PSYCH 100 - Chapter 2 part 1

Question 1

scientific method

Answer 1

The process of basing one’s confidence in an idea on systematic, direct observations of the world, usually by setting up research studies to test ideas. (2.2)

Question 2

theory-data cycle

Answer 2

The process of the scientific method, in which scientists collect data that can either confirm or disconfirm a theory. (2.2)

Question 3

theory

Answer 3

A set of propositions explaining how and why people act, think, or feel. (2.2)

Question 4

hypothesis

Answer 4

A specific prediction stating what will happen in a study if the theory is correct. (2.2)

Question 5

data

Answer 5

A set of empirical observations that scientists have gathered. (2.2)

Question 6

replication

Answer 6

When a study is conducted more than once on a new sample of participants, and obtains the same basic results. (2.2)

Question 7

journal

Answer 7

A periodical containing peer-reviewed articles on a specific academic discipline, written for a scholarly audience. (2.2)

Question 8

variable

Answer 8

Something of interest that varies from person to person or situation to situation. (2.3)

Question 9

measured variable

Answer 9

A variable whose values are simply recorded. (2.3)

Question 10

manipulated variable

Answer 10

A variable whose values the researcher controls, usually by assigning different participants to different levels of that variable. (2.3)

Question 11

operational definition

Answer 11

The specific way of measuring or manipulating an abstract variable in a particular study. (2.4)

Question 12

descriptive research

Answer 12

A type of study in which researchers measure one variable at a time. (2.5)

Question 13

sample

Answer 13

The group who participated in research, and who belong to the larger group (the population of interest) that the researcher is interested in understanding. (2.5)

Question 14

population of interest

Answer 14

The full set of cases the researcher is interested in. (2.5)

Question 15

random sampling

Answer 15

A way of choosing a sample of participants for a study in which participants are selected without bias, for example, by dialing random digits on the telephone or pulling names out of a hat. (2.5)

Question 16

naturalistic observation

Answer 16

An observational research method in which psychologists observe the behavior of animals and people in their normal, everyday worlds and environments. (2.6)

Question 17

observational research

Answer 17

A descriptive research method in which psychologists measure their variable of interest by observing and recording what people are doing. (2.6)

Question 18

case study

Answer 18

An observational research method in which researchers study one or two individuals in depth, often those who have a unique condition. (2.6)

Question 19

correlational research

Answer 19

A type of study that measures two (or more) variables in the same sample of people, and then observes the relationship between them. (2.7)

Question 20

scatterplot

Answer 20

A figure used to represent a correlation, in which each dot usually represents a study participant, the x-axis represents one variable, and the y-axis represents the other variable. (2.7)

Question 21

third-variable problem

Answer 21

For a given observed relationship between two variables, an additional variable that is associated with both of them, making the additional variable an alternative explanation for the observed relationship. (2.8)

Question 22

experimental research

Answer 22

A study in which one variable is manipulated, and the other is measured. Experimental research can provide evidence that one variable causes another. (2.9)

Question 23

independent variable

Answer 23

The manipulated variable in an experiment. (2.9)

Question 24

dependent variable

Answer 24

The measured variable in an experiment. (2.9)

Question 25

random assignment

Answer 25

A procedure used in experimental research in which a random method is used to decide which participants will receive each level of the independent variable. (2.9)

Question 26

experimental (or treatment) group

Answer 26

In an experiment, a group or condition in which some proposed cause is present. (2.9)