Exam 1 Flashcards
Intuition
Use common sense or what “feels right”. Ex. I’m trying to go someplace I’ve never been, but I don’t know the way. I decide to turn left because it just “feels like” that’s the right way to go.
Deduction
Use reasoning and general knowledge. Ex. I want to know which direction I am facing. the sun is setting to my right, and I know the sun sets in the west, so I know that south is the direction I am facing.
Authority
Relying on information from professionals or reported
in the media. I want to know what my pancreas does. I know that my pancreas produces hormones important for digestion because that is what my high school biology teacher told me.
Observation
Gaining knowledge yourself through your senses. method of gaining knowledge that is most likely to yield accurate information
Determinism
every event has a cause
Scientific method
prediction,
design experiment, observe results, interpret results,
revise predictions
Scientific Researcher
people who
conduct research to acquire knowledge
Scientific Practitioners
people who
use scientific knowledge in their work
Determinism 1
the idea that every
event has an identifiable cause. Ex. what causes a stone to fall? gravity, erosion. – NOT predestined or predetermined
Empiricism 2
knowledge can be gained
through use of one’s senses, direct
observation and experience
Objectivity
neutral; impartial
Systematic observation
following a
structured plan, set of rules or standard
Control
minimize extraneous factors that
may influence behaviors/results
ex. Higher control = better ability to make causal
inferences.
Testability/Falsification 3
explanations of behavior can be tested and falsified through observation Testability/Falsification – explanations of behavior can be tested and falsified through observation
Skepticism and Rigorous Evaluation 4
– Peer Review
Parsimony 5
preference for simple
explanations
– Occam’s razor – the simplest explanation
for something is also the most likely
Scientific Approach - Objectives
1) Description - classification or grouping
2) Prediction – knowing in advance what
behavior or outcome to expect
– Can have prediction without explanation
3) Explanation (Theory) – defines, explains,
organizes and links together knowledge
about a phenomenon
4) Application – producing an expected result
through specific manipulation of a factor
Applied type of research
designed to solve specific
everyday problems
Ex. What are the best techniques to help
elementary school children learn?
Basic type of research
designed to determine fundamental processes of behavior (how or why things work as they do) Ex. How is information lost from memory? Ex. How does the visual system work?
Translational
– use of lessons from
basic research in applied settings Ex. Using lessons about the biochemistry of cell
membranes to develop a new drug for
schizophrenia
Laboratory
allows for greater control Ex.Better able to make causal inferences
Field
Less control but more natural
setting
3 ways developing ideas
observation
Theory
Previous Research
Observations
paying attention to the
world around you
– Serendipity – discovering something while
looking for something else
Theory
Theory – making a prediction based on an organized set of principles that attempt to explain behavior; deductive reasoning – Ex. Theory that depth perception is innate, drives predictions about the behavior of infants Constructs Hypothesis Deductive Reasoning
Previous Research
– prior research may lead to interesting questions; inductive reasoning – Often researchers conduct a series of studies to investigate a topic Ex. Program of research – Replication is key – if someone else repeats the same study will they get the same results?
Theory Constructs
- hypothetical factors that
cannot be directly observed
– Inferred from observing specific behaviors
or responses on specific measures
– Ex. Aggression is a construct; we infer it
occurs through observation of specific
behaviors such as physical confrontations,
angry verbal outbursts, etc.
Theory Hypothesis
– Prediction about the specific outcome of a study – Educated guess – Can be deduced from a theory – When supported it provides support (NOT proof) for the theory – When not supported may mean either theory is incorrect or that there is a problem with the study
Theory Deductive Reasoning
– making specific predictions (hypotheses) based on more general statements about behavior (theory) – Reasoning from general to specific
Data – Driven Research
1) Created from prior research findings
2) Inductive Reasoning - making general
predictions from more specific
information; this is how theories
ultimately develop
Types of Research Questions
1) Descriptive – describes behaviors or the
relation between behaviors
– Ex. Are high fit individuals also high in
conscientiousness?
2) Causal – tries to understand the cause
of some specific behavior
– Ex. Does completing a fitness intervention
lead to reduced anxiety in college students
compared to no intervention?
