Chapter 2: Research Methods Flashcards
system 1 thinking
-intuitive thinking
-quick, reflexive, “gut hunches”
-relies on heuristics
heuristics
a mental shortcut or rule of thumb
system 2 thinking
analytical thinking, slow + reflective, effortful, override intuitive thinking sometimes
when we conduct science, we are mainly using which type of thinking?
system 2 thinking
random selection
procedure that ensures every person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate
-crucial for generalizing our results to the broader population
-smaller but more random sample is better
evaluating measures
based on reliability + validity
-we want to aim for reliable + valid
reliability
consistency of measurement
validity
the extent to which a measure assesses what is purports to measure
replicability
the ability to duplicate the original findings consistently
replicability crisis
failure to confirm a # of high profile findings within the field of psychological science
reproductivity
the ability to review + reanalyze the data from a study + find exactly the same results
-repeating the same statistical analysis on already-collected data
naturalistic observation
-watching participants’ behavior in real-world settings without trying to manipulate their actions
external validity
the extent to which our findings generalize to real-world settings
internal validity
the extent to which we can draw cause + effect inferences
naturalistic observation is high/low in external validity + high/low in internal validity
high in external validity
low in internal validity
case study design
-examining 1 or a small # of people, often over an extended period of time
-typically anecdotal; can’t infer causation
case study has low/high internal validity
low internal validity
self-report measures
-used to assess a variety of characteristics, such as personality traits, mental illnesses, + interests
-cheap + easy to administer
surveys
measure people’s opinions + attitudes
disadvantages of self-report measurs
-assume the respondents possess enough insight into their personality characteristics to report on them accurately which is not necessarily the case
-respondents may engage in response sets
-malingering
response sets
the tendencies to distort their answers to questions in a way that paint them in positive light
malingering
the tendency to make ourselves appear psychologically disturbed to achieve a clear-cut personal goal
halo effect
the tendency of ratings of 1 positive characteristics to “spill over” to influence the ratings of other positive characteristic
horns effect
opposite of halo effect
correlational design
research design that examines the extent to which 2 variables are associated
correlation
a measure of the relationship between 2 variables
negative correlation
as the value of one variable changes, the other goes in the opposite direction
positive correlation
as the value of one variable changes, the other goes in the same direction
zero correlation
scattered
perfect correlation
close to a linear line
describe correlation coefficients
range from -1 to 1 with the absolute value indicating the strength of the relationship
scatterplot
grouping of points on a 2 dimensional graph in which each do represents a single person’s data
illusory correlation
the perception of a statistical association between 2 variables where none exists
what forms the basis of many superstitions?
illusory correlation
placebo effect
improvement resulting from the mere expectation of imporvement
nocebo effect
harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm
-the expectation of pain can itself create pain
the experimenter expectancy effect
researchers’ hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study
demand characteristics
cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researcher’s hypothesis
informed consent
a procedure in which researchers must tell subjects what they’re getting into before asking them to participate
deception
when researchers deliberately mislead participants about the study’s design or purpose
-participants should be informed of the deveption soon after the deception takes place
statistics
application of mathematics to describing + analyzing data
central tendency
-mean
-median
-mode
mean
average of all scores
median
the middle score after ordering the scores from lowest to highest
mode
most frequent score
positive skew
mean > mode
-thick on left
negative skew
mode > mean
-thick on right
variability
measurs how loosely/tightly bunched the scores are
range
difference between the highest/lowest scores
standard deviation
considers how far each data point is from the mean
statistical significance
the result is believable
practical significance
the result has real-world importance
meta-analysis
statistical method that analyzes effects across studies to determine consistent patterns of results
2 ways statistics can be misused
-reporting measures of central tendency that are non-representative of most participants
-creating visual representations that exaggerate effects
sharpening
the tendency to exaggerate the gist, or central message, of a study
leveling
the tendency to minimize the less central details of a study
pseudosymmetry
o the appearance of a scientific controversy where none exists
