Conducting Research in Psychology Flashcards
Scientific thinking
process of using the cognitive skills required to generate, test and revise theories.
scientific method
the procedures by which scientist conduct research, consisting of five basic processes: observation, prediction, testing, interpretation and communication.
theory
a set of related assumptions from which scientists can make testable predictions.
hypothesis
a specific, informed and testable prediction of the outcome of a particular set of conditions in a research design.
replication
the repetition of a study to confirm the results; essential to the scientific process.
pseudoscience
claims presented as scientific that are not supported by evidence obtained with the scientific method.
research design
plans for action for how to conduct scientific study
variable
a characteristic that changes or “varies,” such as age, gender, weight, intelligence, anxiety and extraversion
population
the entire group a researcher is interested in; for example, all humans, all adolescents, all boys, all girls,all college students.
samples
subsets of the population studied in a research project.
descriptive designs
study designs in which the researcher defines a problem and variable of interest but makes no prediction and does not control or manipulate anything.
case study
a study design in which psychologist,often a therapist,observes one person over a long period of time.
naturalistic observation
a study in which the researcher unobtrusively observes and records behavior in the real world.
correlational design
studies that measure two or move variables and their relationship to one another; not designed to show causation.
correlation coefficients
a statistic that ranges from -1.0 to +1.0 and assesses the strength and direction of association between two variables.
experiment
a research design that includes independent and dependent variables and random assignment of participants to control and experimental groups or conditions.
independent variable
a property that is manipulated by the experimenter under controlled conditions to determine whether it causes the predicted outcome of an experiment.
dependent variable
in an experiment, the outcome or response to the experimental manipulation.
Random assignment
the method used to assign participants to different research conditions so that all participants have the same chance of being in any specific group.
experimental group
a group consisting of those participants who will receive the treatment or whatever is predicted to change behavior.
control group
a group of research participants who are treated in exactly the same manner as the experimental group, except that they do not receive the independent variable, or treatment.
placebo
a substance or treatment that appears identical to the actual treatment but lacks the active substance.
confounding variable
variable whose influence on the dependent variable cannot be separated from the independent variable being examined.
single-blind studies
studies in which participants do not know the experimental condition (group) to which they have been assigned.
double-blind studies
studies in which neither the participants nor the researchers administering the treatment know who has been assigned to the experimental or control group.
experimenter expectancy effects
result that occurs when the behavior of the participants is influenced by the experimenter’s knowledge of who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group.
self-fulfilling prophecy
a statement that affects events to cause the prediction to become true.
meta-analysis
research technique for combining all research results on one question and drawing a conclusion.
effect size
a measure of the strength of the relationship between two variables or the extent of an experimental effect.
measures
the tools and techniques used to assess thought or behavior.
self-reports
written or oral accounts of a person’s thoughts, feelings, or actions.
behavioral measures
measures based on systematic observation of people’s actions either in their normal environment or in a laboratory setting.
social desirability bias
the tendency toward favorable self-presentation that could lead to inaccurate self-reports.
physiological measures
measures of bodily responses, such as blood pressure or heart rate, used to determine changes in psychological state.
statistics
collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of numerical data.
descriptive statistics
measures used to describe and summarize research.
standard deviation
a statistical measure of how much scores in a sample vary around the mean.
frequency
the number of times a particular score occurs in a set of data.
normal distribution
bell curve; a plot of how frequent data are that is perfectly symmetrical, with most scores clustering in the middle and only a few scores at the extremes.
inferential statistics
analyses of data that allow us to test hypotheses and make an inference as to how likely a sample score is to occur in a population.
t-test
statistic that compares two means to see whether they could come from the same population.
ethics
the rules governing the conduct of a person or group in general or in a specific situation—or more simply, standards of right and wrong.
Ethical Guidelines for researchers
Informed consent, Respect for persons, Beneficence(cost and benefits), Privacy and confidentiality, Justice(Beneficence must be distribute equally among participants)
debriefing
the explanation of the purposes of a study following data collection.
institutional review boards (IRBs)
organizations that evaluate research proposals to make sure research involving humans does not cause undue harm or distress.
quasi-experimental design
research method similar to an experimental design except that it makes use of naturally occurring groups rather than randomly assigning subjects to groups.
