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methods in psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the difference between dogmatist and empiricist?

A

dogmatists: thought best way to understand illness was to develop theories about the body
empiricists: though best way was to examine sick people

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2
Q

Why didn’t the rivalry between dogmatists and empiricists last long?

A

Because people who went to see dogmatists tended to die

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3
Q

Define empiricism

A

belief that accurate knowledge about the world can be gained by observing it

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4
Q

What is the backbone of the scientific method ?

A

Empiricism

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5
Q

define scientific method

A
  • a procedure fore using empirical evidence to establish facts
  • only way to learn the truth about the world is:
    1.develop a theory
    2. derive falsifiable hypothesis from it
    3. test hypothesis by observing the world
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6
Q

What are explanations of natural phenomena or ideas about how something works?

A
  • theories
  • a good theory makes specific predictions about what we should observe in the world if the theory is true
  • a theory can never be proved right
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7
Q

Define hypothesis

A

a falsifiable prediction made by a theory

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8
Q

What does testing hypothesis require?

A
  • empirical method: a set of rules and techniques for observation
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9
Q

What are the 3 qualities that make humans difficult to study compared to inanimate things?

A
  1. people are very complex
  2. people are very variable (no 2 people say, think or feel the same under exact same circumstances)
  3. people are very reactive (people act differently when they think they are being observed)
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10
Q

How have psychologists met the challenge of studying humans given their complexity, variability and reactivity ?

A

Developed 2 methods:
- methods of observation: allows them to discover what people do
- methods of explanation: allows them to discover why people do it

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11
Q

Why are everyday observations not good enough for scientific study?

A
  1. everyday observations are often inconsistent
  2. everyday observations are often incomplete
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12
Q

What must you do before measuring anything?

A
  • define the property we want to measure
  • find a way to detect it by finding and instrument/device that can detect our property as we defined it
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13
Q

What is an operational definition?

A

description of a property in measurable terms

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14
Q

What is one of the key features of a good operational definition?

A

construct validity: feature of Op.Defs. whose specified conditions are generally considered good indicators of the specified property

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15
Q

What are the 2 key features of a good detector?

A

power: detector’s ability to detect the presence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property
reliability: detector’s ability to detect the absence of differences or changes in the magnitude of a property

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16
Q

Define demand characteristics

A
  • those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants/expects
  • when humans know they are being observed they will often try to behave as they think the observer wants or expects them to behave
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17
Q

What are the 3 ways we can avoid demand characteristics?

A
  • naturalistic observation
  • privacy and control
  • unawareness
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18
Q

How does naturalistic observation avoid demand characteristics?

A
  • a technique for gathering information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environment
  • not always practical: some events just don’t occur naturally
  • some things can only be observed through direct interaction with people
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19
Q

How does Privacy and control avoid demand characteristics?

A
  • allowing participants in their study to respond anonymously
  • measuring behaviors that are not under a person’s voluntary control
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20
Q

How does unawareness avoid demand characteristics?

A
  • make sure that the people who are being observed are unaware of the true purpose of the observation
  • psychologists may mislead people by telling them they are studying one thing when they are studying another
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21
Q

Define observer bias

A

the tendency for observer’s expectations to influence both what they believe they observed and what they actually observed

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22
Q

What is the most commonly used technique to avoid observer bias?

A

double-blind study: study in which neither the participant nor the researcher knows how the participants are expected to behave

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23
Q

Define population

A

a complete collection of people

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24
Q

Define sample

A

a partial collection of people drawn from a population

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25
Q

What are 2 techniques used for making sense of big spreadsheets of numbers?

A

graphic representations and descriptive statistics

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26
Q

What is the most common kind of graphic representation?

A

frequency distribution: graphic representation showing the number of times that a measurement of a property takes on each of its possible values
- can be negatively, positively skewed and symmetrical

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27
Q

Define normal distribution

A

mathematically defines distribution in which the frequency of measurements is highest in the middle and decreases symmetrically in both directions

28
Q

What are descriptive stats in psychology?

A
  • Brief summary statements that capture the essential information from a frequency distribution
29
Q

What are the 2 most common types of descriptive stats?

A
  • Description of central tendency: statements about the value of measurements that tend to lie near Centre of frequency distribution
  • description of variability: statements about the extent to which measurements in a frequency distribution differ from each other
30
Q

What are the 3 common descriptions of central tendency?

A

mode: value of the most frequently observed measurement
median: average value of all measur.
mean: value in the middle

31
Q

What is the simplest measure of variability?

A

range: the value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement

32
Q

Define standard deviation

A
  • how each of the measurements in a frequency distribution differ from the mean
  • an estimate of how far on average the various measurements are from the centre of the distribution
33
Q

Define correlation

A
  • relationship btw variables in which variations in the value of one of the variables are synchronized with variations in the value off the other
  • when patterns of variation are synchronized 2 variables are correlated
34
Q

How do statisticians estimate how accurate predictions based on correlation are?

A
  • by measuring the direction and strength of correlation
  • direction: either positive or negative
35
Q

What is a positive correlation?

A

When 2 variables have a more-is-more relationship

36
Q

What is a negative correlation?

A

When 2 variables have a more-is-less relationship

37
Q

What is the correlation coefficient?

