Chapter 2: Studying Behaviour Scientifically Flashcards
5 steps in the scientific process
1) IDENTIFY a question of interest
2) GATHER information and FORM hypothesis
3) TEST hypothesis by conducting research
4) ANALYSE data, draw conclusions and REPORT
5) BUILD a body of knowledge, ask further questions, conduct more research
Name 3 characteristics of good theories
- incorporates existing facts and observations and organizes info in a meaningful way
- is testable
- conforms to the law of PARSIMONY - if 2 theories can explain and predict the same phenomenon equally well, the simpler theory is the preferred one
Law of parsimony
if 2 therories can explain and prdict the sme phenomenon equally well, the simpler thery is the preferred one
variable
any factor or characteristic that can vary - ex. hair colour, height
operational definition
they translate abstract concepts into something observable and measureable
social desieability bias
the tendency to respond in a socially acceptable manner rather than according to how one truly feels or behaves
reaction time
how rapidly one responds to a stimulus
reliable
consistent observations
archival measures
records or documents that already exist
methods of research
- descriptive research
- case study
descriptive research
seeks to identify how humans and other animals behave, particularly in natural setting
case study
an in-depth analysis for an individual, a group or an event
advantages of case study
when a rare phenomenon occurs, the method enables scientist to study it closely
naturalistic observation
the researcher observes behaviors as it occurs in a natural setting
population
consists of all the individuals about whom we are interested in drawing a conclusion
sample
a subset of individuals drawn from the larger population of interest
representative sample
one that reflects the important characteristics of the population
random sampling
every member of the population has an equal probability of being chosen to participate in the survey
correlational research
a study to determine the relationship among two or more variables without any attempt to influence them. Involves measuring variables, NOT manipulating them
3 components to correlational research
1) the researcher measures one variable (x) such as people’s birth order
2) researcher measures a second variable (y) such as a personality trait
3) researcher statistically determines whether x and y are related
correlational coefficient
a statistic that indicates the strength of the relation between two variables. Variables can be correlated either positively or negatively
positive correlation
means that higher scores on one variable are associate with higher scores on a second variable - e.g., positive correlation between social relationships and happiness
negative correlation
occurs when higher scores on one variable are associate with lower scores on a second variable - e.g., job satisfaction and turnover meaning the workers who are more satisfied with jobs have lower rates of turnover
experiment - 3 essential characteristics
1) researcher manipulates one or more variables
2) researcher measures whether this manipulation influence other variables
3) researcher attempts to control extraneous factors that might influence the outcome
