Exam 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Why is the producer role important?
A
- for coursework in psychology
- for graduate school
- for working in research lab
- for research- based careers, at a university, in the private sector, in goverment
2
Q
Why consumer role is important?
A
- for psychology courses (evaluating and understanding research)
- for your future career (using evidence- based treatment in clinics) settings)
- When reading printed or online news stories based on research (Should you believe scientific claims, you see in the media?)
3
Q
The benefits of a being a good consumer
A
- what do you gain by being a critical consumer of info?
- knowing what kind of claim is being made
- knowing whether to believe it, how to apply it
- knowing when to invest, time, money, and effort into a program
- the “scared straight” program, while intuitive, is actually harmful
4
Q
How scientists work?
A
- scientists are empiricists
- scientists test theories, theory data cycle
- scientists work in a community
- scientists tackle applied and basic problems
- scientists make their work public
- scientists talk to the world, from journals to journalism
5
Q
Scientists are empiricists
A
- empiricism (aka the empirical method or empirical research)
- basing conclusions on systematic observations
- relying on evidence from the senses or from instruments that can help the senses, rather than intuition, personal experience, or authority
6
Q
Theory- Data Cycle
A
- a theory leads to questions, predictions, data, and potentially updating your theory
- cupboard theory vs contact comfort theory in Harlow’s experiment
+ LOOK AT DIAGRAM
7
Q
Personal Experiences have no comparison group
A
- comparison groups help rule out confounds
- a good comparison group - will be as similar as possible to the situation you are testing, except that the particular thing you want to test is removed
- comparison groups are important,
8
Q
Research is better than experience
A
- does venting anger through physical means reduce subsequent aggression?
- Bushman’s (2002) study on the effect of catharsis on agression is a systematic comparison that controls for potential confounds
- the study says that venting anger actually increases subsequent agression
9
Q
Research is probabilistic
A
- means that its findings are not expected to explain all the cases all the time (there are exceptions)
- exceptions do not undermine research results
- there is variability across people and across situations, so individual experiences may be very different
10
Q
Research is better than Intuition
A
- ways in which intuition is biased
- we are swayed by good stories
- we are persuaded by what easily comes to mind
- we focus on evidence we expect
- we are biased about being biased
- scared straight program, makes sense intuitively but empirical testing revealed that it is harmful rather than helpful.
- throughout history, people’s views of the mind have been influenced b the current technology
11
Q
Confirmation Bias
A
- focusing on evidence we like best
- the tendency to look only at information that agrees with what we want to believe
- Leibowits and Ahns 2017 study
- participants given a fake DNA kit that told them either they did or did not have a gene for depression
- the participants that were told they have the gene scored higher on the beck depression inventory
12
Q
Journal Articles
A
- psychology’s most important source
empirical journal articles - describe results of a study or studies
- where research is first introduced to the world
review journal Articles - review/summarize multiple papers that asked similar questions or tested the same theory
- some review papers include meta- analyses which combine the results of many studies statistiically
- chapters in edited books
- full length books
13
Q
Variable
A
something that varies, there are different values of a variable within a study
- must have at least two levels
14
Q
Constant
A
- is something that could theoretically vary but is kept the same for the purposes of a study
- when reading a claim the first things to do is to determine the variables
15
Q
Variables
A
- some variables will only have two levels
- whether or not someone lives with there parents, yes/no
- some variables will have multiple levels,what college year a student is in
- how many children a parent has
- some variables can be treated as continuous
- how many steps you walk per day
- average amount of sleep per night
16
Q
Measured Variable
A
- observed/recorded
- height, age
- some variables can only be measured, for practical and or ethical reasons
- NUMBEr of traumatic experiences (no way to manipulate it)
- can’t change/control
17
Q
Manipulated Variable
A
- is controlled
- medication dose received in a study
- whether or not a participant “vents anger”
18
Q
Construct/conceptual variable
A
- the abstract idea or concept
- first provide conceptual definition
Conceptual Definition - a careful, theoretical definition of the construct, perseverance, the ability to push through when confronted with obstacles - can’t measure directly
- weight, wealth
- ex happiness, depression, perseverance
19
Q
Operational Variable
A
- how the variable will actually be measured
- ex weight
weight - self reported weight
weight - weight in pounds on a measured scale
20
Q
Frequency Claims
A
- a frequency claim describes a particular level or degree of a single variable
- always a measured variable
- frequency claims involve only one measured variable
21
Q
Association Claims
A
- argues that the level of one variable is likely to be associated with a particular level of another variable
- 2 variables are linked
- association claims are supported by studies that have at least two measured variables
- variables that are assosicated are said to correlate
22
Q
Positive Association
A
- high values of one variable correspond with high values of the other variable
23
Q
Negative Association
A
- high values of one variable correspond with low values of the other variables
24
Q
Zero Association
A
- values of one variable do not predict the values of the other variable
25
Making predictions based on Associations
- some association claims are useful because they help us make predictions
- the stronger the association between the two variables the more accurate the prediction will be
- both positive and negative association can help us make predictions , but zero associations cannot.
