Chapter 2 - Research Methods Flashcards
Prefrontal Lobotomy
When a surgeon severs the fibers connecting the brain’s frontal lobes from the underlying thalamus
“treatment for schizophrenia”
Naturalistic Observation
Watching participants behavior in real-world settings without trying to manipulate their actions
External Validity
The extent that our findings generalize to real world settings
Internal Validity
The extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences
Case Study
Researchers examine one person or a small number of people over an extended period of time
Existence Proofs
Demonstrations that a given psychological phenomena can occur
Self-Report Measures (Questionnaires)
Assess a variety of characteristics (personality traits, mental illness, interests)
Surveys
Measure people’s opinions and attitude
Random Selection
Every person in the population has an equal chance of being chosen to particapate
Relaibailty
Consistency of measurement
Validity
Extent to which a measure assesses what it claims to measure
Response Acts
Tendencies to distort their answers to questions often in a positive light
Halo Effect
One positive characteristic to “spill over” to influence the ratings of other positive characteristics
Correlational Designs
Examine the extent to which two variables are associated
Scatter Plot
A grouping of points on a two-dimensional graph
Illusory Correlation
Perception of a statistical assocoation between two variables where non exists.
FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
Measures blood flow in active areas of the brain
Areas with stronger blood flow thought to be active during a given task
EEF (Electron phalo gram)
Measures the electricity from the scalp
Measures how electrical activity changes when doing different kinds of tasks
Placebo Effect
Improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement
“sugar pill”
Used on control group
Control Group
The group that does NOT receive the manipulation
Experimental Group
The group that DOES receive the manipulation
