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cognitive and behavioural psychology > Chapter 3: Psychological science and research > Flashcards

Chapter 3: Psychological science and research Flashcards

1
Q

basic research

A

answers fundamental questions about behaviour.
ex. nerves and sensation

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2
Q

applied research

A

investigates issues that have implications for everyday life and provides solutions to everyday problems.
ex. best way to help depression

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3
Q

research design

A

the specific method a researcher uses to collect, analyze, and interpret data.

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4
Q

descriptive research

A

designed to provide a snapshot of the current state of affairs.

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5
Q

correlation research

A

designed to discover relationships among variables and to allow the prediction of future events from present knowledge.

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6
Q

experimental research

A

conducted with a scientific approach, where a set of variables are manipulated while the other set of variables are being measured

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7
Q

the scientific method

A

the set of assumptions, rules, and procedures scientists use to conduct research.
It is:
Empirical: based on systematic collection and analysis of data.
Objective: free from the personal bias or emotions of the scientist.
Replicable: to repeat, add to, or modify previous research findings.
It is used to create:
Laws
Theories
Hypotheses

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8
Q

Laws

A

Principles that are so general as to apply to all situations in a given domain of inquiry (rarely directly suject subject to scientific test)

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9
Q

theories

A

an integrated set of principles that explains and predicts many, but not all, observed relationships within a given domain of inquiry. (e.g. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs).
(ex. theory of cognitive development proposed by the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. The theory states that children pass through a series of cognitive stages as they grow)

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10
Q

good theories are

A

general – they can be applied to many different outcomes.
parsimonious – they provide the simplest possible explanation.
falsifiable – predictions can be made and measured to be correct or incorrect

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11
Q

research hypothesis

A

a specific and falsifiable prediction about the relationship between or among two or more variables

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12
Q

hypothesis

A

a testable prediction of what will happen given a certain set of conditions

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13
Q

variable

A

any attribute that can assume different values among different people or across different times or places

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14
Q

conceptual variables

A

abstract ideas that form the basis of research hypotheses.
e.g. aggression, overall happiness etc.

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15
Q

measurable variable

A

variables consisting of numbers that represent the conceptual variables

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16
Q

operational definition

A

a precise statement of how a conceptual variable is turned into a measured variable.
e.g. number of seconds taken to honk the horn at the car ahead of you after the stoplight turns green

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17
Q

ethics in psychology

A

prevent harm to participants
give participants free choice
protect the privacy of participants

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18
Q

active deception

A

when the researcher tells the participants that he or she is studying learning when in fact the experiment really concerns obedience to authority

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19
Q

passive deception

A

when participants are not told about the hypothesis being studied or the potential use of the data being collected

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20
Q

Nuremberg code

A

the importance of carefully weighing risks against benefits and the need for informed consent

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21
Q

declaration of helinski

A

research with human participants should be based on a written protocol—a detailed description of the research—that is reviewed by an independent committee.

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22
Q

belmont report

A

explicitly outlined principles of justice, respect for persons, beneficence, in response to the Tuskegee study

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23
Q

ethical/institutional review boards

A

responsible for reviewing research protocols for potential ethical problems
must include 5 people with varying backgrounds including one non-affiliated person

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24
Q

APA ethics code

A

roughly 150 ethical standards

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25
Q

Standard 8 ethical concerns

A

informed consent, deception, debriefing, the use of nonhuman animal subjects, and scholarly integrity in research.

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26
Q

scientific risk

A

research question is uninteresting, or a study is poorly designed.
Then the time, money, and effort spent on that research could have been spent on more productive research

27
Q

society risk

A

research results could be misunderstood or misapplied with harmful consequences

28
Q

respect for autonomy

A

Informed consent
(researchers obtain and document people’s agreement to participate in a study after having informed them of everything that might reasonably be expected to affect their decision)

29
Q

respect for privacy

A

Confidentiality:
(an agreement not to disclose participants’ personal information without their consent or some appropriate legal authorization)
Anonymity:
(name and other personally identifiable information is not collected at all or is not published in a way to identify them)

30
Q

four moral principles

A

weighing risks against benefits,
acting responsibly and with integrity,
seeking justice
respecting people’s rights and dignity

31
Q

three groups of people

A

research participants
science
society

32
Q

ways to reduce/eliminate risks

A

Shorten procedure
Give multiple rest breaks if the task is tiring
Replace upsetting or offensive content with milder content
Stopping the procedure if participants show distress
Use the smallest number of animal subjects that is necessary
Pre-screening participants

33
Q

arithmetic mean

A

the sum of all the scores of the variable divided by the number of participants in the distribution.
(the most commonly used measure of central tendency)

34
Q

dispersion

A

the extent to which the scores are all tightly clustered around the central tendency

35
Q

measuring dispersion

A

find the largest (the maximum) and the smallest (the minimum) observed values of the variable and to compute the range of the variable as the maximum observed score minus the minimum observed score

36
Q

correlation research

A

involves the measurement of two or more relevant variables and an assessment of the relationship between or among those variables.
E.g. the variables of height and weight are related (correlated) because taller people generally weigh more than shorter people

