Exam Numero Uno Flashcards
Nuremberg Code
a set of research ethics principles for human experimentation set as a result of the subsequent Nuremberg trials at the end of the Second World War. - consent necessary
Declaration of Helsinki
The World Medical Association’s international ethical guidelines for medical professionals researching human subjects
What are the issues addressed in the declaration of Helsinki?
Research proposals must be reviewed by independent committee
- informed consent is necessary
- risks should not outweigh benefits
Tuskagee Syphilis Study
Another origin of research participant protection.
In 1977, president of the U.S. admitted wrong doing and formally apologized to participant-victims. From 1929 to the 70s, U.S. Public Health Service sponsored a study in which poor, uneducated African-American men in Alabama suffered and died of untreated syphilis while researchers studied the severe phys disabilities that appear in advanced stages of the disease. Even when penicillin to treat the disease was available, the study began long after its availability.
National Research Act
A set of regulations for the protection of human participants in research, mandated by Congress in 1974.
Belmont Report Principles
- Respect for persons
- Beneficence
- Justice
What does respect for persons mean?
individuals should be treated as autonomous agents, they should give their full informed consent
What does beneficence mean?
Do good, welfare of others is the primary concern, risks vs benefits must be outweighed
what does justice mean?
the benefits and risks must be distributed fairly
Tri-Council Policy Statement
In Canada, the official statement of ethical conduct for research involving humans; researchers and institutions are expected to adhere to this document to receive federal research funds.
Tri-Council agencies
- natural sciences and engineering research council of canada
- social sciences and humanities research council of canada
- canadian institutes of health research
Research Ethics Board (REB)
Research oversight group that evaluates research to protect the rights of participants in the study
Respect for human dignity
Includes the right to self-determination and the right to full disclosure
- the fundamental principle behind modern research
respect for free and informed consent
Respecting the exercise of individual consent
Freedom to withdraw
experimenters’ ethical obligation to allow their subjects to discontinue participation in the research project
Removal of harmful consequences
if a participant could suffer long term consequences as a result of serving in an experiment the investigator has the responsibility to remove those consequences
respect for justice and inclusiveness
the benefits and burdens of research should be distributed fairly across individuals and groups in society
Respect for Confidentiality
what a subject does in an experiment should be confidential unless otherwise agreed
balancing harms and benefits
Foreseeable harms should not outweigh anticipated benefits
minimizing harm
The duty to avoid, prevent, or minimize harm to others; subjects must not be subjected to unnecessary risks of harm
maximizing benefit
a duty to benefit others and to maximize net benefits; human research is intended to produce benefits for subjects themselves, for other individuals or society as a whole, or for the advancement of knowledge
informed consent
an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate
what is the problem with informed consent?
From a researchers point of view the problem with asking for informed consent is that it may spoil the research.
Reactivity
the problem of a participant changing behaviour as a result of being measured, observed, or studied, invalidating the results of a study
partial disclosure
actively misleading/withholding information from participant
When is partial disclosure accepted according to the Tri-council?
- the risk to subject is minimal
- does not affect rights and welfare of the participant
- alternative methods have been ruled out
- participants are provided with full disclosure after participation
Problems with partial disclosure?
once participants have been misled they may react differently in subsequent experiments, the participants may feel duped and consequently experience a loss of self esteem or develop negative feeligns about research
Debriefing
the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants
reasons for debriefing
to inform the participants about the nature of any misleading that has occured during the experiment
- to provide an additional safeguard against unintended effects of the research
- provides an opportunity to answer any of the participants questions
What is a measure?
devices or procedures that researchers use to gauge the dependant variable
Example: IQ/Personality tests, weight scales, raters (like observers documenting the number of aggressive events that occur)
What are the two characteristics of a measure?
Reliability and validity
IMPORTANT: every measure is made up of a true score and measurement error
What is Reliability?
The consistency of your measure; will your measure produce similar results when repeated measurements are taken under ideal circumstances?
Has 2 components: The true score, and measurement error
What are the 3 types of reliability?
Test-retest
Split-half
Inter-rater reliability
Explain the 2 components of reliability
The true score: The real score on the variable
Measurement error: the difference between the measured value of a variable and the true value
What is test-retest reliability?
The extent to which the test yields consistent results over time
-participants are given the same test at two different points in time to see whether the results are the same across both administrations
-similar scores across the two administrations demonstrate reliability (consistency in the measuring device)
What are some problems with test-retest reliability?
