Final Exam Flashcards
Naturalistic Observation
Observation as it happens, without manipulation or attempt to control the environment
What are field experiments?
Experiment done outside in the real world where the researcher manipulates and controls the conditions of the behavior under observation
Observation are usually captured in two ways, what are they?
In order to get clear results
Qualitatively - collect opinions, notes, or general observations
Quantitatively - any attempt to measure or count specific behaviors
Hawthorne Effect, and who created the idea?
Animals and people reactively change their behavior once they become aware they are being observed. Chiesa and Hobbs
Case Study
In-depth analysis of a unique circumstance or individual
What is Henry Molaison’s story?
Case study - aggressive seizures after falling off bike, surgeons destroy tissue in his brain to stop seizures but cause him to suffer from anterograde amnesia. Helped with the study of how the hippocampus forms memories.
Procedural Memories
Contents pertain to how something is done, such as motor skills for riding a bike
What source of obtaining data would you use when studying larger patterns of behavior?
Surveys
Sampling Error
Sample deviating from a true representation of a population. Cannot be applied back to the entire population
Response Bias
Tendency for people to answer the question in a way that they feel they are EXPECTED to answer
Acquiescent Response Bias
Tendency for participants to agree or respond “yes” to all questions regardless of their actual opinions
Socially Desirable Bias
Participants respond to questions in ways that would be seen as acceptable by others
Illusory Superiority
Tendency to describe our own behavior as better than average.
Volunteer Bias
Bias whereby only a motivated fraction of a population respond to a survey or participate in research
Vulnerable Populations
Any group of individuals who may not be able to provide free and informed consent to participate in research
What two criteria must vulnerable populations have?
Decisional Impairment - diminished capacity to provide informed consent ex. children, mentally disabled
Situational Vulnerability - freedom of choice is compromised as a result of undue influence from another source ex. military personnel, prisoners
In case of decisional impairment, consent for research participation requires two types of consent:
Parent or guardian provide informed consent and participant muse provide assent (affirmative permission to take part in the study)
Correlation Coefficient
Numerical representation of the strength of the relationship between variables (value ranges from -1 to +1)
-Positive and negative signs mean the direction of relationship. Whereas the value, or number, is the strength.
-Cannot go past value of 1 (-/+)
Extraneous or Confounding Variable
Other variables that may influence one or both variables that we are measuring, thereby influencing the correlation coefficient (or outcome of the research)
What is the difference between correlation and causation?
Correlation - relationship between two variables that can help make predications about behavior and the possible causation
Causation - the notion that one variable directly affects another variable
Independent Variable (IV)
Variable that experiment manipulates. IV always comes first, before any measurement is taken
Dependent Variable (DV)
Variable experimenter counts or measures. The IV is the CAUSE of the change and the dependent variable is the EFFECT of that change
Stratified Random Sampling
Taking a population and dividing into subgroups, then randomly taking samples in proportion to the population of interest.
Internal VS. External Validity (Experiments)
Control factors that may bias the outcome of the experiment (controlling the IV).
VS
Do the results of the experiment apply in the real world?