Exam One Study Guide Flashcards
psychology is a scientific study of __________ and ___________
human behaviors; mental processes
why is the producer role important
coursework
working in a research lab
grad school
why is the consumer role important
when reading printed or online news stories based on research
four your future career
evidence-based approach
research to see effective method for your subject
helps parental/school approval
why are critical thinking skills crucial in the world of AI
AI is not always correct, don’t know source of info
cannot always rely on AI
AI doesn’t write like scientists (brievity and clarity)
Empiricism
the use of verifiable evidence as the basis for conclusions; collecting data systematically and using to develop/challenge a theory
theory
explanation of human mind
hypothesis vs. theory
h - yet to be tested, predictions about specific study
t - revised due to info, a cycle
basic research
goal = expand understanding
enhance general body knowledge, lab setting
not meant to solve a problem in specific
ex) what parts of the brain are stimulated by mediation
translational research
real world problem solved in a lab
ex) in lab study, how can meditation improve college scores?
applied research
real-world setting
ex) how has meditation helped kids focus on math
how do scientists share the results of their research with the scientific community?
submit to a scientific journal
what are two general problems with basing beliefs on our own experience?
could be biased information
don’t have comparison group
example of need for comparison group
radical mastectomies thought to be the only way to get rid of breast cancer
confounds
alternative explanations for a result other than the targeted independent variable
identify potential confounds and potential comparison group for the following:
my dog doesn’t get as upset by fireworks when she wears the “thunder blanket”
confound - comfort/compression
group - try a different blanket or cover dogs eyes so they aren’t comforted by owner
behavioral research is probabilistic, which means …
its findings are not expected to explain all the cases all the time (i.e. there are exceptions)
ways that intuition is biased
being swayed by a good story
availability heuristic
present/present bias
confirmation bias
bias blind spot
availability heuristic
being persuaded by what comes easily to mind
ex) may think there are more shark attacks after reading a story about a shark attack
present/present bias
failing to think about what we cannot see/forgetting to seek info that isn’t there and only info that is
ex) “everytime you bring umbrella = rain” but forgetting all the times you brought an umbrella and it didn’t rain or times where it rained and you didn’t have an umbrella
confirmation bias
focusing on the evidence we like best
bias blind spot
biased about being biased
think biases don’t apply to you, failing to notice your own cognitive biases as humans all fall to them
what to ask when encountering a news item in the popular media
could this be disinformation?
can I cross-check this story on other legitimate sites?
what is the context of this story?
is the journalist politically biased?
what are two major reasons that experience is a faulty source of evidence for our beliefs? (two answers)
a. experience has confounds
b. experiences are from only one person
c. experience has no comparison group
d. experience has no hypotheses
A + C
“There are far more dogs than cats in this city. That’s all you see in the park - dogs, dogs, dogs!”
This person appears to be basing a belief on ______
a. a good story
b. availability bias
c. confirmation bias
d. a bias blind spot
B
Beware the freshman 15:
A study reported that college students in their first two years of school gain an average of 3 to 10 pounds, with most of the weight packed on during the first semester of freshman year.
which question would best help you evaluate the validity of this argument?
a. how much weight do ppl gain after freshman year?
b. what kinds of foods are freshmen most likely to eat?
c. how much weight do ppl of the same age gain who don’t go to college?
C
variable
thing being studied that varies from person to person
needs 2 levels
ex) “60% of high school grads pursue college”
pursuing college = v
level: pursue or don’t pursue
constant
doesn’t change/vary
ex) “60% of high school grads pursue college”
high school grads = constant
a measured variable is _____ and _____
observed; recorded
a manipulated variable is _________
controlled
what variables can only be measured?
gender, race, etc.
