Psych Midterm 1 Flashcards
Identify, gather, test, analyze, build
The Scientific Method
why use the scientific method?
reduces bias and helps provide better theories
we know what happens after it occurs
hindsight bias
we only consider evidence that is present
present/present bias
basing judgements off of what comes to mind first
availability heuristic
objective statement usually based on direct observation that observers agree us true
fact
hypothetical account of how/why a phenomenon occurs
theory
a specific testable prediction made by a theory
hypothesis
what makes a good theory?
comprehensive - explain info we already know
testable/falsifiable
simple
generative - generates new ideas and research
simpler theory is preferred
law of parsimony
conceptual definition of a variable
what it means (one per variable)
operational definition of a variable
how it is measured/manipulated in context of a study (can be multiple per variable)
self-report
people report about themselves
easy but not always accurate (social desirability bias)
observing behaviour
use frequency, occurrence, or timing of natural occurrence
knowing you’e being observed may affect behaviour
decrease of observation-based effects over time
habituation
recording info while participants are unaware (sometimes unethical)
unobtrusive measures
using pre-existing records/documents
good for large scale studies
archival measures
looking at what the body is doing
ex. heart rate, sweat, neural imaging
physiological measures
projective psychological tests
based on assumption of projected hypothesis
performance-based psychological tests
how confident you are in certain areas
ex. memory-based
who we want to make a conclusion about
population
smaller group, represents population
sample
random sampling
every member of population is equally likely to be chosen
representative sample
reflects important aspects of populations
convenience sampling
based on availability; not random
systematic study plan used to turn research questions into study
research design
qualitative research
use non-numerical data
quantitative research
uses numerical data
most common
research that seeks to identify how humans and animals behave
ex. case study, naturalistic observation, surveys
descriptive research
in-depth analysis of individuals/groups/events
case study
behaviour is observed as it occurs in a natural setting
naturalistic observation
collecting info through questionnaires/ interviews
survey research
examines/measures relationship between 2+ variables
quantitative, allows us to make predictions
correlational research
correlation coefficient
indicates direction/strength of relation
-0 is no relationship, +1 or -1 is stronger
-positive: both variables increase
-negative: one variable increases, other decreases
can determine causation and rule out alternative explanations
experiments
3 characteristics of experiments
-manipulate variables
-measure whether manipulation influences other variables
-attempt to control extraneous factors
manipulated/controlled variable (cause)
independent variable
measured and may be influence by independent variable (effect)
dependent variable
3 criteria for causation (in experiments)
covariance
temporal precedence
internal validity
as IV changes, DV changes (there is an effect)
covariance
cause happens before effect
temporal precedence
does experiment support clear causal connections
internal validity
experimental design in which participants only experience one level of IV/manipulation
between-subjects
experimental design in which participants experience all levels of IV/manipulation
repeated measures
experiments with multiple IVs test effect of IV on the DV varies depending on levels of another IV
interaction
tendency for a measure to produce the same result whenever it’s used to measure the same thing
reliability
consistent assessment at different points in time
test-retest reliability
consistent assessment from different researchers/evaluators (ex. Olympic judges)
integrator reliability
consistent items within an assessment
internal reliability
accuracy of a measure
allows you to draw accurate inferences from observation
validity
measure appears to assess what it is supposed to (can tell by looking at it)
face validity
measure assesses all parts of a defined construct (ex. exam)
content validity
measure correlates (+ or -) strongly with constructs
integrates other measures
convergent validity
measure correlates weakly/has no relationship to things it should relate to
discriminant validity
variables researchers are not including/ considering in a study but could be affecting results
confounding variables
change in symptoms/behaviour based on expectation/belief of receiving treatment
placebo effect
substance with no pharmacological effect
ex. sugar pills, saline solution
placebo
participants don’t know purpose of study or what treatment they are receiving
single-blind study
ways in which the experimenter influences participants and results
experimenter-expectancy results
participant and experimenter ae blind to conditions of study
double-blind procedure
degree to which the results of a study can be generalized
external validity
ethical conduct for research involving humans
trig-council policy statement
NSERC (natural sciences and engineering research council)
looks at physical processes
SSHRC (social sciences and humanities research council)
looks at social psychology
the welfare and integrity of the individual takes priority in human research (not taken advantage of)
respect for human dignity
individuals have the right to make their own free/informed decisions
respect for free and informed consent
protects vulnerable participants/people who don’t have the ability to fully provide consent
respect for vulnerable persons
info from study can’t be traced back to the person; protects their identity
respect for privacy and confidentiality
fair methods, standards, and procedures for viewing research protocols through an independent process
respect for justice and inclusiveness
potential harms should not outweigh benefits
balancing harms and benefits
when the independent variable involves a lie
deception
telling a lie to participants
lie of commission
not telling participants something/leaving something out about the study
lie of ommission
people who are part of a study team pretending to be participants; actors in a study
confederates
telling participant everything after the study
debriefing
3 Rs of animal research ethics
replacement - don’t use animals if possible
reduction - use as few animals as possible
refinement - should cause minimal discomfort
summarize and describe characteristics of a data set
descriptive statistics
tells us how confident we can be in making conclusions or inferences based on findings from a sample; studies use experimental methods, correlations, or other hypothesis testing procedures
inferential statistics
measures that describe a distribution in terms of a single statistic
measures of central tendency
most frequent response in a distribution
mode
average of a set of scores; usually used to describe central tendency
mean
score that is in the middle of the distribution
median
provide info about the spread of scores in a distribution
measures of variability
difference between highest and lowest score in a distribution
range
average of the squared deviation scores around the mean
variance
a combo measure of variance around the mean
standard deviation
symmetrical bell-shaped curve that represents a theoretical distribution of scores in the population
normal curve
term that suggests that it is unlikely that a particular finding occurred by chance alone (there is likely an effect)
statistical significance
probability of finding observed or more extreme results when there is no true effect
p-value
system of symbols and rules for combining them so they generate meaning
language
socially constructed ways of communicating things; stands for something when there is no direct link to it outside social consensus
symbolic (property of language)
symbols have to be in a certain order to make sense (letters, punctuation, etc.)
