Chapter 2: Research Methods Flashcards
What is intuitive thinking?
Quick and reflexive thinking, relies on gut hunches.
What is analytical thinking?
Slow and reflective thinking, takes mental effort.
Define heuristic.
Mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps streamline thinking and make sense of our world.
What is random selection?
A procedure of selecting that ensures everyone in a population has an equal chance of being chosen.
What is reliability?
Consistency of measurement.
What is reproductability?
Ability to review and re-analyze data from a study and find the exact same results.
What is naturalistic observation?
Watching behaviour in real-world settings without trying to manipulate the situation or people’s behaviour.
What is external validity?
The extent to which we can generalize findings to real-world settings.
What is internal validity?
The extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences from a study.
What is a case study?
A research design that examines one person or a small number of people in depth over an extended period of time.
What are existence proofs?
Demonstrations that a psychological phenomenon can occur.
What are response sets?
It is the tendency of research participants to distort their responses to a questionnaire to paint themselves in a positive light.
What is a correlation design?
A research design that examines the extent to which two variables are associated.
What is meant by a positive correlation?
As one variable changes, the other goes in the same direction.
What is meant by a correlation of zero?
The variables aren’t correlated at all.
What is meant by a negative correlation?
As one variable changes, the other goes in the opposite direction.
What is an illusory correlation?
The perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exist.
What is an experimental group?
The group of participants that receives the manipulation.
What is a control group?
The group of participants that do not receive the manipulation.
What is the independent variable?
The variable that is manipulated.
What is the dependent variable?
The variable that is measured to see whether the manipulation had an effect.
What is the placebo effect?
Improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement.
What is the nocebo effect?
Harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm.
What is the experimenter expectancy effect?
A phenomenon in which researchers’ hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study.
What is an operational definition?
A working definition of what a researcher is measuring.
What are demand characteristics?
Cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researcher’s hypothesis.
What is informed consent?
Informing research participants of what is involved in a study before asking them to participate.
What is meta-analysis?
A statistical method that helps researchers interpret large bodies of scientific literature.
What is the base rate?
How common a characteristic or behaviour is in the general population.
What is a parapsychologist?
An investigator who studies ESP and related phenomena.
What is precognition?
Acquiring knowledge of the future.
What is telepathy?
Reading the minds of others.
What is clairvoyance?
Detecting objects or people that are hidden from view.
What is leveling?
Omitting minor details and distinctions.
What is sharpening?
Exaggerating details or making them more profound.