37
Q

predictor variable

A

the variable assumed to have an effect on some other variable or explains a change in another variable

38
Q

outcome variable

A

the variable that is observed to determine whether it changes due to the predictor variable

39
Q

multiple regression

A

is a statistical technique, based on correlation coefficients among variables, that allows predicting a single outcome variable from more than one predictor variable

40
Q

limitation of correlation research designs

A

cannot be used to draw conclusions about the causal relationships among the measured variables.
E.g. watching violent TV and aggressive play

41
Q

common-casual variable

A

a variable that is not part of the research hypothesis but that causes both the predictor and the outcome variable and thus produces the observed correlation between them

42
Q

spurious relationship

A

a relationship between two variables in which a common-causal variable produces and “explains away” the relationship.
When the common-causal variable is controlled for the relationship disappears.

43
Q

experimental research

A

provide more definitive conclusions about the causal relationships among the variables in the research hypothesis than is available from correlational designs

44
Q

independent variable

A

the causing variable that is created (manipulated) by the experimenter

45
Q

dependent variable

A

a measured variable that is expected to be influenced by the experimental manipulation

46
Q

descriptive designs (takeaway)

A

include case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation.
The goal of these designs is to get a picture of the current thoughts, feelings, or behaviours in a given group of people.
Descriptive research is summarized using descriptive statistics

47
Q

good research valid and reliable

A

When research is valid the conclusions drawn by the researcher are legitimate, and when it is reliable the conclusions are consistent.

48
Q

confounding variable

A

variables other than the independent variable on which the participants in one experimental condition differ systematically from those in other conditions

49
Q

threats to validity of research

A

construct
internal
external
statistical conclusion

50
Q

construct validity

A

the extent to which the variables used in the research adequately assess the conceptual variables they were designed to measure (ex. how do we measure intelligence)

51
Q

internal validity

A

the extent to which the independent variable has caused the dependent variable.
- increases when confounding variables are reduced or eliminated or accounted for

52
Q

external validity

A

the extent to which the results extend to other scenarios, populations, etc. (A.k.a. Generalizability)
- increases with replication

53
Q

statistical conclusion validity

A

the extent to which we can be certain that the researcher has drawn accurate conclusions about the statistical significance of the research
- Research will be invalid if the conclusions made about the research hypothesis are incorrect because statistical inferences about the collected data are in error

54
Q

why research never PROVES a theory

A

Normally, we can assume that the researchers have done their best to ensure the statistical conclusion validity of a research design, but we must always keep in mind that inferences about data are probabilistic and never certain

55
Q

meta analysis

A

a statistical technique that uses the results of existing studies to integrate and draw conclusions about those studies.
A meta-analysis provides a relatively objective method of reviewing research findings because it:
Specifies inclusion criteria for exactly what will be examined
Systematically searchers the literature using the inclusion criteria
Provides objective measures of the strength of observed relationships
May also include unpublished research

56
Q

exact (direct) replication

A

a scientist attempts to exactly recreate the scientific methods used in conditions of an earlier study to determine whether the results come out the same.
- Exact replications tell us whether the original findings are true

57
Q

conceptual replication

A

a scientist tries to confirm the previous findings using a different set of specific methods that test the same idea.
- Conceptual replications help confirm whether the theoretical idea behind the findings is true

58
Q

6 principles to open science

A

Open Data
Open Source
Open Access
Open Methodology
Open Peer Review
Open Educational Resources

59
Q

5 reasons for non replication

A

Those replicating don’t have sufficient experiment or the right equipment (ay be true but it doesn’t explain why non-replication is such a problem)
The original findings were falsified
We hope faking is rate but the possibility must be considered
Small sample size
Not generalizable to other cultures, circumstances, populations.
Scientist error during replication

60
Q

why does non replication continue

A

Institutions – they reward scientists with promotions when significant results are found, not null results or replications
Journals – there is a focus on only publishing significant results, not null results or replications
Textbooks – there is little information presented to new researchers about the replication crisis
Scientists themselves – without a change in views and attitudes around null results and replications the cycle will continue

61
Q

solutions to the non replication problem

A

Some sites now focus on archiving original studies with their replication attempts
Some articles have stated they will publish replication attempts, even if they fail
A Replication Index (R Index) has been created to estimate the replicability of studies, journals, or specific areas of research.
A new focus on open science shares data between scientists and institutions

62
Q

examples from other fields with reproductability

A

Physics & Engineering – Cold fusion energy
Medical science – Treatments for different illnesses
Genetics – Genetic diseases

63
Q

organizing principles

A

including laws, theories, and research hypotheses, give structure and uniformity to scientific methods

64
Q

1998 Lancet publication that claimed the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused autism

A

Altered testimonials of the participants
Falsified the symptoms of many participants
Reported false statistics to support their conclusions
Recruited participants who supported the anti-MMR agenda
Was paid by an anti-MMR organization to do the research

cognitive and behavioural psychology (1 decks)

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