Chapter 2: The Research Enterprise in Psychology Flashcards
Measurement and description
Understanding prediction
Application and control
Goals of the scientific approach
Condition or event manipulated by the experimenter
independent variable
What are the steps in an investigation?
- Formulate a testable hypothesis
- Select a method and design the study
- Collect the data
- Analyze the data and draw conclusions
- Report the findings
Aspect of behaviour thought to be affected by the independent variable
What’s being measured
dependent variable
Participants or subjects who recieve special treatment
experimental group
Similar subjects who don’t recieve the treatment given to the experimental group
control group
Factors besides the IV that might affect the DV; hence, they need to be controlled
extraenous variables
Exists when two variables are related to each other
correlation
Define positive correlation and negative correlation
- Positive correlation: variables co-vary in the same direction
- Negative correlation: variables co-vary in the opposite direction
Numerical index of degree of relationship between two variables
Indicates the direction (positive or negative) of the relationship and how strongly the 2 variables are related
Correlation coefficient
The closer the correlation to either -1.00 or +1.00, the ____ the relationship
Stronger
Careful, systematic observation, but no intervention with subjects
naturalistic observation
What is a case study?
An in-depth investigation of a single participant, typically involving data from many sources
Questionnaires and interviews are used to gather information about specific aspects of participants’ behaviour
survey
Exists when a sample is not representative of the population
Sampling bias
Occur when participants’ expectations lead them to experience some change, even though they recieve empty or fake treatment.
Placebo effect
Result from problems, such as social desirability bias and halo effects, that happen when participants give verbal accounts of their behaviour
Distortions in self-report data
Occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained
Experimenter bias
A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables
tentative: not certain or fixed
Hypothesis
Any measurable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviours that are controlled or observed in a study
Variables
A system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of obervations
Theory
Occurs when two variables are linked in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects
A confounding of variables
confound: mix up (something) with something else so that the individual
Occurs when a participant’s behaviour is altered by the presence of the observer
Reactivity
The use of math to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical data
Statistics
Used to organize and summarize data, provide an overview of numerical data
Descriptive statistics
The arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution
Mean
The score that falls exaclty in the middle of a distribution of scores
Median
The most frequent score in a distribution
Mode
An index of the amount of variability in a set of data
Standard deviation
An index is a way of compiling one score from a variety of questions or
