Psych 201 Flashcards
Heuristics
simple stinking strategies that allow us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently
Availability heuristic
A mental shortcut strategies for judging the likelihood of an event or situation to occur based on how easily we can think of similar or relevant instances
Story about plane crash leads to reception in flying
Representative heuristic
A mental shortcut strategy for deciding the likelihood of an event based in how much it resembles what we consider to be a “typical” example of that event
If you meet a slim, short, man who wears glasses and likes poetry, what do you think his profession would be? Livy league Prof or Truck Driver
Overconfidence
the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs
Better-than-average
the tendency t overestimate your skills, abilities, and performance in comparison to others
Hindsight bias
After learning the outcome of an event, many people believe they could have predicted that very outcome
“I knew it all along”
Conformation bias
The tendency to search for information that confirms a personal bias
Belief perseverance
The tendency to cling to our beliefs even in the face of contrary evidence
What are the 3 features of science
systematic empiricism
empirical questioning
public knowledge
What is scientific empiricism
observing the natural world in an unbiased manner
Requires carefully planning, making, recording, and analyzing observations of the world
What is empiricism
learning by observation
What are empirical questions
Follow from systematic empiricism
Attempt to determine how the world actually is and can only be answered by systematically observing it
What makes a good scientist? (6 things)
Sceptical
Open minded
Objective
Empirical
Creative
Articulate
What does it mean to be skeptical?
suspend judgement and evaluate new claims
What does it mean to be objective?
base their opinions on facts rather than on their personal feelings
What does it mean t be empirical?
Updating ideas based on testing falsifiable hypotheses
What does it mean to be articulate?
share ideas among the masses
What is the acronym that describes the strategy used by science denialism
FLICC
What does FLICC stand for
Fake experts or presenting info from questionable sources
Logical fallacies or arguments that use errors in reasoning
Impossible expectations or creating unrealistic goals of certainty before being a fact
Cherry-picking or selecting only data that supports a claim
Conspiracy theory or conjuring a secret scheme to explain straightforward findings
What are some research skills that translate into employability skills?
Project mamagement
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Analytical skills
Interpretation of numerical information
Communication skills
What are the questions we pose from natural curiosity called?
hypotheses
Should we gather evidence to potentially refute the hypotheses
yes
Steps of the research process –> 6 including repeat
- Define a research question using theory
- Sate a specific and testable hypothesis based on the research question
- Carry out study and collect data
- Analyze and interpret the data
- Revise theory based on data
What are the steps to developing a good research question?
- start with a general research idea
- turn that into an empirically testable research question
- Evaluate how interesting that question really is
Where can you find inspiration for research questions (4)
common sense
Observations of the world
Practical problems
Past research
What is common sense?
Body of knowledge that be all believe to be true (whether or not it is)
What is an example of a practical problem that can help define a research question?
Study of adherence to health initiatives during the pandemic
What is the best way to generate new research ideas?
past research –> can improve past techniques
What framework do we use for designing research questions?
PICO
What does PICO stand for? Do we have to use all the letters?
Population
Intervention
Comparison
Outcome
What type of research is PICO usually used for?
quantitative
What are the 2 major types of research?
Quantitative
Qualitative
What are the 3 types of quantitative research?
Descriptive
Comparative
Relationship
What type of research is this?
What is the prevalence of alcohol use in BC among adults? And what are the parts of PICO?
Descriptive
P: adults in BC
O: alcohol
What type of research is this?
What is the prevalence of alcohol use among men and women who suffer from depression and live in BC among adults. And what are the parts of PICO?
Comparative
P: men and women who suffer from depression
C: men vs women
O: alcohol use
What type of research is this?
Is there a relationship between stress and alcohol misuse in adults who live in BC? And what are the parts of PICO?
Relationship
P: adults in BC
C: levels of stress
O: alcohol use
What is qualitative research
Attempt to describe and contextualize phenomenon. Qualitative research questions are typically non-directional (do not predict outcomes) and relatively flexible
qualitative research is concerned with subjective phenomena that can’t be numerically measured, like how different people experience grief
What part of pico do we use in qualitative research?
P and O
What kind of research is deduction?
Quantitative
What kind of research is induction?
Qualitative
Steps in deduction?
Theory, Hypotheses, observations, confirmation (data analysis)
Steps in Induction?
Observations (talk to people), patterns, hypothesis, theory
Theory can then be tested using quantitative work
What is quantitative research?
numeric and objective, seeking to answer questions like when or where.
What to ask if a research question has been asked before?
Other ways to operationally define variables?
Specific groups that may differ in their response?
Different situations in which responses may differ?
What acronym to use to evaluate research questions?
FINER
What does FINER stand for?