Formulating an Empirical
Question
Limitations of Science
Need for operational definitions
Need for converging methods
Limitations of Science
– Has to be applied to phenomenon that can
be studied empirically (observed with the
senses)
– Ex. Can’t answer whether there is a God
– Ex. Can answer whether religious beliefs
are linked to health status
Need for operational definitions
– defining an abstract concept by the set of operations used to measure that concept – Ex. Aggression assessed via # verbal outbursts over the past month – Allows for replication
Need for converging methods
– study
same concept with different techniques
or operational definitions
Operational Definition
- definition of an abstract concept (e.g. depression, memory ability) for the purpose of measurement or manipulation of the concept and data collection – Ex. Aggression = # verbal outbursts
Variable
a characteristic that can take on more than one value –Ex. Gender; Age; Aggression Science explores relationship between variables Knowing relationship between variables allows us to: –Describe, predict and control behavior
Types of Relationships between
Variables
Associative
Causal
Associative
– Variables are related but one variable does not cause the other –Ex. Ice cream sales and violent crime rates increase at similar times of the year –Correlation is a way to measure an association
Causal
– one variable causes a change in another variable Knowing causal relations is most helpful for goals of science – Prediction, description, explanation, application Causal relations = harder to establish than association Use control to establish causal relationships
Strength of relationship between variables
]–Strong – as one variable changes the other changes proportionally (rare in psychology) Ex. With each +1 in heat, you get +1 in aggression –Weak – as one variable changes the other variable tends to change Ex. With each +1 in heat, aggression changes only a little (e.g. + 0.10)
– Confounding variables:
extraneous variables
Types of Research
- Correlational (low control)
- Quasi-experimental (some control)
- Experimental (high control)
- Correlational (low control)
Examines relationship between variables
-not manipulated
-Sometimes used to predict (Predictor variable, Outcome variable )
– Can be applied to any variables
Disadvantages
– Cannot establish causal relations between
variables
– Third variable problem extraneous factors
– Directionality problem
- Experimental (high control)
Manipulate 1+ variables, hold other variables constant, observe effect of the manipulation on the variable(s) of interest - Control - Systematic-observe effects after exercising control observation -IV DV -multiple levels -randomization is key -control allows casual influence -directionial
small-n
A design experiment conducted with one or a few participants to better understand the behavior of those individuals.
confirmation bias
Seeking only evidence that supports our beliefs and ignoring evidence that contradicts those beliefs
within-subjects
design were each participant participates in all levels of the variable
testability canon of scientific method
explanations of phenomena should be able to be falsified if they are incorrect
ratio scale
Time measured in minutes
construct validity
indicates that a survey measures the behavior it is designed to measure. “Suppose a psychologist developed a test to measure intelligence, but this test was poorly developed and really only measured how well people perform on standardized tests (in other words, it doesn t actually measure intelligence). This test would lack ______.”
survey data collection technique
Asking individuals to rate how often each of 20 items related to depression symptoms occurs in their daily lives
within-subjects design
each participant participates in all levels of the variable.
multivalent variable
An independent variable that includes three different types of treatments or levels
parsimony canon of the scientific method
the simplest explanation of a phenomenon is most likely to be correct
ordinal scale
People in a grocery store are asked to sample three types of energy drinks and then indicate which one they liked best and which they liked least (i.e., they rank ordered the drinks).
inter-rater reliability
A measure of the degree to which different observers rate behaviors in similar ways
correlational research design.
A researcher who examines the relationship between individuals tooth flossing frequency and the incidence of heart disease in these individuals
attrition/mortality
When participants choose not to complete a research study
testing effects
a source of bias when participants are tested more than once in a study and the early testing impacts later testing.
nonresponse error
If most participants in your sample choose to fully complete the survey you give them, you should have a low level of
criterion-related validity
A strong, positive relationship between scores on a new survey and scores on a previously validated survey on the same topic
operational definition
“Imagine that you are interested in studying memory ability in elementary school students. In order to assess memory ability you measure how many words students remember from a list of 20 words they initially studied. In this instance, number of words remembered serves as
descriptive hypothesis
involves making a prediction about the results of a study that describes behavior.
face validity
on the surface, a study or scale appears to be intuitively valid
coverage error
A researcher was interested in how exercise impacts UTEP college students mental health. She created a survey to gather people s information and went to the Union on the UTEP campus on a Monday afternoon and asked passersby to volunteer to take the survey. At the end of the day, 120 volunteers completed surveys, 100 of which were filled out by men and 20 that were filled out by women. She realized that this sample did not adequately represent the population of UTEP students and her survey procedure has led to
reliability
The degree to which the results of a study can be replicated under a similar set of conditions
