psychology as science Flashcards

1
Q

history of knwoledge acquisition

A

informatio centralised in libraries, hard to access
limited public access
information filtered through academic experts
now information on internet its widely academic
widepsread dissemination of misinformation

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2
Q

consequences of internet

A
need to be critical consumer
evaluate information myself
consult credible, reliable information services
use primary sources
experts publish peer reviewed journals
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3
Q

HMR hoax

A

1998 wakefield claimed children who had mmr vaccine developed autism
ignore high quality research showing no link
biased and uninformed media coverage
measles outbreak due to parents not getting vaccinated out of fear

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4
Q

how to obtain knowledge

A

authority figures:celebs, religious leaders, political leaders, consultants and senior academics
introspections and intuition: psychology is common sense
experience: personal or second hand
scientific method: key elements, objective measurements, refutation, reinterpretation

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5
Q

authority figures

A

abuse status to exploit

gwyneth paltrow fined $145,000 for unproven health claims

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6
Q

introspection and intuition

A
humans lack insight about how they function
human reasoning is biased irrational
judegments influenced by prejudices
confirmation bias
availability heuristic
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7
Q

illusory pattern detection

A

prone to seeing patterns in randomness eg faces in clouds

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8
Q

scientific method

A
theory generates hypothesis
hypothesis leads to testable prediction
obtain data that's used to test hypothesis
interpret data used to create conclusion
relate findings to hypothesis
generate more hypotheses
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9
Q

characteristics of scientific method

A

not defined by subject matter
not defined by use of experimental method
not defined by obtaining qualitative data
defined by approach-rational, systematic, objective, careful
results open to scrutiny by skeptical others, potentially falsifiable, ideally reproducable

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10
Q

difference between science and pseudo science

A

science produces testable claims that are open to disproof
scientific claims must acknowledge all findings whether supportive or not
pseudo science uses evidence selectively to support belief ignores everything contradictory evidence

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11
Q

limitation to scientific method

A

restricted to testable questions not claims eg ‘god exists, but doesn’t reveal himself’

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12
Q

theory, hypothesis, predictions and data

A

theory: evidence based conceptual framework that tried to explain set of facts and observations, used to make testable predictions
hypothesis: proposed explanation derived from theory
prediction: scientific, testable prediction stemming from hypothesis
data: facts attempting to explain prove or disprove a theory

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13
Q

why do we quantify things

A

defining principle of science is measurement as can be objectively obtained
measurements must be reliable and valid

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14
Q

levels of measurement

A

nominal: numbers used as names, count how often each number occurs, frequencies of categories
ordinal: numbers used as ranks, attitude scales
interval: scale has equal intervals between points but no true zero point, IQ score, temperature
ratio: measurements made on scale with equal intervals and true zero point, reaction times/error scores

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15
Q

reliabilty

A

results msut be consistent and reproducible
a score = true score + error
error due to:natural performance variation (with/between variation), imprecision in defining and measuring psychological constructs (exactly defining aggression)

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16
Q

meaures of reliability

A

test retest
alternate forms
aplit half
inter scorer

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17
Q

factors affecting reliability

A
phenomenon itself (traits vs states)
precision of measurement 
sample size (bigger > small)
time between tests (shorter > longer)
variability in performance (high > low)
format of test (multiple choice > true/false)
between individuals variability in scores (high > low)
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18
Q

replication crisis

A

causes: small sample sizes encourage flukes
straight replications are rare
file drawer problem: hard to get failed replications published
solutions: replications, meta analysis, converging operations

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19
Q

Nosek 2015

A

replicated 100 experimental and correlational studies from 3 prestigous journals
97% original studies had significant results
36% replications had significant results
combining original and replication results left 68% studies had statistically significant effects

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20
Q

validity

A

measure what its supposed to be measuring

measure can reliable but not valid

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21
Q

reliable but invalid: phrenology

A

gall and spurzheim
different parts of brain responsible for different mental faculties
highly developed faculties led to larger brain regions
larger brain regions reflected by bumps on skull
reliable as scientific but invalid as bumps no relation to brain

