Chapter 2: The Research Enterprise in Psychology Flashcards
What is the scientific method?
A process of systematic observation, measurement, and experimentation to formulate and test hypotheses
What are the five steps of the scientific method?
- Formulate a hypothesis
- Design the study
- Collect the data
- Analyze the data, and draw conclusions
- Report the findings
What is empirical data?
Evidence that comes from observation, experience, or experimentation
What four general goals does the scientific method allow researchers to achieve?
-Describe psychological phenomena
-Predict what will occur
-Control factors that are believed to cause a phenomenon
-Explain why the phenomenon occurs
What is a hypothesis?
A specific and testable description of the expected outcome of a study;
A prediction about the results of the experiment
What is a variable?
Anything that can change or be changed in an experiment
What is a theory?
A coherent explanation or interpretation of facts and observations that have been identified in past studies
What is confirmation bias?
The tendency to search for information that supports preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
What are operational definitions?
Clear and detailed statements about how you will measure the data collected about the variables
What does it mean to replicate a study, and what is needed to do so?
Repeat the original study as closely as possible;
Clear operational definitions
What are the three main research methods?
Experiments, correlational studies, and descriptive research
What is the only research method for investigating cause-and-effect relationships, and why?
The experimental method;
Because it enables a researcher to manipulate one of the variables and observe the effect of that manipulation on one or more other measured variables
What are the criticisms of the experimental method?
For being too artificial to assess behaviors that most people usually exhibit
What is the independent variable?
The variable that the experimenter manipulates
What is the dependent variable?
The variable that the researchers measure
In an experiment, what is the population?
Consists of all individuals who can potentiall participate in the study;
Everyone who can be in a study
What is a sample?
A smaller group of the population;
Those who actually participate in the study
What is a representative sample?
A sample that has characteristics that are simillar to those in the population
What is a sampling bias?
An error in the sampling process that allows some members of a population to be more or less likely than others to be included in a study
How do researchers guarantee that a sample is representative?
Using a random sample
What is a random sample?
One in which each member of the population has the same chance of getting into the sample as any other member
What is stratified sampling?
Subgrounds within the population are equally represented;
And members of those population subgroups have an equal chance of becoming members of the sample
What is external validity?
The ability to generalize the results of a study to a larger population
What is the experimental group?
Group in which the researchers manipulate the independent variable
What is the control group?
The comparison group that doesn’t receive the experimental treatment
What is random assignment?
A process that ensures all members of the sample have an equal chance of being placed into either the control or experimental group
What do random sampling and random assignment allow researchers to do?
They allow researchers to assume that uncontrolled factors are spread randomly throughout the participants and will not have a systematic effect on the results
What is internal validity?
The likelihood that differences in the dependent variable are caused by the independent variable rather than some other factor
What are confounding variables?
Extraneous factors that may interfere with the independent variable and therefore have an impact on the outcome of the study
What is the placebo effect?
A real response, positive or negative, to an action or substance based solely on expectations, not on the actual properties of the action or substance
How do experimenters get rid of the placebo effect?
A single-blind study
What is a single-blind study?
In which the participants do not know whether they belong to the control group or the experimental group
What eliminates experimenter bias?
Double-blind studies
What is an experimenter bias?
An error resulting from the experimenter’s unconscious expectation of results
What is a double-blind study?
When neither the experimenter nor the participants know to which group the participants belong
When do researchers use correlational studies?
When they wasnt to study questions for which manipulating the independent variable would be unethical
What are correlational studies?
Allow researchers to determine if there is a relationship between two variables
What are the three types of relationships that can be determined from a correlational study?
Positive relationships, negative relationships, and illusory relationships
What happens in a positive correlation?
The independent and depedent variable move together in the same direction;
If one increases, the other increases;
If one decreases, the other also decreases
What happens in a negative correlation?
The variables have an inverse relationship
What is an illusory correlation?
An expected or suspected relationship that doesn’t empirically exist
What are correlational studies useful for?
For making predictions and decisions;
For avoiding unethical experiments that would expose participants to harm
How are correlational studies misleading at times?
Because the relationship between the variables, especially which variable is affecting which, can be hard to determine at times
What is the third variable problem?
In a correlational study, researchers cannot eliminate the possibility that a third variable causes both of the other variables to increase or decrease
What are descriptive research techniques?
They allow researchers to gather information that cannot be obtained using the experimental method but that still uses scientific questions, hypotheses, and careful data
What is naturalistic observation?
The observation of human or animal behavior in its natural setting
How can there be error with naturalistic observation?
It does not allow the researcher to interact with those being studied, which may lead to erroneous conclusions about why the behavior occurred
What is a case study?
In which researchers conduct in-depth studies of either an individual or a group who share a common characteristic
What are some flaws with using case studies?
They often cannot be generalized to the larger population;
The results of the case study method may be influenced by the opinions of those conducting the research
What is a survery?
In which participants receive a list of questions to answer
What are the challenges when it comes to using surveys?
Participation in most survery research is not random;
The wording of the question can have a strong effect on the way people respond
How are interviews useful?
They allow researchers to know what participants experienced during a session;
Helps psychologists gain an understanding of a wide variety of topics such as decision-making, emotions, etc.
hWhat is a subjective self-report?
When individuals portray an overly positive view of themselves as they want to be viewed
What are demand characteristics?
Subtle cues interviewers may convey about their expectations
What is the social desirability bias?
When interviewees want to appear kind and empathetic to others
What are the two unique challenges using interviews pose?
Leading questions must be avoided;
Participants could be lying
