Psychological Research

Question 1

ensures that results are empirical and involves tangible evidence that can be observed repeatedly

Answer 1

Scientific Method

Question 2

tentative and testable statement about the relationship between two or more variable

Answer 2

hypothesis

Question 3

well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena

Answer 3

theory

Question 4

What are the 4 key components of the scientific method?

Answer 4

fairness, verifiability, predictability, and falsifiable

Question 5

Which study strategies have low effectiveness?

Answer 5

highlighting, rereading, long practice, and summarizing

Question 6

Which study strategies have moderate effectiveness?

Answer 6

mnemonic devices, mental imagery, and interval practice

Question 7

Which study strategies have high effectiveness?

Answer 7

distributed practice & practice testing

Question 8

the process by which researchers working with participants describe their research project and obtain the participants’ consent to participate in the research

Answer 8

informed consent

Question 9

What are some types of information that may be included when discussing informed consent?

Answer 9

requirements, length (time), tasks to be completed

Question 10

What does IACUC stand for?

Answer 10

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Question 11

What does the IACUC do?

Answer 11

reviews proposals for research involving animals to ensure that research animals are treated humanely and inspects research facilities

Question 12

used to describe general or specific behaviors and attributes that are observed and measure

Answer 12

descriptive research

Question 13

What are the categories of psychology research?

Answer 13

descriptive, correlational, and experimental

Question 14

test whether a relationship exists between two or more variables

Answer 14

correlational research

Question 15

test a hypothesis to determine cause and effect relationships

Answer 15

experimental research

Question 16

What are the types of descriptive research?

Answer 16

clinical/case study, naturalistic observation, survey, archival research, cross-sectional research, longitudinal research

Question 17

observational research study focusing on one or few people

Answer 17

clinical/case study

Question 18

observation of behavior in its natural setting

Answer 18

naturalistic observation

Question 19

list of questions to be answered by research participants, allowing researchers to collect data from a large number of people

Answer 19

survey

Question 20

using past records/data sets to answer various research questions or to search for interesting patterns or relationships

Answer 20

archival research

Question 21

compares multiple segments of a population at a single time

Answer 21

cross-sectional research

Question 22

studies in which the same group of individuals are surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time

Answer 22

longitudinal research

Question 23

What are the 4 issues with descriptive research?

Answer 23

may not be possible to generalize results, observer bias, inter-rater reliability, and cannot test relationships between variables

Question 24

when observations are skewed to align with observer expectations

Answer 24

observer bias

Question 25

a measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular event

Answer 25

inter-rater reliability

Question 26

there is a relationship between two or more variables, which can be positive, negative, or random

Answer 26

correlation

Question 27

What are the limits of correlational research?

Answer 27

Correlation does not prove cause and effect and there may be confounding variables

Question 28

an extraneous factor that interferes with the relationship between independent and dependent variables

Answer 28

confounding variable

Question 29

What are some key components of an experimental design?

Answer 29

at least 2 groups (experimental & control), random samples, placebos, and random assignment

Question 30

Why do we need an operational definition?

Answer 30

to help people understand the results and to ensure that an experiment could be replicated

Question 31

_____ variables influence change in the _____ variable.

Answer 31

independent; dependent

Question 32

where researchers AND participants don’t know which group received the treatment

Answer 32

double blind study

Question 33

Why are double blind studies beneficial?

Answer 33

prevents experimenter bias and creates control for the placebo effect in participants

Question 34

influences people’s expectations or beliefs on their experience in a given situation

Answer 34

placebo effect