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22
Q

reliable but invalid: brain size

A

paul broca 1870s
292 male brains, 140 female brains
‘women on average less intelligent than men, small size brain depends on intellectual inferiority

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23
Q

measures of validity

A
face
content
criterion
construct
ecological/external
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24
Q

factors affecting validity

A

only influence on dependent variable is manipulation of independent variable
norms and standardisation
stratified random sampling
control group to compare against

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25
ecological validity
to what extent is results generalisable to real world
26
Experimental method
Best for identifying causal relationship | X causes Y if X occurs before Y, Y doesn’t occur in absence of X
27
Good experimental designs ....
Maximise validity Internal: ensure dv changes due to manipulation of iv External: generalise from participants to other groups
28
Threats to internal validity
Time: history, maturation, selection-maturation interaction, recreated testing, instrument change Group: initial non-equivalence of groups, regression to mean differential mortality, control group aware of status Participant reactivity threats: experimenter effects, reactivity, evaluation apprehension
29
How’s validity affected by history
Extraneous events between pre-test and post-test affect participants performance in post-test Solution: add control group
30
How’s validity affected by maturation
Participants may change during course if study eg get older or fatigued Solution: control group
31
How’s validity affected by selection-maturation interaction
Different participant groups have different maturation rates, affect how participants respond to experimenters manipulation Solution: ensure groups only differ on one independent variable
32
How does repeated testing affect validity
Taking pre-test May alter result some post-test Solution: avoid repeated testing or add control group who don’t complete pre-test
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How does instrument change affect validity
Eg experimenter tests all of one group before testing another, become more practiced/bored while running study Now two systematic differences Solution: use highly standardised procedure random allocation to conditions, familiarisation with behaviours before observations
34
How does selection affect validity
Cohort effect: groups differ on many variables eg gender Can’t conclude observed differences solely due to independent variable Solution: matched group design
35
How does regression to mean affect validity
Participant who score very low or very high on one occasion tend to give less extreme scores on another occasion Solution: random selection, avoid floor and ceiling effects with scores
36
How does differential mortality affect validity
Subject attrition, sample no longer representative Solution: difficult to fix
37
How does reactivity affect validity
Hawthorne effect: increase in productivity due to awareness of being observed Draper 2006 review: productivity affected by: material factors, motivation, learning, feedback on performance, attention/expectation of observers Implications:act of measurement can affect very thing being measured
38
Experimenter effects on validity
Expectations affect performance Pygmalion effect-teachers affect IQ of pupil Placebo effect- drug expectation affect drug effects Solution: double blind
39
Quasi experiments
No control over allocation or timings of manipulations of iv One group post test design: prone to time effect, no control group On group pre/post test: prone to time effects, baseline to compare Interrupted time series: measure at periodic stages, prone to time effects Static group comparison: no random allocation, observe differences not solely due to iv
40
True experiment designs
Post test control group: random allocation Pre/post test control group: random allocation, groups comparable before and after manipulation Solomon four group: two groups pre/post test control, two groups post test control group, ensure pre test not affect performance
41
Between groups vs within subjects
Between (independent measures): each subject participates in only one condition Within (repeated measures): each subject does all conditions Mixed designs: mix of both
42
Advantage/disadvantage of between groups
``` Straight forward Needs more subjects No carry over effects between conditions Lower sensitivity to experimental effects Reversibility of conditions unimportant ```
43
Ada vantages/disadvantages of within subjects
``` Complicated Fewer subjects Possibility of carry over effects Higher sensitivity to experimental effects Reversibility of conditions essential ```
44
Cross sectional vs longitudinal
Cross sectional: different groups for each time phase of study Longitudinal: each participant is measured repeatedly over time
45
Within subjects and order effects
Oder effects: boredom, practice, fatigue | Randomise order of conditions to eliminate impact of order effects
46
Disadvantage of experimental method
Intrusive: participants know being observed may affect their behaviour Experimenter effects Not all phenomenon can be experiments for practical/ethical reasons , some phenomenon only investigated as quasi experimenters
47
Why do we need ethical guidelines
Belmont report: respect for persons, beneficence, justice
48
psychology specific codes of practice