-Subjects may remember how they responded on the first administration and respond accordingly on the second making the measure appear reliable
-The person may “change” between the two administrations making the measure appear unreliable
example: mood questionnaire, persons mood changes between the two tests making it appear unreliable
What is split-half reliability?
-total score of one half of the test is correlated with the total score on the other half of the test (two forms of the same test)
-if the test is reliable then the performance on one half of the test will be related to performance on the other half of the test
-the two halves of the test are administered at the same time so the variable being measures has no time to change
What is the problem with split-half reliability?
The two forms are not equivalent
What is inter-rater reliability?
The consistency across raters (observers, researchers, etc.)
-good inter-rater reliability is when two raters get the same measurement of the same variable
-if two raters are using the same operational definition, they should get the same results
What could be a problem with inter-rater reliability?
The two raters using different operational definitions and therefore collecting different results/data
Define: psychology
the scientific study of behaviour and cognitive processes
what are the key elements in the definition of psychology?
- scientific study
- systematic
- objective
- behaviour
- cognitive processes
why is psychology a scientific study?
involves systematic and objective methods of observation.
what is it meant that psychology is systematic?
it is carried out by using step by step procedures
why is psychology objective?
it is uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices
what does it mean that psychology studies behaviour?
behaviour is any action that can be observed, measured, or recorded
what does it mean that psychology studies cognitive processes?
mental activities that are associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering.
–> cannot be directly observed, but their existence can be inferred from observable behaviour
what are the two things that influence behaviour?
authority and intuition.
How is authority a way of understanding behaviour?
accepting unquestionably what someone else tells you
why is authority a limited way to understand behaviour?
- does not always provide valid answers
- the source may not be authoritative
- the source may be bias
how do we use intuition as a way to understand behaviour?
accepting as true our own judgements about behaviour and the world.
what are the different limitations that intuition has on understanding behaviour?
- confirmation bias
- fundamental attribution error
- availability heuristic
- hindsight bias
- mood effects
define: confirmation bias
a tendency to notice and remember information consistent with our views and ignore information to counter our views.
define: fundamental attribution error
when interpreting another’s behaviour we tend to overestimate internal factors and underestimate situational factors
define: availability heuristic
when people judge the frequency of an event by how easily examples come to mind.
define: hindsight bias
the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
define: mood effects.
our mood can influence our perception, judgement, and decisions
define: empiricism
understanding behaviour through observation
- knowledge comes in through the senses, based on observation
- not based on what someone tells you, intuition, or tradition
how is the scientific method than other ways of understanding behaviour?
- ideas concerning behaviour must be subjected to an empirical test
- tested under conditions that either supports or refutes the hypothesis
- helps avoid biases when we are observing behaviour
- provides a set of objective rules for gathering and evaluating information.
what are the 7 scientific explanations for behaviour?
every rat testicle places gonoria to rectums
- empirical
- rational
- testable
- parsimonious
- general
- tentative
- rigorously evaluated
characteristic of the scientific method-
Define: Empirical
based objective and systematic observation
characteristic of the scientific method-
Define: rational
follows the rules of logic and are consistent with known facts
characteristic of the scientific method-
Define: testable
placed under conditions in which they can be supported or refuted
characteristic of the scientific method-
Define: parsimonious
is a word of the day
have a few assumptions when explaining behaviour
- means being stingy
- closing the simplest scientific expiation that fits the evidence
- has the fewest assumptions
characteristic of the scientific method-
Define: general
accounts for a wide variety of behaviour / data
characteristic of the scientific method-
Define: tentative
may be replaced in the future
characteristic of the scientific method-
Define: rigorously evaluated
constantly being tested and evaluated
what is the fundamental characteristic of the scientific method?
hint, its a word of the day
Empiricism!!
empiricism emphasizes the role of experience end evidence, especially sensory perception, in understanding the world over intuition, authority and tradition.
based on observation
what are the the procedures of the scientific method?
apples, oranges slip open
1) accuracy
2) objectivity
3) skepticism
4) open mindedness
Essential Component:
what is meant by accuracy
gathering and evaluating information in as careful, precise and error-free manner as possible
Essential Component:
what is meant by objectivity?
obtaining and evaluating information in a manner that is free from biases
Essential Component:
what is meant by skepticism?
accepting finding as accurate only after they have been repeated and verified by many different scientists
Essential Component:
what is meant by open-mindedness
willingness to change one’s views in the face of new evidence
define: theory
an organized set of principles that describes, predicts and explains some natural phenomenon
two important functions:
1) they organize and explain a variety of facts
2) they generate hypothesis about behaviour
define hypothesis
a specific, testable prediction; it is a tentative statement concerning the relationship between variables.
for example, people will be more likely to remember information when its organized.
what are the procedures of the scientific method?