conceptual vs. operational
conceptual - abstract/not measurable
operational - specific definition/way to measure something, need in order to study
make conceptual variable into operational, how many levels and if it is measured or manipulated
car ownership
researchers asked people to circle “I own a car” or “I do not own a car”
2 levels: owns a car or not
measured
frequency claim
describes a particular rate or degree of a single variable, how frequent/common something is
involves only one measured variable
ex) 1 in 4 working students skip class due to job, college employment survey shows
association claim
argues that one level of a variable is likely to be associated with a particular level of another variable
related but cannot be causing each other
involves at least two measured variable
can be positive or negatively associated
ex) research suggests wisdom is linked to happiness and mental health
causal claims
argues that one of the variables is responsible for changing the other
ex) always on facebook, instagram, twitter? social media overuse leads to anxiety, says new study
is linked to, prefers, are more/less likely to, etc. are verbs related to __________ claim
association
causes, promotes, fights, increases, etc. are verbs related to ________ claim
causal
four big validities
construct
external
statistical
internal
construct validity
how well the variables in a study are measured or manipulated
ex) need height but found foot size = low construct validities
external validity
the extent to which the results of a study generalize to some larger population as well as to other times or situations
statistical validity
the extent to which the data support the conclusions
ask:
how strong are the associations?
statistical significance?
internal validity
in a relationship between variable A and B, the extent to which A, rather than another variable (C), is responsible for changes in B
could there be any other factors, other than B, that impact A?
type I vs. type II error when thinking of statistical validity
I - false positive, ex) man is pregnant
II - saying there is no association when there is
ex) woman pregnant but saying she isn’t
three criteria for causation
covariance
temporal precedence
internal validity
covariance
2 variables are related
temporal precedence
study conducted showing cause came before effect
internal validity
are there other explanations to causes/changes in variable? want to show that B is the only thing that causes change in A
A numerous studies found that exposure to violent TV is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children. We know that his association may not be causal because we are not sure which occurred first: watching violent TV or being aggressive. We are questioning which of the following rules of causation?
a. the criterion of covariance
b. the criterion of temporal precedence
c. thee third-variable criterion
d. the criterion of external validity
B
Joe reads about a study that says that social media use is related to increased levels of anxiety. He says, “That study must be flawed because I am on social media more than anyone I know and I don’t feel anxious.” Based on this comment, Joe may be forgetting which if the following?
a. science is based on empiricism
b. the study has been replicated
c. the study did not operationally define social media use
d. science is probabilistic
D
the Tuskegee study illustrates 3 major unethical choices, which are…
participants were not treated respectfully
participants were harmed
participants were a targeted, disadvantaged social group
the Milgram obedience studies illustrate a difficult ethical balance, including…
ethical questions (male only, large compensation)
lack of debriefing
balance risk to participants with benefit to society
belmont report 3 prinicples
respect for persons
beneficence
justice
respect for persons
everyone should be treated as autonomous agents/free to make decisions for themselves
informed consent process:
- voluntariness
- information
- comprehension
beneficence
maximize possible benefits and minimize risks
ways to minimize:
- confidentiality
- privacy
- anonymity
- debriefing
emphasize voluntary nature of study
what two studies helped put belmont principles in place
milgram obedience study and tuskegee study
justice
equitable selection of participants
can study certain population but can’t target participants due to “easy access”
IRB
institutional review board
committee responsible for ensuring that research using human participants is conducted ethically
APA’s ethical standards for research
IRBs
informed consent
deception
debriefing
research misconduct
- data fabrication (made up) and falsification (remove data)
- plagiarism
animal research
Animal welfare act (AWA)
federal law that regulates treatment in teaching, research, etc.
anytime an animal is involved
animal care and use committee (IACUC)
institutional level
ethics committee for animal treatment, need approval before study is published
four R’s for animal care guidelines
replacement
- find alternatives if possible before using animals
refinement
- refining/alternative research procedures to reduce distress
reduction
- fewest # of animals possible
rehabiliitation
- caring for animal after experiment ends; aftercare
researchers must be able to … of animals in research
follow guidelines and defend their use
which operationalization showed greater discrepancies?
