Module 2 Flashcards
What does it mean to think critically?
To analyze with logical reasoning and evidence.
What are 2 ways to systematically ask and answer question?
-logical
-evidence based
What is the goal to psychological science?
To gain new insight and understanding of human mental process and behaviour.
What is super important to scientists?
-skepticism
-curiosity
What do scientist learn try to limit in research?
-bias
What do scientist try to avoid when intuition takes over?
-hindsight bias
Name 5 methods of knowledge acquisition
- Tenacity (always been that way…)
- Intuition (I feel like…)
- Authority (ask the expert…)
- Rationalism (logically speaking…)
- Empiricism (after testing…)
What are the 6 steps of the scientific method?
- Identify Problem
- Gain information
- State Hypothesis
- Create and do experiment
- Analyze data
- Restart
What is crucial for a good hypothesis?
A specific and operational definition of the variables.
What is “the Door Study”?
Who did it?
What fault did it expose for the idea of rationalism?
-A study in which they compared the response and actual action of assement to see if people could tell if the person they were talking to changed.
-Simons and Levin
-It exposed that reasoning can contradict behaviour when put to the test.
What are the 4 popular descriptive methods?
- case study
- participant observations
- survey
- naturalistic observations
Explain what the Hawthorne Effect is?
How related to naturalistic observation?
The Hawthorne effect is the reactivity where there is a noticeable difference in people’s behaviour when they know someone is watching.
-It is an example of the downfalls of naturalistic behaviour.
What are some disadvantages of naturalistic observation?
-no control over the environment
-usually only descriptive
-no random selection
-not the full representation of a population
-can affect or interfere w/ their natural behaviour
What are the designs in psychological research from loose constraints to high constraints? (1-5)
- case study
- observation
- survey
- correlation
- experimental
What is Participant observation?
-good…
-bad…
The researcher becomes part of the group under investigation.
-enriched experience and in-depth + better access to daily life
-can become biased, no unique clues, be the problem, change their behaviour, low reliability
What is the Rosenhan Study?
-why
Rosenhan got 12 healthy researchers to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital and try to get out as fast as they can.
-He didn’t believe psychologists and nurses were able to properly diagnose patients.
What is a case study?
-good…
-bad…
in-depth analysis of the unique circumstances of an individual
=unethical to create/ good for future research
=”why” is not explained
=only descriptive, limited, not able to manipulate + change
Who is Henry Molaison and why was his case study so important to science?
-He had his hippocampus removed to avoid his seizures. Later, scientists realized that he could not form any new memories. It was a breakthrough to know the importance of that part of the brain.
What is a survey? (3 special factors)
-good…
-bad…
An efficient way to quickly collect info and understand people’s opinions/attitudes.
-volunteer bias
-response rate
-response bias
=fast
=wording, response, and biases
The Tuskegee Syphilis
The study of syphilis in African-American men, with promises of food, medical treatment and burial insurance.
=hundred of participants and spread of syphilis
General Ethical Principles of Psychologists (5)
a) beneficence & non-maleficence (weigh benefits)
b) fidelity & responsibility (maintain trust)
c) integrity (honest practice)
d) justice (equality in research)
e) respect for people’s rights and dignity (communicate openly)
What does the Institutional Review Board (IRB) do?
-sound research design
-risks minimized
-beneficence
-participants
-safeguards present
-data is private and confidential
What are the 2 special ethical considerations
- vulnerable populations
-decision impairment
-situational vulnerability - deception
“The Magic of the Placebo”
-which type of placebo is best?
The idea is that when people are told/ change the colour of sugar pills there is a significant improvement.
white pill < blue pill < capsule < needle
internal validity
the degree to which results may be attributable to the independent variable rather than some other effect of our experiment
external validity
degree to which a result can be applied beyond the scope of the eperiment
central tendency
-mean, median, mode, frequency…
What is the goal of a descriptive study?
gather data to identify “what is”
Can a case study include more than 1 person? True/False
true
A major purpose of all surveys is to predict future performance. True/False
False
What are the 3 types of biases that surveys should look out for? Explain.
1) response bias (answer expected of them)
2) acquiescence bias (yes/agree to all)
3) socially desirable bias (acceptance of others)
4) extreme/moderate survey bias (exaggerate)
What is the correlation coefficient and how does it work?
-numerical representation of the strength of the relationship
= (-) no relationship
= (+) relationship
= 0 is weak
= 1 is strong
What are the 3 types of sampling? Define them.
1) simple random sampling
-all equal chance of being selected
2) stratified random sampling
-groups made first then select
3) non-random sampling
-not all equal chance of being selected
What are the steps of research ethics? (1-5)
1) institutional review board
2) participant recruitment
3) informed consent
4) study participation
5) debriefing