26
Causal Claims
- a causal claim argues that one variable causes changes in the level of another variable
- causal claims are supported by experiments, studies that have a manipulated variable and a measured variable
27
Construct Validity
- are the variables measuring what you think they are measuring?
- to ensure construct validity, researchers must establish that different levels of a variable accurately correspond to true differences in the targeted phenomenon
- about the quality of your measured variable and is important for all empirical claims
28
External validity?
- do the results generalize to other people, times or situations?
29
Statistical Validity
- how well do the numbers support the claim?
- point estimate
- confidence interval
- strength of an effect size
- replicability
30
Internal Validity?
- when a causal claim is made, have alternative explanations been ruled out?
31
Casual Claims ( three necessary criteria for establish causation between variable A and variable B)
- covariance - the study results that A and B covary
temporal precedence - the study's methods ensure that A come first in time, followed by B
- internal validity
the study's methods ensure that there are no plausible alternative explanations, for the change, B, A,
32
Tuskegee Sylphillis Study
three major ethics violations:
- 1. the participants were not treated respectfully (coerced to participate, free healthcare)
2. the participants were harmed
3. the participants were a targeted, disadvantaged social group
33
Milgram obedience studies
1. was it ethical to put the teacher - participants through such a stressful experience?
2. Were there any lasting effects even after the participants were debriefed?
- demonstrates the need to balance risk to participants with the benefit to society
34
The Belmont Principle (3)
- principle of respect of persons
treat participants as autonomous agents
- principle of beneficence
- protect participants from harm
- principle of justice
the sample of participants should reflect the population that will benefit from the study
35
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)
- every experiment run in a college or university needs to get approval from the IRB beforehand
- IRBs weight the risks and benfits to participants and make sure they are fairly balanced
- everyone on the research team needs to receive relevant safety training, including student researchers
36
Informed Consent
- explanation of the study is provided in a written format, before a person agrees to participate
- outline potential risk and benefits
- signature required
37
Deception
is justified but only to the extent it is necessary to achieve the goals of the study
omission = withholding details from participants
commission = lying to participants
38
Debriefing
- what deception is used researchers must debrief participants at end of study
- explain why deception was used and the nature of the deception
39
Data Fabrication
- researchers invent data that fit their hypothesis
40
Data falsification
- researchers influence the results of a study selectively eg, by deleting observations, or influencing participants to act a certain way
41
Plagiarism
- representing the words or ideas of others as your own
42
Self plagiarism
- recycling your own words across different papers/publications
43
Animal Research
- using animal subjects allows us to test hypotheses that cannot be empirically tested ethically on humans
- harlow's studies on monkeys were extremely important in that they revealed that social ties are crucial for social and cognitive functioning in primates
- but it involved causing monkeys psychological pain, and these studies would probably not be allowed today
- today, researchers strive to protect animals' welfare
44
Institutional Animals Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
- like and IRB, these committees need to approve any animal research project before it can begin
45
Animal Care guidelines: the three R's
replacement - find alternatives to animals in research when possible
refinement - modify procedures to minimize distress
reduction - use designs that require the fewest animals subjects as possible
46
Primary Sources
are documents or articles that convey original research and or content
47
Secondary Sources
are an analysis, commentary or review of original content
48
Empirical Source
- uses experimental or observational methods in order to arrive at certain findings or conclusions
- report on original research which makes them primary sources
49
Peer reviewed articles
are articles that are read, evaluated, and reviewed by a group of experts with the same field of a related area of study
50
Google scholar drawbacks
- there is no way to limit articles results to peer reviewed journals only
- advanced search options are pretty limited
51
CRAAP test
currency - how recently was the article published
- relevancy - who is the intended audience?
- authority - who is providing you with this info?
- accuracy - is in the info supported with evidence?
- purpose- what purpose does the info serve?