counting the number vs. rating the level of aggressive behavior
counting the number as no operational definition was provided
3 common types of measures
self report measure
observational/behavioral measure
physiological measure (using biological data)
categorical variables vs. quantitative variables
c - nominal variables (ex. race)
q - numerical variables (ex. weight)
types of quantitative variables
ordinal scale
- ranking/order, does not = distance between #’s
interval scale
- no true 0, = distance between #’s
ratio scale
- true 0, = distance between #’s
the following represents what scale:
number of exam questions answered correctly
number of seconds to respond to a computer task
height in cm
ratio
the following represents what scale:
IQ score
shoe size
degree of agreement on a 1-7 scale
interval
the following represents what scale:
order of finishers in a swimming race
ranking of 10 movies from best to worst
ordinal
As part of a test preparation course, students are asked to take a practice version of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). This is a standardized test. Scores can range from 200 to 800 with a population mean of 500 and a population standard deviation of 100.
a. interval
b. ordinal
c. nominal
d. ratio
interval
Children in elementary school are evaluated and classified as non-readers (0), beginning readers (1), grade level readers (2), or advanced readers (3). The classification is done in order to place them in reading groups.
a. interval
b. ordinal
c. nominal
d. ratio
ordinal
During a clinical interview, survivors of a tornado are asked to state “no” or “yes” to whether they have experienced specific symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the past week. The number “0” is assigned to “no” and the number “1” is assigned to “yes”.
a. interval
b. ordinal
c. nominal
d. ratio
nominal
Binghamton University wants to know which dormitories the students prefer. The administration counts the number of applications for each dorm
a. interval
b. ordinal
c. nominal
d. ratio
ratio
three types of reliability
test-retest
interrater
internal
test-retest reliability
whether #’s stay the same or change overtime
degree to which score remains unchanged every time
interrater reliability
degree to which observers agree in measurement of behavior
internal reliability
aka internal consistency
each item in test is measuring same underlying construct
only apply to scale with multiple items
which of the following jobs most likely involves producer-of-research skills rather than consumer-of-research skills?
a. police officer
b. university professor
c. physician
d. journalist
b
as a true empiricist, one should:
a. base one’s conclusions on direct observations
b. strive to prove all theories with research
c. be sure that one’s research can be applied in a real world setting
d. discuss one’s ideas in a public setting, such as on social media
a
a statement, or set of statements, that describe general principles about how variables relate to one another is a(n)
a. prediction
b. hypothesis
c. empirical observation
d. theory
d
why is publication an important part of the research process?
a. because publication enables practitioners to use the research in applied settings
b. because when a study is published, other scientists can verify or challenge it, making science self-correcting
c. because journalists can make the knowledge available to the general public
d. because publication is the first step of the theory-data cycle
b
which of the following research questions best illustrate an example of basic research?
a. has our company’s new marketing campaign led to an increase in sales?
b. how satisfied are our patients with the sensitivity of the nursing staff?
c. does wearing kinesio-tape reduce joint pain in figure skaters?
d. can 2-month-old human infants tell the difference between four objects and six objects?
d
Destiny concluded that her new white noise machine helped her fall asleep last night. She based this conclusion on personal experience, which might have confounds. In this context, a confound means:
a. Another thing might have also occurred last night to help Destiny fall asleep.
b. Destiny’s experience has left her puzzled or confused.
c. Destiny has not compared last night with times she didn’t use the white noise machine.
a
What does it mean to say that research results are probabilistic?
a. Researchers refer to the probability that their theories are correct.
b. Research predicts all possible results.
c. Research conclusions explain a certain proportion of possible cases but may not explain all.
d. If there are exceptions to a research result, it means the theory is probably incorrect.
c
After two students from his school commit suicide, Marcelino concludes that the most likely cause of death in teenagers is suicide. In fact, suicide is not the most likely cause of death in teens. What happened?
a. Marcelino was probably a victim of the bias blind spot.
b. Marcelino was probably influenced by the availability heuristic; he was too influenced by cases that came easily to mind.
c. Marcelino thought about too many examples of teens who died from other causes besides suicide.
d. Marcelino did not consider possible confounds.
b
When is it a good idea to base conclusions on the advice of authorities?
a. When authorities have an advanced degree, such as a Ph.D. or a master’s degree.
b. When authorities base their advice on research that systematically and objectively compares different conditions.
c. When the authority’s website has an official-looking logo or domain name.
d. When authorities state they have many years of experience in their area.
b
Which of the following is the most reliable source for reading the details of a psychological study?
