Psychology Ch. 2

Question 1

Hypothesis

Answer 1

An educated guess or prediction.

Question 2

Construct

Answer 2

An idea or concept that we can’t see or touch. It’s a way of talking about things that are a bit tricky to measure directly. For example, when we talk about “intelligence” or “happiness,” these are constructs because we can’t see them, but we use tests or observations to understand or guess if they’re there.

Question 3

Operational definition

Answer 3

Giving a clear, specific description of something so that researchers can measure or observe it in a study. It’s a way of turning abstract concepts or ideas into something concrete and measurable.

Construct : Anxiety

Operational Definition : sweaty palms, racing heart beat etc..

Question 4

Independent variable

Answer 4

The thing in an experiment that is getting manipulated.

e.g., if they want to see how studying time influences test scores, the independent variable would be the amount of time spent studying. They’re testing if changes in this variable (studying time) cause changes in another variable (test scores).

Question 5

Dependent variable

Answer 5

The thing in an experiment that is getting measured

e.g., researchers want to find out if changes in the amount of time spent studying (independent variable) have an impact on the test scores (dependent variable).

Question 6

Descriptive research

Answer 6

Taking a close look and describing what’s happening without trying to change anything. It’s about observing, asking questions, or studying one thing in detail. For example, instead of changing how people behave, it just watches and documents their actions to understand them better. It’s like trying to take a snapshot of a situation to see what’s going on.

Question 7

Survey

Answer 7

A set of questions that people answer to provide information about their opinions, experiences, or behaviors. It’s a way of collecting data from a group of individuals to understand what they think or do.

Question 8

Case study

Answer 8

Zooming in really close to study one specific thing, like a person, a group, or an event. It’s like telling a very detailed story about that thing, using lots of information from different sources. This helps psychologists understand the thing in a deep and thorough way. It’s like taking a close-up look to learn everything there is to know about it.

Question 9

Correlational study

Answer 9

Looking to see if there’s a connection or relationship between two things. It involves examining whether changes in one variable are associated with changes in another variable. However, it’s important to note that correlation doesn’t imply causation; just because two things are related doesn’t mean one causes the other.

Question 10

Directionality problem

Answer 10

That when you observe a relationship between two variables (let’s call them A and B), you can’t be sure if A is causing B, if B is causing A

Question 11

Causal claims

Answer 11

Like a clear cause-and-effect connection between two things. If one thing changes, it directly makes the other thing change too. For example, if you press a button (cause), a light turns on (effect). There’s a clear link between what you do (cause) and what happens as a result (effect

Question 12

Third-variable problem

Answer 12

If there’s another factor (variable C) influencing both A and B. It’s like saying, “There’s a connection between A and B, but we need to consider the possibility that something else is going on that we haven’t figured out yet.”

Question 13

Correlation coefficient

Answer 13

A number that tells us how strong and in which direction two variables are related (goes from -1 to +1)

+1 is a perfect positive correlation -As one variable increases, the other variable increases at a constant rate.

-1 indicates a perfect negative correlation. As one variable increases, the other decreases at a constant rate.

0 means no correlation; the variables do not have a linear relationship.

Question 14

Experiment

Answer 14

Scientific investigation designed to test a hypothesis and understand cause-and-effect relationships. It involves manipulating two or more variables to observe the effect on another variable while keeping all other factors constant.

Question 15

Random assignment

Answer 15

Flipping a fair coin to decide which participants end up in the experimental group and which ones go into the control group. It’s a way of making sure that each participant has an equal chance of being in either group.

Question 16

confound

Answer 16

A sneaky variable that messes up an experiment by influencing the results in a way that wasn’t intended. It’s an outside factor that can confuse or confound the interpretation of the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable

Question 17

Random sample

Answer 17

Picking participants for a study in a way that gives everyone in the population an equal chance of being chosen. It’s like drawing names out of a hat, where each person has a fair and random shot at being included in the study.

Question 18

Quasi-experiment

Answer 18

Random assignment is not possible

e.g., Students receiving a new teaching method (experimental group) and the other continuing with the usual method (control group).

Due to practical constraints or ethical considerations (maybe it’s not feasible to change the teaching method for certain students)

Question 19

Field experiment

Answer 19

Bringing the experiment to the real world to observe how people naturally respond to changes in their environment. (there still is a random assignment.)

Question 20

Reliability

Answer 20

Checking whether a test or measurement consistently gives the same results when used multiple times or by different people. It’s about ensuring that the tool you’re using to measure something is dependable and produces reliable information.

Question 21

Interrater reliability

Answer 21

Checking if different people, or raters, agree on their observations or evaluations of the same thing. It’s a measure of consistency among multiple raters to ensure that their judgments are reliable and not influenced by individual biases.

Question 22

Test-retest reliability

Answer 22

Checking if a measurement or test produces consistent results over time. It involves administering the same test or measure to the same group of individuals on two separate occasions and then comparing the results to see if they are consistent.

