Module 5-The Scientific Method and Description Flashcards
What is a theory?
A tentative explanation that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
What is a hypothesis?
A testable prediction on the outcome of the experiment
What does a good theory do?
Produces testable predictions called a hypothesis
What are operational definitions?
A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures used in a research study
How do operational definitions help with replication of a research study?
It proves that it is valid
What makes a study valid?
It has to be repeated with different people in different situations who get similar results
What are descriptive methods?
Observe and describe behaviors/mental processes, often by using case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations and correlation methods
*Don’t show cause and effect
What is a case study?
A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
What are experimental methods?
Manipulate variables to discover their effects
What are correlation methods?
Associate different factors, or variables (anything that contributes to a result)
What is naturalistic observations?
Records behavior in natural environments (It describes behavior)
People don’t know they are being watched
What is courtesy bias?
Participants try to please or look good to the researcher
What is participant bias/Hawthorne effect?
Tendency of research subjects to respond in certain ways because they know they are being observed (Why subjects can’t know they are being watched)
What are surveys?
Research methods that relies on self reports to find out attitudes and behaviors of a particular subject/group
What are operational definitions?
It allows researchers to describe in a specific way what they mean and use a certain term
What is population in a survey?
All those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn
What is the sampling bias?
A flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample
How can wording effects alter the results of a survey?
The way a question is worded can bias the answer
What is a random sample?
A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
What is a representative sample?
Closely parallels the population on relevant characteristics
What is a stratified sample?
Dividing groups into subcategories then taking a portion of those from each category
What are the goals of Psychology? (Don’t Eat Purple Cheese)
Describe-behavior and mental processes
Explain-cause of behavior (why?)
Predict-how organisms will behave
Control-behavior and thinking
What is the scientific method?
Ask a question, do background research, conduct a hypothesis, test with an experiment, analyze data, draw conclusions
What is a null hypothesis?
a statement that the independent variable will have no effect on the dependent variable