5 steps
1) a theory is formulated
2) make predictions (hypothesis)
3) hypothesis is tested through observation or research
4) results either increase confidence in theory or lead to modification of theory (back to step 1)
5) theory is either accepted or rejected - leading to research being continued or abandoned.
fun fact: you can never prove a theory, you can only disprove it.
why you might ask?
because you can never be sure of all the information out there
define a variable
a characteristic or quality that can take on one or more values (it varies)
define: indépendant variable
the variable that you manipulate
define: dependant variable
the variable that is measured
what is an operation definition?
defining variables in terms of how they are measured and manipulated
what are the steps in the research process?
7 steps
1) develop a research idea
2) generate a research question
3) operationally define variables
4) decide how you are going to answer your research question
5) conduct the study
6) analyze the data
7) report the results
what is basic research?
attempts to answer fundamental questions about the nature of behaviour
what is applied research?
is concerned with immediate practical application or with the solution to a particular problem
what is the major goal of basic research?
the major goal is to acquire general information about a phenomenon
what is the major goal of applied research?
the major goal is to generate information that can be applied to “real world” problems
what is an example of basic research?
- the migration pattern of polar bears
- how stress effects labor productivity
what is an example of applied research?
- a study trying to produce higher test scores
- research trying to find the cure to a disease
what is a primary source?
literature that contains the full research report
what is a secondary source?
literature that summarizes the information from primary sources
why is it best to use a primary source when possible?
- authors may interpret the findings incorrectly in a secondary source
- secondary sources often lack detail
what is an abstract (of a research paper)?
a brief comprehensive summary of the contents in an article
what is an introduction (of a research paper)
presents the specific problem under study and describes the research strategy.
- discusses relevant information
- discusses the purpose and rationale of the study
what part of a research paper would discuss relevant literature and discuss the purpose and rational of the study?
the introduction
what part of a research paper would describe in detail how the study was conducted?
the method section
what are the three things that are identified in the method section (of a research paper)
- participants or subjects (description, how many)
- apparatus or materials (scales used, measures used)
- procedures
(how it was done)
what are the results section of a research paper?
summarizes the data collected and the statistical or data analytic treatment used
what is the reference section of a research paper?
an alphabetical list of all the works cited in the paper.
what is the figures section of a research paper?
graphs summarizing the research data
what is the appendix section of a research paper..
is it required?
used for a detailed secretion of materials, ect.
it is not required.
what are the steps someone should take in developing a research idea?
- unsystematic observation
- systematic observation
- past research
- theories
- the need to solve practical problems
what are the three things that a good operational definition has?
1) describes how a variables will be measured or manipulated
2) be replicable
3) use objective, simple and concrete language
What are correlation coefficients typically used for?
To asses reliability
-The higher the correlation the higher the reliability
What is Validity?
The extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure
What is a construct?
A complex variable that is not directly observable(its psychological), that has been developed to explain behaviour on the basis of some theory (intelligence, self-esteem, etc.)
-a thing you cant directly see that we use to explain a behaviour
What is construct validity
Is the extent to which a test measures the theoretical variable (construct) that it is supposed to be measuring
- It seeks agreement between a theoretical concept ons a specific measuring device or procedure
What are 6 indicators of construct validity
fat cunts pee collectively down concrete
- Face Validity
- Concurrent Validity
- Predictive Validity
- Convergent Validity
- Discriminant Validity
- Content Validity
What is Face Validity?
How well the test appears to measure what is was designed to measure
*not the strongest type
What is Concurrent Validity?
The measure should be able to distinguish between groups that it should theoretically be able to distinguish between
-The scores on your measure and on the variable you want to predict are collected at the same time
EXAMPLE: a measure of bipolar disorder should be able to distinguish between people who are diagnosed with bipolar disorder and those who are not
** the test should be able to predict who has bipolar disorder and who does not
What is Predictive Validity?
The ability of a test to predict a future outcome; you compare scores on your test with the criterion measure observed at a later point in time
Example: do SAT scores predict success in college
What is criterion?
The variable you want to predict
What is Convergent Validity?
The extent that the scores on your measure are related to some on another measure that measure the same construct.