52
conceptual varialble/construct
- the high level, theoretical, abstract idea you are interested in studying (happiness)
53
conceptual defintion
- your definition of the construct
(happiness= subjective well being)
54
operational variable
- the way you will empirically measure the idea
( ex - I am satisfied with life on a scale of (1-7)
55
Categorical/nominal variables
- levels are qualitatively distinct categories, order does not matter
56
Quantitative variable
- levels correspond to meaningful numbers. There are three kinds of quantitative variables
- ordinal scale
- internval scale
- ratio scale
57
Ordinal Scale
- ranked order
- numbers corresponding to each level are meaningful
- the distance, or interval, between the levels does not Matter
Ex =gold, silver, bronze, hot 100 songs
58
Interval Scale
- equal distance between levels
- numbers corresponding to each level are meaningful
- the distance, or interval, between the levels does matter
- there is no true zero, a level 0 does not mean there is none of the variable present
- (Jean sizes)
59
Ratio Scale
- equal distance between levels and zero is meaningful
- numbers corresponding to each level are meaningful
- the distance, or interval, between the levels does matter
- there is a true zero- a level 0 means there is none of the variable present
(height, distance between 2 places)
60
Test- retest reliability
consistent scores, each time the measure is used
- a measure has high test - retest reliability, if a participants score on the measure today is similar to their score tomorrow, next week or next year
61
Interrater reliability
- consistent scores no matter who measures
- a measure has high interrater reliability if two people using the measure get similar scores for the same participant
62
Internal Reliability
- consistent scores on different versions of a similar questions
- a measure has high internal reliability if a participants provides a consistent pattern of a responses, regardless of how the research has phrased the question
63
Correlation coefficients
- range between -1 and 1
- association direction = positive slope (r>0), or negative slope (r<0)
- association strength: strong (closer to +1 or -1), weak (close to 0)
64
Average inter item correlation (AIC)
- average of all correlations between the different items
65
Cronbach's alpha
- similar to AIC but adjusts for number of items
66
Face validity
- it looks like what you want to measure (math test)
67
content validity
- it contains all the parts that your theory says it should contain (want measure to cover 4 types of math problems)
68
Known groups paradigm
- examine whether scores on your measure meaningfully differ between groups whose behavior is already well understood
69
Convergent
measure correlates with other measures of the same construct
70
Discriminant/divergent
- measure is less correlated with other measures that should be less related
71
Reliability is not validity
- the validity of a measure is not the same as its reliability
- a measure can be reliable, but not valid
- reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity
72
Forced choice format (question format)
have a yes/no box, participants can check
73
Libert scale
- numeric scale with strongly agree on one side and strongly disagree on the other side (1-5 scale)
74
Semantic Differential format
- 2 diff concepts on side of spectrum (conservative views 1-5, 5 with liberal views
75
Open ended format
- open textbox, say whatever
- get really rich info want
- but time consuming to code, what open ended responses mean
76
Leading Questions
- questions with wording that leads people to a particular response
77
Double barreled questions
- a question that is actually two questions in one
ex - "Do you agree that the first amendment protects eh rights to free speech and that free speech on campus should also be protected?
78
Negatively worded questions
- a question containing negative phrasing such as "do not" or never
79
Question order
- the order of questions can affect partcipants' responses
- the fix = use different versions of the survey where the questions appear in different orders
80
Acquiescence
a type of response set in which a participant responds "yes" or "agree to every item
81
Fence Sitting
- a type of response set in which a participant response neutrally to every item (picking 3 in a 1-5 scale)
82
Socially desirable responding/"faking good"
- when survey respondents give answers that make them look better than they really are, these responses decrease the survey's construct validity
83
Why do people provide inaccurate self reports?
- cognitive processes
- nylon tights study - 4 pairs of tights, asked what pair of tights are the best, made up why they picked them
- memories
- "flash bulb" memories, strong and vidid memories surrounding, emotional/traumatic events
- certainty does not equal accuracy
- quality of consumer products
- based on price/prestige
- study relating ppls rating of products to consumer reports
84
Implicit association test
- goes around self report
- moving into observational territory
85
Observational research
- when a researcher watches people or animals and systematically records how they behave or what they are doing
- can be basis for frequency, association or causal claims
86
Observer bias
- when observers see what they expect to see
87
observer effects
- when participants confirm observer expectations
88
reactivity
participants can react to being watched
89
Observer bias
- when observers see what they expect to see
- langer and adelson: therapists shown video of man in covo, one group told he is job applicant, other group told he is a psych patient
90
Observer effects
- when a researcher's biases/beliefs/expectations influence the participants behavior
Clever Hans
- brought in many different people to test horse
- realized the horse could only do math when person who asked question knew the answer
91
Preventing observe bias and observer effects
- clear codebooks, instructions on how to code behavior
- multiple observers: test for interrater reliability
- masked research design
92
solutions to Reactivity
solution 1: Blend in
- one - way mirror
- unobtrusive observation
Solution 2: wait it out
- until participants are used to the researchers presence
solution 3: measure the behavior's results
- instead of the behavior itself
(look for bitten nails)
