psyc week 3

Question 1

why is research important?

Answer 1

ideas about the world may be wrong without evidence (facts) and supportive claims (opinions)

Question 2

how does the scientific method work

Answer 2

theory>hypothesis>research>observation

Question 3

example of observation in the scientific method

Answer 3

kids seem more aggressive after playing violent video games - are they learning aggression from video games

Question 4

theory

Answer 4

set of ideas generated from evidence that propose an explanation for an observed phenomenon

Question 5

hypothesis

Answer 5

testable statement or prediction about a relationship between two or more variables

Question 6

experimental (treatment) group

Answer 6

receives treatment (or procedure) applied by the researcher

Question 7

control group

Answer 7

comparison group; doesn’t receive the treatment (or procedure)

Question 8

selecting participants

Answer 8

subjects of psychological research

Question 9

random sample

Answer 9

subset of a larger population; every member has an equal chance of selection

Question 10

independent variable

Answer 10

variable expected to cause changes in another variable; the manipulated or changed variable

Question 11

dependent variable

Answer 11

variable expected to be influenced by the independent variable, the variable being measured

Question 12

random assignment

Answer 12

all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group

Question 13

what makes a psychological research study an experiment?

Answer 13

random assignment of participants to conditions and manipulation of an idependent variable

Question 14

participant demand (or bias)

Answer 14

participant expectations could skew results

Question 15

single-blind study

Answer 15

participants dont know which group they’re assigned to

Question 16

experimenter expectations (or Bias)

Answer 16

researcher expectations or subtle cues could skew results

Question 17

double-blind study

Answer 17

researchers and participants aren’t aware of group assignments

Question 18

correlation

Answer 18

determines whether a relationship 9or association) exists between two variables

Question 19

positive correlation

Answer 19

as one variable increase, so does the other - as one variable decreases, so does the other

Question 20

negative correlation

Answer 20

as one variable increases, the other decreases

Question 21

correlation coefficient (r)

Answer 21

number describing how two variables are associated with each other - the closer to 1 (+ or -) the stronger the relationship

Question 22

the directionality problem

Answer 22

Is X causing Y? or is Y causing X?

Question 23

the third-variable problem

Answer 23

a different (third) variable could be causing both X and Y

Question 24

Institutional review board (IRB)

Answer 24

reviews proposals for research with human participants

Question 25

deception

Answer 25

sometimes researchers need to deceive participants by hiding the true nature of the study

Question 26

debriefing

Answer 26

educating participants about the true nature of a study after its finished

Question 27

exact replication

Answer 27

exactly recreating the methods used in an earlier study to see if the results come out the same

Question 28

conceptual replication

Answer 28

confirming previous findings using a different set of methods that test the same idea