module 3 - research strategies how psychologists ask and answer questions

Question 1

define:

case study

Answer 1

oldest research methods

psychologists study one individual hoping it reveals something true in everyone

Question 2

advantages of case study?

Answer 2

1. can suggest hypotheses for further study

2. can show us what can happen

Question 3

disadvantages of case study?

Answer 3

can mislead us because…

1. an individual may be atypical
2. unrepresented info can lead to mistaken info

Question 4

define:

survey

Answer 4

a technique for ascertaining the self reported attitudes/behaviors, usually through questionings

Question 5

define:

wording effect

Answer 5

changes in order or wording can have major effects

Question 6

define;

random sampling

Answer 6

fairly represents a population bc each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Question 7

define:

false consensus effect

Answer 7

tendency to overestimate others’ agreement with us

Question 8

what is the best basis for generalizing?

Answer 8

representative sample of cases

Question 9

true or false:

you can compensate an unrepresentative sample by adding more people

Answer 9

falseee

Question 10

naturalistic observations

Answer 10

watching and recording the behaviors of organisms in their natural environment (done with humans too)

Question 11

what do naturalistic observation have in common with case study and survey methods?

Answer 11

all cannot explain behavior, but can describe it

Question 12

define:

correlation

Answer 12

how well either factors predict each other

Question 13

define:

positive correlation

Answer 13

two sets of data rise/fall together

Question 14

define:

negative correlation

Answer 14

two sets of data relate inversely

Question 15

define:

weak correlation

Answer 15

has a coefficient near 0

Question 16

correlation cannot prove causation, but can indicate what?

Answer 16

possibility of a cause-effect relationship

Question 17

define:

illusory correlations

Answer 17

perceived nonexistent correlation

helps explain many superstitious beliefs

Question 18

given random data, what do we tend to look for?

Answer 18

meaningful patterns

we search for patterns to make a sense of what is around us

Question 19

define:

experiment

Answer 19

clearest and cleanest way to isolate cause and effect

Question 20

how do experiments help researchers focus on the possible effects of one or more factors?

Answer 20

by. .
1. manipulating the facts of interest
2. holding constant (controlling) other factors

Question 21

what is indicated when a behavior changes when we vary an experimental factor?

Answer 21

then we know the factor is having an effect

Question 22

define:

double blind procedure

Answer 22

experimental procedure where both, participants and staff, are “blind” about whether the participant received the treatment or placebo

Question 23

define:

placebo

Answer 23

pill without drug

Question 24

define:

placebo effect

Answer 24

just believing that you are getting the treatment can boost spirits, relax the body, and relieve your symptoms

Question 25

define:

experimental condition

Answer 25

exposes participants to treatment to one version of the independent variable

double-blind procedure is one way to create this

Question 26

define:

control condition

Answer 26

without the treatment and evaluates the effects of the treatment

Question 27

define:

random assessment

Answer 27

assigns participants to experiment to experimental and control conditions by change, minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to different groups

helps us infer cause and effect

Question 28

define:

independent variable

Answer 28

factor that is manipulated ; factor that is studied

Question 29

define:

dependent variable

Answer 29

outcome factor ; factor that will change

Question 30

how do you use simple statistical principals in everyday reasoning?

Answer 30

doubt big, round, undocumented numbers, focus on thinking smarter

Question 31

how can a bard graph be misleading?

Answer 31

people can design a graph to make it smaller/bigger depending on what they want to emphasize

🌟 always read the scale labels and note the range

Question 32

define:

measure of central tendency

Answer 32

single score that represents a whole set of scores and neatly summarize data

Question 33

define:

mode

Answer 33

most frequently occurring score

Question 34

define:

mean

Answer 34

average

sum of all numbers divided by # of scores

Question 35

define:

median

Answer 35

midpoint

Question 36

which measure of central tendency would a few atypical scores distort it?

Answer 36

mean

Question 37

what are the two measures of variation?

Answer 37

range and standard deviation

Question 38

define:

range

Answer 38

difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Question 39

define:

standard deviation

Answer 39

computed measure of how much scores may vary around the mean score

Question 40

when is an observed difference reliable?

Answer 40

3 principals to think about when deciding if it is safe to generalize from a sample….

1. representative samples > biased samples
2. less variable observations are more reliable than those that are more variables
3. more cases are better than fewer

🌟 generalization based on a few unrepresentative case are unreliable

Question 41

when is difference significant?

Answer 41

statistical tests determine whether or not differences are meaningful

the difference has a statistical significance when the sample averages are reliable and the difference between them is relatively large

Question 42

define:

statistical significance

Answer 42

how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance, but not indicate the importance of the results