^This is her definition but its confusing, heres an online definition:
The extent to which responses on a test exhibit a strong relationship with responses on conceptually similar tests
Example:
you would expect two separate measures of motivation to be correlated as they are both measuring the same construct
What is Discriminant Validity?
That the measure is not related to constructs it shouldn’t be related to
Example: a measure of shyness should not correlate positively with a measure of extroversion
What is Content Validity?
The extent to which a measure reflects the specific intended domain of interest
Example: a survey to test children’s math skills shouldn’t just have multiplication questions. It should also include addition, subtraction, and division.
Can a measure be reliable but not valid?
yes
Can a measure be valid but not reliable?
no
What is a scale?
A classification scheme that describes the nature of info within the values that you assign to variables
-What dot the values on a scale mean?
-What kind of information fo they hold?
What are the four scales of measurement?
- Nominal Scales
- Ordinal Scales
- Interval Scales
- Ratio Scales
What are Nominal Scales?
The numbers are used to refer to categories, that is, they have no numerical value
-lowest level of measurement
-not really a scale per se because they have no numerical or quantitative properties
*** the numbers simply refer to differences in category
Example: there are three majors:
1 = History
2 = English
3 = Psychology
-not listing in a ranking order, just stating the majors
What are Ordinal Scales?
Ranking; they involve quantitative distinctions by allowing us to rank order people or objects on the variable being measured
-numbers start taking on a numerical meaning
Example: 1st, 2nd, 3rd in a race
-people are ranked in terms of speed but the difference between each is not necessarily equal
What are Interval Scales
The intervals between numbers are equal in size
-no absolute zero that would indicate the absence of the variable
-cannot make meaningful ratio statements
Example: IQ would be measured on an interval scale:
-a score of 0 on an IQ test does not indicate the absence of intelligence
-you cannot therefore say that a person who scored 140 on an IQ test is twice as intelligent as a person who scored 70
What is a Ratio Scale?
Equal intervals and an absolute zero that indicates the absence of the variable
Example: weight, time, number of responses, number of items remembered
What is sensitivity in terms of measurement?
A measure is sensitive to the extent that is detects small but real differences in what is being measured
What are Range effects?
The sensitivity of a measure can be affected by a restricted range of scores; they occur when the values of the measure have an upper or lower limit: Floor Effects and Ceiling Effects (these are covered in another card
What are floor and ceiling effects?
Floor: Although differences between conditions may exist, they cannot be detected because all conditions perform near zero on the measure
Ceiling: Although differences between conditions may exist, they cannot be detected because all conditions perform near 100%
What is reactivity?
Subjects may behave differently in the experimental session (compared to the real world) simply because they are in an experiment
What are Demand Characteristics?
A subtle clue that makes participants aware of what the experimenter expects to find or how participants are expected to behave.
Demand characteristics can change the outcome of an experiment because participants will often alter their behaviour to conform to expectations.
What are 5 ways you can neutralize the effects of demand characteristics?
- Use partial disclosure
- Allow participants to habituate to the researchers presence
- In a questionnaire, use filler items (questions that don’t matter and will take their attention away from the real purpose of the questionnaire)
- Use naturalistic observation
- Conduct a post-experimental inquiry - find out whether subjects had guessed the true purpose of the experiment and then eliminate those who did
What is Experimenter Bias?
Any intentional or unintentional influence that the experimenter exerts on the subject on an attempt to confirm the hypothesis
What are three ways to neutralize the effects of experimenter bias?
- Run participants in all conditions at the same time
- Using blind techniques
- Automate your experiment (have a computer collect the data)
What is single blind procedure?
The participant is unaware of which condition they have been placed in
- it eliminates the possibility of reactivity
What is double-blind procedure?
The participants and researcher are unaware of which condition the participants are in
- it eliminates the possibility of experimenter bias and reactivity
What are advantages and disadvantages of automating your experiment?
Advantage: Measures tend to be more accurate and less variable
Disadvantage: you may miss important details within an experimental session and these details may provide insight into behaviour
What is a unit of analysis?
The entity that you wish to be able to say something about at the end of your study
- the “who” or “what” you are studying
What are the four units of analysis?
- Individuals
- most commonly studied on psych - Groups
-patrol districts, city blocks, gangs, cities, etc. - Organizations
-formal political or social organizations - police departments, prisons, drug treatment facilities - Social artifacts
-the products of people and their behaviour - police crime reports, crime stories, criminal history records
