Module 2

Question 1

General steps in conducting a scientific study

Answer 1

observation of people’s behavior
conduct studies to anwer questions (theories, hypothesis to test)
predict behaviors
reveal general principles to explain behaviors

Question 2

Descriptive Research

Answer 2

observe and classify behaviors through writing and describing
breaking down the definition: exact procedures (how), define concpets, measurement of study
gather info via naturalistic observation, surveys/questionnaires, clinical method

Question 3

naturalistic observation

Answer 3

observing in natural environment, people don’t know they are being observed
advantages: see real behaviors
problems: observers need to be trained to act naturally, subjectivity present, behaviors of participants are different in different settings and observer can’t be everywhere
in psych participants don’t know they’re being observed or what the purpose of study is to avoid reactivity, also lie and manipulate to an extent

Question 4

Institutional Review Board

Answer 4

guidelines to approve psych and other studies

Question 5

pros and cons of surveys and questionnaires

Answer 5

pros: wide range of subjects, large study and amoutn of responses
cons: voluntary response bias (those with strong opinions are more likely to respond), anonymous- people can impersonate others and can lie and we wouldn’t know the difference

Question 6

clinical method

Answer 6

beings the process of asking “why”
starts as descriptive and turns into experimental
case study (observe a person/phenomena)
results are limited- cannot generalize to population
test hypothesis from case studies to larger groups

Question 7

correlation approach

Answer 7

examine how variables/events are related
see how variables are connected
key words: connected, correleated, related, linked, predict=correlation approach
make predictions: x predicts changes in y or y predicts changes in x

Question 8

Variables

Answer 8

things that can be measured and manipulated
can make predictions: x predicts changes in y, y predicts changes in x

Question 9

Correlation coefficient

Answer 9

mathematical index that indicates the direction and degree of relationship
neg. correlation: x and y are opposite (x inc, y dec, or x dec, y inc)
pos. correlation (x and y are moving in the same direction- both increasing or both decreasing
number represents strength of relationship
higher the #, stronger the relationship, smaller the #, weaker the relationship
correlation doesn’t imply causation!!!

Question 10

scatterplot

Answer 10

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents values of two variables
slope of best fit line of the points suggests the relationship between the 2 variables
amount/concentration of dots suggests the strength of the correlation

Question 11

formal experiment

Answer 11

must contain following variables:
participant —> sample —-> control group—–> measurement
—–> experimental group—-> measurement
random independent dependent
assignment variable variable

Question 12

formal experiment steps

Answer 12

1. observation of people’s behavior- hypothesis (testable predictions)
2. Convenience sampling- we obtain anyone who is available
3. control environment- minimize efects of all variables but the causation variable, control based on criteria for subjects and control experiment environment, reject false claims and validate truths
4. divide people into groups to observe changes in behavior: correlates to hypothesis or hypotheses
5. inform consent and debriefing
6. possible problems (confounding variable, biases, placebo effect)
7. Statistical significance

Question 13

random assignment

Answer 13

subjects don’t know which group they are assigned, ensures validity and reduces bias
always have a control group
4-5 max number of experimental groups

Question 14

experimental groups

Answer 14

people are exposed to manipulation

Question 15

control group

Answer 15

people are not manipulated

Question 16

independent variable

Answer 16

variable you manipulate (causation variable)

Question 17

dependent variable

Answer 17

variable you measure (effect)

Question 18

Extraneous/Confounding Variables

Answer 18

variables researcher didn’t consider that may influence outcome
cause us to not know the true cause of the behavior and they mess with the study

Question 19

Biases and blind

Answer 19

single blind- 1 person is blind to everything (ex.: subjects don’t know), this controls for subject biases

double blind- both subject and researcher don’t know any variables being used (independent/dependent) and how the data is being used and applied

Question 20

Placebo effect

Answer 20

change in behavior due to expectations that a treatment will do something

Question 21

statistical significance

Answer 21

the degree we are confident an outcome didn’t occur by chance
usually the larger the outcome, the less likely it occured by chance

Question 22

Quasi-Experiment

Answer 22

false experiments
less resources, less money spent, can cause problems
studies conducted in the natural environment with researchers manipulating certain variables to observe their effects
no control group as the people in the natural environment are the control group
bystander effect

Question 23

bystander effect

Answer 23

“someone else will help so I won’t”
just 1 person observing, think lots of people will help someone instead of them (more people around, less likely to help)