a. Scientific journals
b. Online podcasts
c. Newspaper science pages
d. Full-length books
a
In reading an empirical journal article, what two questions should you be asking as you read?
a. What is the argument? What is the evidence to support the argument?
b. Why was this research done? Were there any significant findings?
c. How reputable is (are) the author(s)? Did the findings include support for the hypotheses?
d. How does this research relate to other research? What are ways to extend this research further?
a
Which of the following variables are manipulated, rather than measured? (Could be more than one.)
a. Number of shoes owned, in pairs.
b. A person’s height, in cm.
c. Amount of aspirin a researcher gives a person to take, either 325 mg or 500 mg.
d. Degree of happiness, rated on a scale from 1 to 10.
e. Type of praise a researcher uses in groups of dogs: verbal praise or a clicking sound paired with treats.
c and e
Which of the following headlines is an association claim?
a. Chewing Gum Can Improve Your Mood and Focus
b. Handling Money Decreases Helpful Behavior in Young Children
c. Workaholism Is Tied to Psychiatric Disorders
d. Eating Kiwis May Help You Fall Asleep
c
Which of the following headlines is a frequency claim?
a. Obese Kids Are Less Sensitive to Tastes
b. Eighty Percent of Women Feel Dissatisfied with How Their Bodies Look
c. Feeling Fat? Maybe Facebook Is to Blame
d. Daycare and Behavior Problems Are Not Linked
b
Which of the following headlines is a causal claim?
a. Taking a Deep Breath Helps Minimize High Blood Pressure, Anxiety, and Depression
b. Younger People Can’t Read Emotions on Wrinkled Faces
c. Strange But True: Babies Born in the Autumn Are More Likely to Live to 100
d. Check the Baby! Many New Moms Show Signs of OCD
a
Which validity would you be interrogating by asking: How well did the researchers measure sensitivity to tastes in this study?
a. Construct validity
b. Statistical validity
c. External validity
d. Internal validity
a
Which validity would you be interrogating by asking: How did the researchers get their sample of people for this survey?
a. Construct validity
b. Statistical validity
c. External validity
d. Internal validity
c
In most experiments, trade-offs are made between validities because it is not possible to achieve all four at once. What is the most common trade-off?
a. Internal and external validity.
b. Construct and statistical validity.
c. Statistical and internal validity.
d. External and statistical validity.
a
Which of the following is not one of the three principles of the Belmont Report?
a. Respect for persons
b. Justice
c. Beneficence
d. Fidelity and responsibility
d
In a study of a new drug for asthma, a researcher finds that the group receiving the drug is doing much better than the control group, whose members are receiving a placebo. Which principle of the Belmont Report requires the researcher to also give the control group the opportunity to receive the new drug?
a. Informed consent
b. Justice
c. Beneficence
d. Respect for persons
c
To study a sample of participants from only one ethnic group, researchers must first demonstrate that the problem being studied is especially prevalent in that ethnic group. This is an application of which principle from the Belmont Report?
a. Respect for persons
b. Beneficence
c. Special protection
d. Justice
d
Following a study using deception, how does the researcher attempt to restore an honest relationship with the participant?
a. By apologizing to the participant and offering monetary compensation for any discomfort or stress.
b. By debriefing each participant in a structured conversation.
c. By reassuring the participant that all names and identifiers will be removed from the data.
d. By giving each participant a written description of the study’s goals and hypotheses, along with references for further reading.
b
What type of research misconduct involves representing the ideas or words of others as one’s own?
a. Plagiarism
b. Obfuscation
c. Suppression
d. Data falsification
a
Which of the following is not one of the Three R’s provided by the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals?
a. Reduction
b. Replacement
c. Restoration
d. Refinement
c
Classify the operational variable below as categorical or quantitative. If the variable is quantitative, further classify it as ordinal, interval, or ratio:
Degree of pupil dilation in a person’s eyes in a study of romantic couples (measured in millimeters).
quantitative; ratio
Classify the operational variable below as categorical or quantitative. If the variable is quantitative, further classify it as ordinal, interval, or ratio:
Number of books a person owns.
quantitative; ratio
Classify the operational variable below as categorical or quantitative. If the variable is quantitative, further classify it as ordinal, interval, or ratio:
A book’s sales rank on Amazon.com.
