board (IRB)
factors that determine a result’s statistical significance
size of observed effect
number of subjects or observations
variability if data within each group (uncontrolled or random factors)
why do we need scientific methods?
avoid hindsight bias, avoid false consensus effect, and think critically
birth of psychology marked a shift from ____ to ____
dogmatism to empiricism
to reduce errors in empirical research it’s important to have ___
a method
empirical challenges of studying people
people are complex, different, and react to situations differently
theory vs hypothesis with Hans the math whiz horse
theory: maybe hans is taking cues from people around him
hypothesis: I predict that Hans will be unable to answer questions without visual cues
difference between theories and hypotheses
idea vs preediction
theories are ideas that help explain facts, hypotheses are predictions about new facts based on existing theories
three important lessons of scientific research
be skeptical, observe carefully in controlled conditions, be aware of observer-expectsncy effects
correlation study
a researches does not manipulate variables, but observes if there is a relationship between variabled
indicate correlation, not causation/ cause and effect
how to prevent third variable problem in correlation studies
matched samples or matched pairs (better)
groups or groups&individuals are identical in terms of third variable
descriptive study
observe and describe behavior without investigating the relationship between specific variable
how animal adapts to new environemnt
types of descriptive study
naturalistic observation, laboratory observation, case studies, surveys
types of research setting
laboratory (downside less natural, might be missing a key variable)
field (downside harder to control surroundings and isolate variables)
two types of statistics
descriptive statistics summarize data sets
inferential statistics make inferences about results
two representations of frequency distributions
bar graph, histogram
what might cause biased samples
demand characteristics, self-selection, not randomly assigned groups
how to avoid measurement bias
check that the measurements are reliable and valid; procedure can have reliability but not validity (asking about fashion preferences in an experiement designed to test self defense ability lacks face validity but is reliable if the individual consistently answers the same way)
how to avoid observe- and subject-expectancy effects
double-blind study (no one knows whose in the control group and whose in the experimental group)
represents continuous data, bars are ranges that can’t be rearranged
histogram