Feasible: can the study be done with available resources, time, and technology
Interesting: whether the study captivates a wider audience –> peers, collaborators and potential funders
Novel: shed light on uncharted areas, provide new viewpoints and questioning conventional framework
Ethical: is it conducted with integrity, respect and responsibility
Relevant
What is the importance or reviewing literature?
helps turn a research idea into a research question
Determine if a question has been answered
Ideas on how to conduct the study
Tell if your research fit into the literature
Should you look at old research literature?
initial searches within past 5 years then older stuff
What defines a professional journal (3)? What do they publish?
The have been established for a long time
Associated with a professional organization
Are peer reviewed –> often double blind process
Publish original research and review articles
What is peer review for?
to assess the validity, quality and originality of articles for duplication –> maintains integrity of science by filtering out bad articles
What is a single-blind peer review?
the authors do not who the reviewers are
What is double blind peer review?
neither authors not reviews know each other or their affiliations
What are predatory journals?
Journals that will publish your article for a “fee” –> don’t peer review properly
APC frees are fine (article processing fee) –> happens after peer review
What are other sources for information?
scholarly books or pre-prints
What is different about a pre-print?
Not peer reviewed
What are the two types of books? describe them
Monographs: written by a single author or a small group that present a coherent presentation on a topic
Edited volumes: edited by a single person or small group
Multiple author s(beyond the editors) contribute to the book, and viewpoints may be different
What are the Boolean operators and what are they used for?
AND –> contains both alcohol and stress
OR –> contains alcohol or stress
”” –> “alcohol misuse” contains exact phrase
- Bears-chicago –> only results with bears and not Chicago
~ ~academic –> search for academic and its synonyms
What do you do after you have a research question?
Construct hypotheses
What is a hypotheses
a test of a specific theory (not a prediction)
What is a scientific law?
A statement based on repeated experimental observation that describes some aspect of the world (weber’s law)
What is a scientific theory?
A well-sustained explanation of some aspects of the natural world confirmed o through repeated observations and experimentation?
Does psychology use theories or laws more?
Theories
What are 4 strategies for generating hypotheses? And why do they mean?
Introspection –> Engage in self-observation — Ask yourself “What would I do?” “How would I feel?” or “What would I
think?”
Find the exception to the rule -> Crafting hypotheses about outcomes in the opposite direction of prior research has the potential to
provide new insights into a phenomenon.
A matter of degree —>
Try to think about your variables in terms of amounts, such as quantity, intensity, strength, volume,
number, force, persistence, and effort of IV
Change the directionality –>
There is not a set direction of how one thing influences another
Are hypotheses predictions?
NO
What is syllogistic logic? How is the hypothesis usually stated in paper?
IF (hypothesis) AND (methods) THEN (prediction)
All of it together
What does the textbook say a hypothesis is
Hypothesis: an educated prediction that provides a testable explanation of a phenomenon
What are the 4 questions you should ask when evaluating your hypothesis
Does it correspond with reality –> should be consistent with past research
Is it parsimonious –> Occam’s razor –> simple
How specific is it? –> Barnum effect
Is it falsifiable refutable?
What is the Barnum effect?
The tendency for people to believe general descriptions of their personality are highly accurate
What could it mean if your predictions are false?
method was ineffective
Theory was wrong
Results were a fluke
5 steps to testing the hypotheses?
- indentify key variables
- choose a research design
- conduct the study
- analyze and draw conclusions
5.communicate the findings
Are there many ways to conceptualize and operationalize the same variable?
yes
Conceptual definition of stress example?
Operational definition of stress example?
mental tension and worry
heart rate, sweating
What is an experimental design?
A research method in which the experimental controls and manipulated the independent variable, allowing the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships between the independent and dependent variables
Predictor and covariate are another word for what
independent variable
Criterion, outcome, and response are another word for what
dependent variable
Is correlational design experimental? why or why not>
it is a nonexpeirmental design
Correlational designs give us relationships –> no IV or DV as either variable can predict the other
What are the IV and DV in nonexperimental designs/ correlational designs
Explanatory (or predictor) –> IV
Criterion (response) –> outcome variable (DV)
What are the 2 decisions you need to make in experimental designs?
- The number of levels of the IV
- How frequently you want to gather data from participants
What are between subject designs
comparing results between participants for a single condition
different groups
What are within subject designs?
same person tests multiple conditions and they are compared
Differences over time
Is longitudinal designs between or within subject?
within
What is a mixed design?
both within and between subject design
if you have stress group and control group → between subject → but we measured stress before and after the intervention → within subjects
What are levels of IV meaning
Different ways to define the IV
Define stress in different ways → psychosocial stress (speech) or physical stressor (treadmill)
What is a research protocol?
A detailed series of steps that lest the researcher know the order in which to administer the study and provides a script of what the researcher should say and do
informed consent, studt/colect data, debrief
What is a script?