quantitative; ordinal
Classify the operational variable below as categorical or quantitative. If the variable is quantitative, further classify it as ordinal, interval, or ratio:
The language a person speaks at home.
categorical
Classify the operational variable below as categorical or quantitative. If the variable is quantitative, further classify it as ordinal, interval, or ratio:
Nationality of the participants in a cross-cultural study of Canadian, Ghanaian, and French students.
categorical
Classify the operational variable below as categorical or quantitative. If the variable is quantitative, further classify it as ordinal, interval, or ratio:
A student’s grade in school.
quantitative; interval
Classify the following results as an example of internal reliability, interrater reliability, or test-retest reliability:
A researcher finds that people’s scores on a measure of extroversion stay stable over 2 months.
test-retest reliability
Classify the following results as an example of internal reliability, interrater reliability, or test-retest reliability:
An infancy researcher wants to measure how long a 3-month-old baby looks at a stimulus on the right and left sides of a screen. Two undergraduates watch a tape of the eye movements of ten infants and time how long each baby looks to the right and to the left. The two sets of timings are correlated r = .95.
interrater reliability
Classify the following results as an example of internal reliability, interrater reliability, or test-retest reliability:
A researcher asks a sample of 40 people a set of five items that all capture how extroverted they are. The Cronbach’s alpha for the five items is found to be .85.
internal reliability
Classify the result below as an example of face validity, content validity, convergent and discriminant validity, or criterion validity:
A professor gives a class of 40 people his five-item measure of conscientiousness (e.g., “I get chores done right away,” “I follow a schedule,” “I do not make a mess of things”). Average scores are correlated (r = −.20) with how many times each student has been late to class during the semester.
criterion validity
Classify the result below as an example of face validity, content validity, convergent and discriminant validity, or criterion validity:
A professor gives a class of 40 people his five-item measure of conscientiousness (e.g., “I get chores done right away,” “I follow a schedule,” “I do not make a mess of things”). Average scores are more highly correlated with a self-report measure of tidiness (r = .50) than with a measure of general knowledge (r = .09).
convergent and discriminant validity
Classify the result below as an example of face validity, content validity, convergent and discriminant validity, or criterion validity:
The researcher e-mails his five-item measure of conscientiousness (e.g., “I get chores done right away,” “I follow a schedule,” “I do not make a mess of things”) to 20 experts in personality psychology and asks them if they think his items are a good measure of conscientiousness.
face validity
Classify the result below as an example of face validity, content validity, convergent and discriminant validity, or criterion validity:
The researcher e-mails his five-item measure of conscientiousness (e.g., “I get chores done right away.” “I follow a schedule,” “I do not make a mess of things”) to 20 experts in personality psychology and asks them if they think he has included all the important aspects of conscientiousness.
content validity
face validity
it looks like what you want to measure
content validity
the measure contains all the parts that your theory says it should contain
criterion validity
measure equal concrete outcome it should be related to
two ways to measure criterion validity
correlation
known-groups paradigm
convergent validity
scores on the measure are related to other measures that are theoretically similar
discriminant validity
scores on the measure are not related to other measures that are theoretically different
John’s professor emphasizes to the class the importance of making sound observations and measurements when conducting research. John’s professor emphasizes the importance of?
a) Empiricism b) Personal Intuition
c) Replicability d) Parsimony
Empiricism
Which of the following research questions best illustrates an example of basic research?
a) How satisfied are our patients with the
sensitivity of the nursing staff?
b) Does wearing kinesio-tape reduce joint pain?
c) Can 2-month-old human infants tell the difference between four objects and six objects?
d) Has our company’s new marketing campaign led to an increase in sales?
Can 2-month-old human infants tell the difference between four objects and six objects?
