Lecture 2

Question 1

What are the 4 reasons why we believe in pseudoscience?

Answer 1

1. Trust authority, experts, scientists
2. Placebo effect
3. Confirmation bias
4. Salience of testimonials/anecdotes
   - Don’t notice non-events as much
   - Failing to use probabilistic information

Question 2

What is the Gambler’s fallacy?

Answer 2

Tendency of people to see links between past and future events at times when past events are completely independent from future events

Question 3

What is an operational definition and what are the3 main types of variables?

Answer 3

Operational definition: a concrete way to measure an abstract object
1. Situational variables
2. Response variables
3. Participant variables

Question 4

Situational variables

Answer 4

• Characteristics of the situation or environment
• Can be measured and/or manipulated

Question 5

Response variables

Answer 5

Responses: reaction time, self-report
Behaviour: help others, tipping, smiling
- Both can be only measured

Question 6

Participant variables

Answer 6

• Characteristics that individuals bring with them
• Can be measured, but not manipulated

Question 7

What is the difference between population and sample?

Answer 7

Sample is dragged out from the population (the bigger, the more representative)

Question 8

How does random selection affect generalizability?

Answer 8

Sampling bias
- How the sample is obtained, impacts the generalizability of findings

Generalizability is based on WEIRD (wester, educated, rich, democratic)

Question 9

Ecological validity

Answer 9

Degree to which the setting of a study mirrors a real-world setting

Question 10

What are the 2 ways to increase internal validity on an experimental design?

Answer 10

1. Experimental control (only IV changes across conditions; no confounds)
2. Random assignment of people to condition

Question 11

Compare and contrast random selection and assignment

Answer 11