british psychological society | american psychological association
49
BPs code of ethics
- regularly review documents - record decisions regarding ethical issues - ethical principles: respect(privacy, consent), competence(professional standards), responsibility(respect welfare), integrity(honest, unbiased) - legal obligations: health and care council registration, competence, indemnity insurance, disclosure and barring service checks, equality act, data protection, freedom of information act, safeguard children, mental capacity act, mental health act
50
APA code of conduct
- beneficence and nonmaleficence(benefit those they work with and do no harm) - fidelity and responsibility(establish trust and be aware of professional and scientific duties - integrity(promote accuracy and honesty in science, teaching and practice) - justice(exercise fairness and ensure equal opportunity to benefits - respect for peoples rights, dignity(respect worth of people, privacy, confidentiality
51
key points on human research
``` risks explained participation voluntary valid informed consent advice given confidentiality maintained deception-if leads to harm its inappropiate debrief after study ```
52
informed consent requires:
- voluntary participation - consent-capacity to make/communicate decision, understand the information, weigh up consequences logically - inform participants of purpose of research, duration, procedures, right to withdraw once started, factors affecting willingness to participate, research benefits, incentives
53
informed consent with special groups
- problem of groups who cant give consent themselves eg children or demented - obtain informed consent from carers - where procedures involve risk of harm, obtain informed consent from individual and consult ethic committee - child's avoidance of testing should be taken as withdrawal from study
54
informed consent and power relationships
be aware prisoners/institutionalised individuals and students may feel obliged to say yes belmont report prohibits coersion
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benefits of informed consent
force researchers to think more about theri research encourages trust and better rapport with participants better recruitment rates
56
costs of informed consent
'delays, bureaucracy' 'middle class' attitudes to informed consent alienate or confuse other social groups and ethnic minorities some vulnerable groups in research-able as obtaining consent difficult hawthorne affect-behaviour altered as participants aware of being observed
57
inducements to participants
not to be excessive | not to coerce participation in risky situations
58
use of deception
only used in unavoidable precludes informed consent makes people distrustful of psychologists consider participants reaction to finding out been misled debrief participants as soon as consult ethic committee deception varies in extent: -informed consent but not knowing condition allocated to -consent but not know full details until after study -involved with no prior knowledge or consent -consent to study but misled to true aim
59
Film and voice recording
experiments/therapy sessions: make/use only with participants knowledge and consent observational/naturalistic studies: no knowledge or consent needed unless individuals are identifiable or harmed
60
boundaries of competence
important in applied areas must have appropriate skills and expertise keep knowledge up to date acknowledgement of limitations and boundaries when dealing with non-specialists important for all psychological research
61
sharing data
maintain confidentiality remember informed consent avoid plagiarism participants can remove data from data set
62
collecting participant data
remain confidentiality only acquire and retain personal information that's necessary participants have right to remove data
63
debriefing
full explanation of what participant is involved in avoid evaluative statements consideer effects of self esteem provide contact details for follow up questions dont justify unethical/misleading experiments if psychological/physical problems arise, researcher must alert participants and refer to expert for treatment if needed
64
ethical issues in internet research
internet surveys or observation studies need to distinguish between internet chat rooms, private email and correspondence and instant messaging lack of interactivity poses issues: difficult to ensure informed consent, difficult to ensure adequate debrief, need to ensure confidentiality, widens access to study participants
65
stages in scientific investigation
obtain data, from sample taken from population descriptive statistics, reveal info lurking in data inferential statistics, use data from sample to reveal characteristics of population from which sample data selected
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descriptive statistics
summary statistics, means, medians, modes, describe typical performance frequency distribution, describe prevalence of different types of performance quantitative, frequency of scores of single variable qualitative, frequency for mutually exclusive categories
67
relative frequency distribution
comparing groups with different tools | rf= (cell total/overall total) x 100
68
raw frequency and relative frequency
graphs have same pattern, but different scales
69
normal distribution
mathematical abstraction which describes many frequency distributions in real life
70
properties of normal distribution
bell shaped asymptotic extremes symmetrical around means mean, median, mode have same value