Ruby reads an online article published by a major newspaper about iced coffee drinks increasing levels of happiness. A journalist wrote the article about a single scientific study and they linked the study to the article. Should Ruby trust the information she has read? Why or why not?
a) No, because the newspaper runs ads from coffee companies
b) No, because this article doesn’t provide a comprehensive review of the literature regarding the topic
c) Yes, because it is based on a scientific study
d) Yes, because the journalist linked the article
No, because this article doesn’t provide a comprehensive review of the literature regarding the topic
Destiny concluded that her new white noise machine helped her fall asleep last night. She based this conclusion on personal experience, which might have confounds. In this context, a confound
means:
a) Another thing might have also occurred last night to help Destiny fall asleep
b) Destiny’s experience has left her puzzled or confused
c) Destiny hasn’t compared last night to times when she didn’t use the white noise machine
d) Destiny will have trouble thinking of counter-examples
Another thing might have also occurred last night to help Destiny fall asleep
After two students from his school become famous influencers from doing food reviews, Ben concludes that the most likely cause of becoming famous is doing food reviews. In fact, becoming a food influencer is not the only way to get famous. What happened?
a) Ben was probably influenced by the availability heuristic; he was too influenced by cases that came easily to mind.
b) Ben thought about too many examples of teens who became famous other than becoming an influencer.
c) Ben did not consider possible confounds.
d) Ben was probably a victim of the bias blind spot.
Ben was probably influenced by the availability heuristic; he was too influenced by cases that came easily to mind.
Dan reads a scientific article that talks about the significant findings of a study that found using a laptop to take notes improves the grades of college students. However, Dan finds that whenever he uses his laptop to take notes, he gets easily distracted so he prefers to handwrite his notes. This demonstrates that
a) The study was done poorly
b) Since Dan is an exception to a research result, it means the theory is probably incorrect
c) Real college students prefer handwritten notes
d) Research conclusions explain a certain proportion of possible cases but may not explain all
Research conclusions explain a certain proportion of possible cases but may not explain all
Which type of validity would you be interrogating by asking: “How well did the researchers measure sensitivity to tastes in this study?”
a) Statistical validity b) Construct validity
c) External validity d) Internal validity
Construct validity
Which of the following headlines is an association claim?
a) Handling money decreases helpful behavior in young children.
b) Workaholism Is Tied To Psychiatric Disorders.
c) 80% of women feel dissatisfied with how their bodies look.
d) Eating kiwis may help you fall asleep.
Workaholism Is Tied To Psychiatric Disorders.
Which validity would you be interrogating by asking: How did the researchers get their sample of people for this survey?
a) External validity b) Construct validity
c) Statistical validity d) Internal validity
External validity
In order to study a sample of participants from only one ethnic group, researchers must first demonstrate that the problem being studied is especially prevalent in that ethnic group. This is an application of which principle from the Belmont Report?
a) Respect For Persons b) Beneficence
c) Special Protection d) Justice
Justice
In a study of a new drug for asthma, a researcher finds that the group receiving the drug is doing much better than the control group, whose members are receiving a placebo. Which principle of the Belmont Report requires the researcher to also give the control group the opportunity to receive the new drug?
a) Informed Consent b) Justice
c) Beneficence d) Respect for persons
Beneficence
For their behavior study, a psychologist uses mice as test subjects. After they are done with the experiment, they make sure to put the mice back into their normal cages, with food and water. Which of the following of the Four R’s provided by the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals does this demonstrate?
a) Refinement b) Reduction
c) Rehabilitation d) Replacement
Rehabilitation
A researcher asks a sample of 40 people a set of five items that are all capturing how extroverted they are. The Cronbach’s alpha for the five items is found to be .75. What reliability is shown here?
a) Interrater Reliability b) External Reliability
c) Test-Retest Reliability d) Internal Reliability
Internal Reliability
A professor gives his class his five-item measure of conscientiousness (e.g., “I get chores done right away,” “I follow a schedule,” “I do not make a mess of things”). Results show that conscientiousness is correlated (r = −.20) with how many times each student has been late to class during the semester. This demonstrates
a) Criterion (predictive) Validity
b) Convergent/Divergent Validity
c) Content Validity
d) Face Validity
Criterion (predictive) Validity
A teacher measures how strong their students are in multiplication by timing how quickly their students can complete a worksheet of multiplication problems and ranking them from 1-10. This teacher is using what type of scale to compare their students?
a) Ratio b) Interval
c) Categorical d) Ordinal
Ordinal
