psyc week 3 Flashcards
why is research important?
ideas about the world may be wrong without evidence (facts) and supportive claims (opinions)
how does the scientific method work
theory>hypothesis>research>observation
example of observation in the scientific method
kids seem more aggressive after playing violent video games - are they learning aggression from video games
theory
set of ideas generated from evidence that propose an explanation for an observed phenomenon
hypothesis
testable statement or prediction about a relationship between two or more variables
experimental (treatment) group
receives treatment (or procedure) applied by the researcher
control group
comparison group; doesn’t receive the treatment (or procedure)
selecting participants
subjects of psychological research
random sample
subset of a larger population; every member has an equal chance of selection
independent variable
variable expected to cause changes in another variable; the manipulated or changed variable
dependent variable
variable expected to be influenced by the independent variable, the variable being measured
random assignment
all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group
what makes a psychological research study an experiment?
random assignment of participants to conditions and manipulation of an idependent variable
participant demand (or bias)
participant expectations could skew results
single-blind study
participants dont know which group they’re assigned to
experimenter expectations (or Bias)
researcher expectations or subtle cues could skew results
double-blind study
researchers and participants aren’t aware of group assignments
correlation
determines whether a relationship 9or association) exists between two variables
positive correlation
as one variable increase, so does the other - as one variable decreases, so does the other
negative correlation
as one variable increases, the other decreases
correlation coefficient (r)
number describing how two variables are associated with each other - the closer to 1 (+ or -) the stronger the relationship
the directionality problem
Is X causing Y? or is Y causing X?
the third-variable problem
a different (third) variable could be causing both X and Y
Institutional review board (IRB)
reviews proposals for research with human participants
deception
sometimes researchers need to deceive participants by hiding the true nature of the study
debriefing
educating participants about the true nature of a study after its finished
exact replication
exactly recreating the methods used in an earlier study to see if the results come out the same
conceptual replication
confirming previous findings using a different set of methods that test the same idea