A
  • mathematical measure of both the direction an strength of a correlation
  • symbolized by letter r: value ranges only from -1 to 1
38
Q

Define variable

A

properties that can have more than one value

39
Q

Define natural correlation

A

correlation that is observed in the natural world
cannot tell us whether they have a causal relationship

40
Q

What is the third variable problem?

A

the natural correlation between two variables can’t be taken as evidence of a causal relationship between them, because a third variable might be causing them both

41
Q

What technique can help establish causation btw two variables?

A
  • Experimentation
  • 2 steps: manipulation and random assignment
42
Q

Define manipulation in an experiment?

A
  • technique for determining the causal power of a variable by actively changing its value
  • experiments require to change one variable’s value, measure the other then compare
43
Q

What is the variable that is manipulated in an experiment called?

A

the independent variable: value determined by the experimenter

44
Q

Define Measuring in an experiment

A
  • variable that is measured in an experiment is the dependent variable
  • value depends on the value of the independent variable
45
Q

Define comparing in an experiment

A

compare the value of the dependent variable in one condition with the value of the dependent variable in the other

46
Q

Define self-selection

A

problem that occurs when anything about a participants determines the value of the independent variable to which the participant was exposed

47
Q

Define random assignment

A

procedure that assigns participants to conditions by chance

48
Q

When does an experiment have internal validity?

A
  • when it establishes a causal relationship between 2 variables
  • everything inside the experiment is working exactly as it should for us to use results to draw conclusions about causal relationship btw the independent and dependent variables
49
Q

Why does the operational definition of variables matter in an experiment?

A
  • results of an experiment depend on how the independent and dependent variables are op. defined
  • we should thus operationally define variables as they are defined in the real world
  • this leads to external validity
50
Q

define external validity

A

an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a representative way

51
Q

Must all experiments be externally valid?

A
  • no, many aren’t
  • experiments aren’t usually meant to be miniature versions of everyday life > their lack of external validity is not necessarily a problem
52
Q

define a case method

A

procedure for gathering scientific information by studying a single individual

53
Q

Define random sampling

A
  • technique for selecting participants that ensures that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
  • sample is said to representative of the population
  • allows us to generalize from the sample to the pop.
54
Q

Define replication

A

an experiment that uses the same procedures as a previous experiment but with a new sample from the same population

55
Q

What are the 2 types of errors researchers can make when drawing conclusions from evidence?

A
  • Type 1 error: when they conclude there is a causal relationship between two variables when there isn’t one >fluke
  • Type 2 error: when they conclude there is no causal relationship when there is one > flunk
56
Q

who invented the scientific method ?

A
  • 1620: Francis bacon
  • previously known as Baconian method
57
Q

What does empirical evidence require?

A

Critical thinking

58
Q

What are 2 natural human tendencies according to Francis Bacon?

A
  • tendency to see what we expect or want to see
  • tendency to ignore what we can’t see
  • our beliefs colour our view of new evidence, causing us to see what we expect to see > evidence often seems to confirm what we believed all along
59
Q

What colours our view of evidence?

A

beliefs, preferences, prejudices , ambitions, aversions, etc.

60
Q

In what 2 ways do our beliefs and desires shape our view of evidence?

A
  1. when evidence confirms what we believe we ask ourselves “Can i believe this” when evidence disconfirms what we believe we ask ourselves “must I believe this”
  2. our beliefs and desires influence which evidence we even consider in the first place/ studies show that people prefer to search for evidence that confirms their beliefs and fulfills their desires
61
Q

What are the 2 rules of critical thinking?

A
  1. Doubt your own conclusions: scientists expose share their work with peers who they know will disagree
  2. Consider what you don’t see: tendency to ignore missing evidence can lead us to erroneous conclusions
62
Q

Why were the Nuremberg Code of 1947 and Declaration of Helsinki developed?

A

During WW2 Nazis performed inhumane experiments on human subjects which appalled the international community.
After end of war they created guidelines for ethical treatment of experiment participants

63
Q

What is the Tri-Council Policy statement? (TCPS)

A
  • agencies that cover all research involving human persons or tissue in Canada
  • core principles:
    respect for persons: right to decisions w/o coercion
    concern for welfare: attempt to maximise benefits and reduce risks to participant
    just: distribute benefits and risks equally to all participants w/o prejudice
64
Q

What are the most important ethical rules that govern the practice of psych research?

A
  • Informed consent
  • freedom from coercion
  • protection from harm
  • risk-benefit analysis
  • deception
  • debriefing
  • confidentiality
65
Q

Who enforces rules that psychologists must follow in research?

A
  • institutions have Research Ethics Boards (REBs)
  • psychologists may only conduct research once it has been reviewed and approved by REB
66
Q

Which agency is responsible for establishing standards for the ethical use and care for animals in research in Canada?

A
  • Canadian Council on Animal care
  • 3 Rs
    Replacement: researchers must prove there is no alternative to using animals and their use is justified by scientific value of study
    Reduction: researchers must use the smallest number of animals possible to achieve research
    Refinement: procedures must be modified to minimize discomfort, infection, illness, and pain
67
Q

How does the Honor system in psychological research work?

A
  • science is a community enterprise
  • when publishing reports of their studies psychologist are required to be truthful > can’t fabricate results
  • psychologists required to share credit fairly by including co-authors and contributors
  • psychologists are obligated to share their data
  • the fact that anyone can check on anyone else makes honor system effective

Psych 101 (8 decks)

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