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research meathods Flashcards

1
Q

what is the key to research?

A

systematic and controlled research strategies

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2
Q

What does the scientific method examine?

A

knowledge

*knowledge is a moving target and is constantly changing

*ideas and theories are put to the test

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3
Q

empiricism

A

the belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation

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4
Q

scietific method

A

a set of principles about the appropriate relationship between ideas and evidence

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5
Q

theory

A

a hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomena

final step

Ex. alcohol intoxication impairs driving skills

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6
Q

what is the rule of parsimony? what does it apply to?

A

it means to keep it simple and

expand and get more complicated later on

applied to theories

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7
Q

hypothesis

A

a falsifiable predicition made by a theory

*should be proven wrong otherwise it is NOT science

Ex. preople who are intoxicated will show less motor coordination

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8
Q

4 main goals of the scientific method

A
  1. description (what happens)
  2. predicition (when it happens)
  3. causal control (what causes it to happen)
  4. explanation (why it happens)
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9
Q

what is the most complicated task in the scientific meathod?

A

getting data

*complex human targets make getting data hard because one must decide how to operationally define, gather data, and assess

Example: measuring seconds a person can balancing on 1 leg while drinking

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10
Q

What are the types of studies/ data collection methods in pysch research?

A
  1. descriptive research methods
  2. correlation methods
  3. experimental methods
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11
Q

what are the types of descriptive research methods?

A
  1. case studies
  2. naturalistic observation
  3. surveys
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12
Q

what is a case study?

A

careful description based on repeated observations

examine individual lives

Ex. Freud, Sacks, and clinical studies

Sacks cases helped understand neuropsychology

an unquiet mind helps explore bipolar disorder

*cannot always generalize- only know one person’s experience, large groups are washed out amid views of some individuals

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13
Q

what is a naturalistic observation? what is an example?

A

ethnology researches - understanding people within culture and observing them in their natural setting

they have “ecological validity”

Ex. under what circumstances will people help others? when do people do bad things?

with a drugged drink people did not do anything - then as an observation people try to find out cognitive reasons for why/ why this doesn’t happen

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14
Q

what bias exist in naturalistic observation?

A

no bias- people/ subjects behave the same way they normally would have in their normal setting

it is a technique for gathering scientific info by unobtrusively observing people in natural environments

*however, in some studies it is not always unobtrusice

ex. Jane Goodall

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15
Q

What are the descriptive research data collection methods?

A
  1. observing
  2. asking through surveys and interviews
  3. case studies for examining individual lives
  4. observing what we cannot ask or observe directly - response performance measures stimulus processing and body and brain activity can be directly measured
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16
Q

what are demand characteristics?

A

those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think they should

**can impair the way we act and can negatively effect results

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17
Q

what is an observer bias?

A

expectations that can influence observations and influence perceptions of reality

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18
Q

what is the hawthorne effect?

A

designed to observe people who worked at factories and see how lighting affects productivity

BUT workers wroked harder the entire time because they were being observed

*can’t sort out factors and truths because of demand characteristics

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19
Q

response performance - what can researchers measure to measure stimulus processing?

A
  1. reaction time (how fast)
  2. response accuracy
  3. stimulus judgements

*NOT relying on self-report

Ex. color test - reaction time and accuracy will slow slightly - interference (cognitively processing info differently)

*pyschos don’t slow reaction time

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20
Q

What does a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) measure?

A

scans blood flow in the subject’s brain under different conditions - sees what is activated

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21
Q

What does an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) measure?

A

provides very high quality images of intact human brains

static image to look at the structure of the brain and helps find out info if needed

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22
Q

What does an FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) measure?

A

different parts of brain light up for certain activities

therefore we can see how we respond to stimuli

*pyschos show no disgust when shown violence, instead language portion of brain lights up

*munks also have different parts that light up (different parts of brain are activated)

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23
Q

What was the Diallo case?

A

west african man matches description for a wanted parist

man reached for wallet in his pocket when they told him to freeze (he was unarmed)

shot and killed - prejudice biases

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24
Q

In Diallo case - racism played a role in shooting. What part of the brain is activiated? how do we know?