71
skewed distribution
lack symmetry as mean median mode different values positively skewed-highest point to left of mean negatively skewed-highest point to right of mean skewed data distorts perception of mean solutions: use median to describe data, principled treatment of outliers
72
kurtosis
measure of tail heaviness mesokurtic distribution-like normal distribution positive/high kurtosis-fatter tails, more out outliers negative/low kurtosis-thinner tails, fewer outliers
73
type of statistics
descriptive-quantitative description of data, means, median, mode inferential-help decide whether or not any observed patterns in our data have occurred merely by chance
74
summary descriptives
measures of central tendency | measures of dispersion
75
measures of central tendency
mean median mode
76
mode
most frequent score in set of scores advantage: simple to calculate, only used with nominal data disadvantage: may be unrepresentative, misleading, more than one mode in set of scores
77
mean
add all scores together/total number scores advantage: uses information from every single score, resistant to sampling fluctuation disadvantage: susceptible to distortion from extreme scores
78
median
scores arranged in size, median is either the middle score or average of middle two scores advantage: resistant to distorting effects of extreme high or low scores disadvantages: ignore scores numerical value wasteful data, more susceptible to sampling fluctuations than the mean
79
measures of dispersion
range | standard deviation
80
range
difference between highest and lowest scores advantage: quick and easy to calculate, easy to understand disadvantage: unduly influenced by extreme scores, convey no information about spread of scores between highest and lowest scores
81
standard deviation
average difference of scores from the mean, bigger the SD the more scores differ from the mean and between themselves, less satisfactory the mean becomes as summary of data advantages: uses information from every score disadvantage: not intuitively easy to understand
82
complications of mean and SD
obtain mean and SD from sample, very rarely from parent population sometimes content to describe sample usually want to extrapolate to population sample mean is good estimate of population mean sample SD tends to underestimate population mean when using sample SD as estimate of population SD divide by (n-1) when using sample SD as description of sample divide by n
83
normal distribution and standard deviation
all normal curves share these properties 68% scores in range of mean +/- 1 SD 95% scores in range of mean +/- 2 SD 99.7% scores in range of mean +/- 3 SD
84
standard error of mean
SD of set of sample means how much variation within set of sample means standard error = SD/ square root of n if SE is small, obtained sample means more likely to be similar to true population mean increasing sample size reduces size of SE error bars show mean +/- 1 SD of mean
85
normal distribution
- mathematical abstraction whihc conveniently describes many frequency distributions of scores in real life - area under curve directly proportional to relative frequency of distribution - area under curve directly proportional to probabilities of observations - probabilities expressed as p values between 0 and 1
86
relationship between normal distribution and standard deviation
- standard deviation cuts off constant proportion of distribution of scores - 3 standard deviations on either side of mean
87
z-scores
standard scores - states position of raw scores in relation to mean distribution, using standard deviation as unit of measure - Z = raw score - mean / standard deviation
88
raw score distribution and Z-score distribution
raw score - X expressed in original units of measure | z score - X expressed in terms of its deviation from mean
89
why use Z scores
easier to compare scores from distributions using different scales -enable us to determine relationship between on score and rest of scores
90
logic of statistical tests
scores normally distributed around mean sample means normally distributed around population mean -differences between sample means are normally distributed around zero
91
central limit theorem
- sample means normally distributed around population mean, regardless if actual shape of population itself - any given sample mean can be expressed in terms of how much it differs from population mean - deviation from mean is same as probability of occurrence
92
Type 1 and Type 2 errors
type 1: FALSE POSITIVE, falsely reject null as believe experimental manipulation had effect when it didn't - type 2: FALSE NEGATIVE, falsely retain null hypothesis as believe experimental hypothesis has not had an effect when it has - any observed differences between two sample means could in principle be either 'real' or due to chance, never tell for certain - larger the difference, less unlikely to be by chance
93
0.05 significance level
- set probability of making type 1 error at 0.05 | - accept difference between two samples as 'real' if difference of size likely to occur by chance, 5% of time
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summary of typical experimental procedure and analysis
- perform experiment, find mean of each sample and difference between means - assume null hypothesis and two samples are still from same population - assess probability of obtaining by chance a difference between sample means - if probability of 0.05 or smaller reject null hypothesis, if bigger than 0.05 then accept null hypothesis