A written set of instructions that the researcher will read to each participants while collecting data
What is data
distinct pieces of info
Why use statistics?
avoid bias
see patterns
dare probabilistic conclusions
What are two ways to communicate findings?
poster or paper
what part of a paper is this: provides background information from previous research on the topic under
investigation and the theoretical and empirical basis for the study’s hypotheses
intro
What part of a paper is this: outlines the study’s findings using a combination of statistical analyses and a
narrative that explains the tests the researcher used, and what the statistical results mean in plain language
results
What part of a paper is this: an analysis and interpretation of the study’s findings, including strengths and
weaknesses, suggestions for future research, and ideas for practical applications of
the findings
discussion
What are ethics?
The application of moral principals concerning what an individual considers right and wrong to help guide ones decisions and behaviour
What is the utilitarian perspective?
you decision should do the greatest good for the greatest number of people
What is the altruistic perspective?
Helping others without personal benefit
Egosim meaning
individuals should act in accordance with their own self interests
What is milligram (1974) experiment and what was its purpose?
If people obey an authority figure
Delivered a series of shocks to a confederate
When it is acceptable to inflect harm on research participants?
It is acceptable as long a the harm is minor and short-lived and there are major benefits to the study
What is Belmont principal 1:
Beneficence and nonmaleficence
What is Beneficence?
acting with the purpose of benefiting others
What is Nonmaleficence?
researchers should do no harm
What is a cost-benefit analysis?
a systematic progress in which a researcher weighs all the potential and known benefits against the potential and known risks before conducting a study
What are types of harm
Physical harm or psychological harm
What is Tuskegee Syphillis studies?
Done by US public heath service
low-income African American men were injected with syphilis and decided treatment –> lead to death
What is Belmont principle 2:
Justice
What is justice
fairness when deciding who to use as study participants and what role they will play in the study
What is clinical equipoise?
uncertainty ad to which of two treatments options is more beneficial the conducting a study
What is Zimbados (1973) experiment?
Stanford prison experiment
Whether psychological effect of being in prison were a result of situational effects or personality traits
People were randomly assigned to either play prisoner or guard
was stopped after 6 days
what is Belmont principle 3:
Respect for Persons
What does respect for persons involve?
autonomy and informed consent
What is autonomy?
the ideas that people are capable of making deliberate, informed decisions about their participation in research –> right to freely choose to be involved in a study
What is informed consent?
part of ethical procedures at the beginning of a study in which participants learn what the study expects of them and what the risks and benefits of participation is, then freely makes the choice to participate or not
Jargon-free
What are these?
Nuremberg (1947)
*Declaration of Helsinki (1964)
World Medical Assoc. – biomedical research
Belmont Report (1979)
Biomedical and Behavioural
Professional Ethics (CPA/APA/BPS)
Funding Body (Tri-Council, NIH, etc.)
Canadian Council on Animal Care
ethical codes
Who reviews all research prior to data collectionfor ethics
IRB: institutional review board
REB: research ethics board
Ethics committee
All the same thing
Needs to be approved prior to research initiation
What is the Human research ethics board at uvic
they oversee research that involve Human participants or biological materials. Includes research in courses
What is Tri-council research funding. And who are they?
Most Canadian research on humans is funded by one of three major federal funding agencies:
Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) (including “hard-science” parts of psychology)
Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) → psyc
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) → psyc
What are the three core principles of the Tri-council research ethics policy?
Respect for persons (autonomy, dignity)
Concern for welfare (safety, wellbeing, privacy)
Justice (fairness, honestly, rigor)
What does respect for person involve in the tri-ethics policy?
Informed and ongoing consent
Freedom from coercion –> able to refuse participation and withdrawl ant any time without negative consequences
grades, money
How can coercion present itself in research participation?
grades, money, power
What must informed consent include?
Thorough description of the study
Jargon free
Details regarding risks
Details regarding confidentiality and data storage
A clear statement that participants may withdraw without penalty
Opportunities for participants to ask questions
What to do for getting consent from young/cognitively impaired people
parental consent
child assent –> child agrees to participate
What is concern for welfare: (protection from harm) in the tri-ethics policy
Protection from harm
avoid unnecessary discomfort
Benefit >risk
Have plan to resolve issues that arise
Caution with vulerable populations
How does the trip-ethics policy on welfare (protection from harm) apply to researchers?
Need to be properly trained/ competent
No conflict of interest
Is some research exempt from review?
Yes if it poses little risk –> secondary data
What is the Concern for welfare (privacy) in Tri-ethics?
Anonymity
Confidentiality
Should have data management plan
Privacy rules: PIPEDA (personal information protection and electronics document act)
PHIPA (canada) HIPAA (USA) for Health info