A

Fmri scan shows for some subjects unfamiliar black faces AMYGDALA is activated

amygdala is the fear/threat center of the brain

*however fmri data does not apply to all (use IAT)

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25
What is IAT?
implicit attitude (association) test indirectly assess how people associate postivie/negative words with certain people negative attitudes on IAT more likely to show activated amygdala with unfamiliar black faces Ex. work/male and female/family test to test how women fit in work place and african american/bad and american/good test to test racism
26
What is IAT useful for (traning purposes?)
police officers can change police training to address implicit attitudes that can contribute to negative response to blacks can retrain officers to reduce tendency Ex. implicit pairing of black faces with gun and white faces with wrench
27
What are the main issues with the scientific method and implementing research?
how to measure? who to sample? how to avoid measurement bias? how to avoid sampling bias?
28
what are 2 important types of measurement bias?
sampling bias - shouldn't generalize people in a group expectancy bias - shouldn't rely on expectancy (leads to distorion of research)
29
What are some examples of sampling bias?
hawthorne effect oprah survey about cheating on husbands - who would send their info to this survey, who are the readers? males only for drugs for genders college students
30
How can you minimize the effects of sampling bias?
1. random sampling (example: calling random people from the telephone book - represents population) 2. representative populations \***generalization targets** must be carefully specified - interferences should be qualified based on the sample employed \* in researches want people who are randomly selected, randomly assigned, and representing the population to which researchers want to generalize
31
what is an expectancy bias?
systematic error resulting from... 1. observers or experimenter expectancies 2. subject or research respondent expectancies
32
what are observer/ experimenter expectancy effects?
when the person collecting the data is aware of the research hypothesis and the experimental condition in which the subjects are placed data collection can therefore be biased Ex. animal experiment with rats - people who thought their rats were smarter thought their rats went faster (results based on expectancies) HOWEVER both groups had average rats
33
What does subject expectancy effect?
subjects attempt to understand the research they are involved with... so they develop a hypothesis and their beliefs invariably influence their performance \*\*expectancy influences outcome
34
How can you control observer AND subject expectancies within experiments?
both must be eliminated for MAXIMAL validity blind experiments (don't know desired outcomes, no expectations!) blind subjects double blind (controlling observer and participant expectancy effects so no one knows)
35
How can blind experiments be successful?
train experimenters to be consistent give subjects explicit instructions to "guide" expectancies and to get everyone on the same page so everyone has the same info add extra control groups and compare opposing expectancies \*control group is NOT exposed to conditions but come into labs to check (so no biases form) \*placebo
36
How was the anger video accurate in its research?
random assignment of people essays were controlled - not their personal essays, all given the same response measure anger through blasting white noise - objective RESULTS: saw difference in groups and had an independent variable that changed aggression (punching bag) \*problem in the real world is that situations are hard to define
37
what is the ultimate goal of scientific research?
discovery of casual relationships between properties - studying patterns of variation in a series of measurements \*variables
38
what is a variable?
a property whose value can vary across individuals over time
39
what does a correlational design reflect? how is it expressed?
the association between 2 variables expressed as a coefficient of association (r) which varies from +1 to -1 +1 is a perfect postivite correlation (both increase together) -1 is a perfect negative correlation (as one increases the other decreases) None is no relationship Ex. += gpa and sat scores, -= hours of sleep vs. age, none = house plants vs. brushing teeth
40
what is the best way to represent correlations?
scatterplot data
41
What 2 problems interfere with causation and correlational data?
1. directionality problem 2. the thrid variable problem
42
what is the directionality problem?
which causes which? ex. does depression cause impaired sleep OR does impaired sleep cause depression neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin have moderate negative correlation with level of clinical depression (N and S decrease, depression increases) BUT what causes what?
43
what is the third variable problem?
the 3rd factor that influences relationships - makes it look like another factor is causing it ex. family conflicts causing either impaired sleep or depression?
44
does correlation imply causation?
NO corrlational data can suggest causes BUT are insufficient grounds for casual interference - can NOT be sure of causes only know there is a reason to explore further and find cause
45
examples of correlations - NOT implying causation
polio outbreaks in summer (increased levels of sugar and ice cream) - thought sugar caused polio outbreaks BUT heat was the real cause 3rd variable - heat caused polio and ice cream consumption heavy smokers - sudents who are heavy smokers were more likely for mental health problems 10 cigs caused greater depression and higher anxiety implied causation that smoking causes mental health problems early BUT do people use smoking to cope? or is it due to a 3rd factor (like upbringing?)
46
Why is correlational research important? what can it tell us?
can suggest causation can then build a causal model with an interesting correlation and test that model with experimentation we can move closer to understanding the cause - find out what is causing what
47
how is experiment different from descriptive research?
an experiment attempts to establish cause/ test causal theories an experiment involves manipulating conditions NOT just describing
48
What are the core features of experimental methods?
independent variables dependent variables random sampling from representative populations- the more random the better! random assignment to conditions or treatments efforts to "control" or minimize extraneous/ irrelevant factors
49
what is an independent variable?
variables that change (the variables we manipulate) \*\*want to have control over as many factors as we can to have the most accurate results Ex. for anger experiment - punching bag or no punching bag