grammar
rules that govern the order of words
syntax
meaning of words and sentences
semantics
symbols canoe combined to generate an infinite number of messages
generativity
can talk about things that are not physically present (ex. historic events)
displacement
5 properties of language:
symbolic
structure
meaning
generativity
5 properties of language:
symbolic
structure
meaning
generativity
displacement
smallest unit of speech sound that can signal differences in meaning (ex. “l”og vs. “d”og)
phoneme
smallest unit of language that has a sense of meaning (ex. DOGs has two)
morpheme
the highest level of language (sentences are combined into paragraphs, books, etc.)
discourse
what exact words are used in what exact order; can use different ________ to say the same thing
surface structure
underlying meaning that is being conveyed in sentences; stored as concepts/rules in long-term memory
deep structure
beginning with smaller concepts and putting them together to form big idea (for things you can’t automatically understand)
bottom-up processing
existing knowledge is applied to make sense of new information
top-down processing
where it makes sense for each word to begin and end
speech segmentation
in language learning, knowledge of practical aspects of using it; sometime people mean more than just what they say; how people use language in order to convey a message
pragmatics
children learn language by just listening (no formal instruction)
language acquisition
innate biological mechanism that contains general grammatical rules common to all languages; biological foundation
language acquisition device (LAD)
factors in social environment that facilitate language learning; more socially based model of language acquisition; models parents use to get kids to learn (ex. repetition, emphasis, etc.)
language acquisition support system (LASS)
abbreviated speech, only key words are used
telegraphic speech
impairment of language, affecting speech production and comprehension and the ability to read or write
aphasia
condition in which there is a loss of ability to produce language in writing or speech (due to damaged left hemisphere frontal lobe of brain; ex. Tono)
broca’s aphasia
loss of ability to understand noises or speak; can produce language, but not understand exactly what they are saying
wernicke’s aphasia
cannot learn a language fluently after a certain age
critical period
easier to learn a language fluently before a certain age (~7 years old)
sensitive period
the idea, suggested by Benjamin Worfe, that our language determines the ways we perceive and thing about the world
linguistic relativity hypothesis
thinking that takes the form of verbal sentences we hear in our mind
propositional thought
mental category containing similar things
concept
clusters of interrelated concepts
categories
statement that expresses an idea
proposition
most typical and familiar members of a class that define a concept
prototype
thinking that takes form of images in our mind
imaginal thought
thinking that relates to mental representations of motor movements, such as throwing a ball
motoric thought
interconnected set of concepts and the links that join them to form a category
semantic network
3 levels of semantic networks:
superordinate
basic-level
subordinate
the activation of individual concepts in long-term memory; makes closely connected concepts more accessible to your mind/
thoughts (ex. for fruits there are certain prototypes that come quicker to mind)
priming
how do we test priming effects?
lexical decision tasks
ex. is this string of letters a word or not?
mental framework/organized pattern of thought about some aspect of the world (includes heuristics, algorithms, scripts)
ex. how you act in fast food vs. fancy restaurants
schema
much more detailed semantic network/schema (layer upon layer upon layer of schema)
expertise
schemas we have for sequences of events that usually unfold in a regular/standardized order
script
tendency to focus mainly on objects and their attributes (attends to a focal object)
analytical thinking
paying attention to relations among objects and their contexts (attends to a whole field)
holistic thinking
refers to similarities in behaviour, function, or relationship
analogy
kind of reasoning that applies between specific exemplars or cases, in which what is known about one is used to infer new info about another
analogical reasoning
reasoning from a general principle to a specific case (ex. applying theory to understand/predict behaviour)
deductive reasoning
logical arguments (2 or more that lead to a conclusion)
syllogisms
reasoning that proceeds from a set of specific facts to a general conclusion or principle (using data to draw conclusion)
inductive reasoning
ex. 600 people have this disease, would you rather save 200 or let 400 die?
framing
gives you an initial bit of information, which you use as a tether
anchoring
method of problem solving characterized by quick and easy search procedures; another kind of schema
heuristics
when an individual believes they have the solution/correct answer and will hold onto that belief even if they face evidence against it
belief perseverance
only paying attention to evidence that confirms your beliefs
confirmation bias