Question 23

Replication

Answer 23

Conducting the same study or experiment again to see if you get similar results. It’s a crucial process in scientific research to verify the reliability and validity of findings.

Question 24

Mean

Answer 24

Adding up all the values in a data set and then dividing the sum by the number of values.

Question 25

Median

Answer 25

Represents the middle value in a set of data when it’s arranged in numerical order

Question 26

WEIRD samples

Answer 26

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic.
The majority of participants come from these specific demographic characteristics.

Question 27

Informed consent

Answer 27

Getting permission from someone before involving them in a study or giving them a medical treatment.

Question 28

Debriefing

Answer 28

A conversation that happens after someone participates in a research study. It’s a chance for researchers to provide more information, address any concerns, and ensure that participants leave the study feeling informed and comfortable.

Question 29

Parsimonious

Answer 29

Refers to the preference for simplicity in explanations or theories.

Question 30

Intergroup Contact Theory

Answer 30

(Pettigrew, 1998) suggests that positive contact between members of different social groups can lead to a reduction in prejudice and intergroup hostility.

Question 31

Social Comparison Theory

Answer 31

(Festinger, 1954) says that people naturally compare themselves to others to figure out how good they are at things, especially when it’s hard to measure on your own.

Question 32

Social Learning Theory

Answer 32

(Bandura, 1977) we can learn by watching others, even if we don’t copy them exactly or get rewarded for it. It emphasizes the importance of thinking and understanding in the learning process (kids observing siblings in trouble and not doing it themselves.)

Question 33

External validity

Answer 33

Talking about how well the findings of the study can be generalized to a larger population

Question 34

Internal validity

Answer 34

How well has the study established a cause and effect relationship between variables (the changes in the dependent are caused by the independent)
E.g., no sleep group, little sleep , no sleep (test performance)
How well are all those variables linked to each other

(doesthe amount of sleep effect our test scores)

Question 35

Construct validity

Answer 35

Talking about what you are measuring
If measuring intelligence levels but made them do a math test (is that math test showing intelligence?)
How accurately have the variables been operationalized and assessed.

Question 36

Descriptive statistics

Answer 36

Numbers that describe your data (mean, median, mode etc…

Question 37

Validity

Answer 37

accuracy - how confident we are in conclusions

Question 38

Reliability

Answer 38

Consistency of some measure

Question 39

Inferential statistics

Answer 39

allow us to extend conclusions from a sample to a population
Make inferences based on data.
e.g., based of this data we predict that between 35% + 55% of college students. use practice problems to study.

Question 40

what does it mean when a study fails to replicate?

Answer 40

Some study comes out and someone attempts to replicate it – what are different and plausible explanations is there some factor that is different?

Question 41

Naturalistic observations

Answer 41

Where researchers observe and study behavior in its natural environment without any manipulation or intervention

Question 42

Participant observation

Answer 42

Active observation. The researcher is actively involved in the situation.

e.g., A researcher wanting to study a religious community. Instead of just observing from a distance, the researcher might actively participate in religious ceremonies, rituals, and daily activities, all while taking detailed notes on their experiences and interactions.

Question 43

Laboratory observation

Answer 43

Systematic observations are made within a laboratory setting
(rather than in the ‘real world’).

e.g., Researchers can manipulate variables like lighting, sound, or the presence of others to systematically observe and measure participants’ responses under controlled conditions. This allows for a more focused and controlled study of specific behaviors.

Question 44

The Hawthorn effect

Answer 44

Alteration of human behavior when individuals are aware that they are being observed. It is named after studies conducted at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago

e.g., The manager informs employees that their work will be closely observed and measured to assess the impact of the new evaluation method. The employees become aware that they are being studied, and as a result, they may change their behavior.

Question 45

Reactivity

Answer 45

The phenomenon where individuals alter their behavior when they are aware of being observed or studied.

Question 46

Observer/experimenter bias

Answer 46

When the person conducting a study unintentionally lets their expectations or beliefs affect the results. This can happen because they might treat participants differently based on what they expect to happen, or they might interpret the results in a way that matches what they already think.

Question 47

self-report bias, socially desirability bias, better- than - average.

Answer 47

People not always giving accurate information about themselves, social desirability bias involves responding in a way that is socially acceptable, and the “better-than-average” effect is the tendency for individuals to view themselves more positively than the average person in various aspects.

Question 48

Double-blind experiment

Answer 48

A research design in which neither the participants nor the experimenters (those interacting with participants and collecting data) know the details of the experimental conditions. This is done to minimize biases and ensure objectivity in the study.

Question 49

Scientific theory

Answer 49

must be testable (has to be something we can go into the world and test) and its needs to be falsifiable needs to be possible to disprove that theory (you could make an observation to disprove that- if you cannot then it is not a scientific theory.)

Question 50

A study can NEVER be

Answer 50

Valid but not reliable