50
what is a dependent variable?
the outcome variable Ex. anger experiment - level of white noise blasted into the other person's ear
51
what is the goal of using independent variables?
experimenter "control" is the central features GOAL is this to be the only thing that varies - minimize the possibilty than anything other than the independent variable Ex. anger experiment - the only thing that varied was the punching bag (same essays were used and same responses were given)
52
what is a confounder?
anything affecting a dependent variable that may unintentionally vary between different experimental conditions of a study \*different than 3rd variable problem but is similar
53
how are dependent variables measured in relation to independent variables?
they are the outcome variables in research research question is if we manipulate IVs, what happens to DVs \*they depend on, be the "effects" of, or be "caused" by IVs
54
what is an example of manipulation?
exposure to media violence, lack of adult supervision, and aggressiveness - is adult supervision a 3rd variable? experimental group exposed to violence control group not exposed 1st experiment - just measured media violence and aggression 2nd experiment controlled for 3rd variable - added adult supervision, although some were supervised/ not supervised same results resulted increased confidence that media violence may be the cause - need more evidence though
55
when is statistical significance determined?
when we calculate the odds that random assignment as failed, through ingerential statistics \*95% chance level of research is meaningful! not as random finding NOT accepted unless that chance is less that 5% (p\<.05)
56
what is internal validity?
the characteristic of an experiment that established the causal relationship between variables checks if the way we set up experiment is valid
57
what is external validity?
the property of an experiment in which the variables have been operationally defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way checks to see if they are representive of the real world - is the way we measured variables meaningful? ex. noise blasting in the anger study
58
what are the hallmarks of good research?
systematic data collection procedures have standardization of procedure and reliablity and replicability careful specification of theoretical terms careful specification of operational "variables" effort to tie tems/ variables to "observable" events
59
what is mindfulness meditation?
accepting the present moment, just as it is, pleasant or unpleasant without clinging or rejecting mindfulness = the aware, balanced acceptance of the present
60
what were the questions asked for the mindfulness research study?
are people who meditate happier, more compassionate, etc? can meditation move your happiness set point?
61
what were the theories/ hypothesis regarding meditation?
meditation can change the functioning of the brain - people feel better fmri scan show different parts of brain functioning - brain wired differently? left prefrontal cortex is associated with positive emotions VS right prefrontal cortex associated with negative emotions meditation activate left side of brain? strengthens left side?
62
who is davidson? what is Davidson's hypothesis?
davidson = uw neuropyschologist studied what is meditation and how can we improve mood? hypothesis - that we can think of emotions, moods, and states such as compassion as trainable mental skills Ex. meditation
63
Davidson's research (2003)
study: madison, bio tech firm sample: employess of biotechfirm - 8 week program IV = mindfulness training DV = outcome variables/ results decrease in negative affect and anxiety, increase in left sided pre-frontal, increasein fluenza vaccine antibody titers (strengthening of immune system increased) people in waitlist lowered strength - everyone else who wasn't in experiment was on a waitlist
64
CONCLUSIONS
various methods for gaining scientific knowledge experimental knowledge is crucial to causal understanding even carefully designed experiments yield results subject to multiple interpretations need critical thinking and scientific humility - scientific knowledge is a process
65
most important parts of doing an experiment
how do we refine? observe/ ask questions explore correlations examine processes we can't see manipulate variables/ experiment examine results what are other explanations?
66
empirical method
set of rules and techniques for observation
67
what is the difference between methods of observation and explanation?
observation - determine what people do explanation - why people do it
68
what are the 3 things that make people hard to study?
variability reactivity complexity
69
what is an operational definition?
a description of a property in concrete, measureable terms
70
EMG
electromyograph - device that measures muscle contractions under the surface of a person's skin
71
what must good measures have?
validity - the extent to which a measurement and a porperty are conceptually related reliability - tendency for a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing power - the ability of a measure to detect the concrete conditions specified in the operational definition
72
what can expectations influence?
observations and reality
73
what is frequency distribution?
graphic representation of measurements arranged by the number of times each measure was made
74
normal distribution
frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the middle also known as bell curve/ Gaussian distribution
75
central tendency
statements about the value of measurements that tend to lie near the center or midpoint of the frequency distribution
76
mean
average value of all measurements
77
median
value in the middle
78
mode
the value of the most frequently observed measurement
79
range
value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement
80
standard deviation
statistic that describes the average difference between the measurements in a frequency distribution and the mean of the distribution
81
what does the correlation coefficient measure?
both direction and strength of the relationship between 2 variables
82
matched samples technique
a technique whereby the participants of 2 groups are identical in terms of third variable
83
what is an experiment? what are the 2 key features?
technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables key features are manipulation and random assignment
84
manipulation
creation of an arificial pattern of variation in a variable in order to determine is causal powers
85
self-selection
problem that occurs when anything about a person determines wether he or she will be included in the experimental or control group
86
population
the complete collection of participants who might possibly be measured
87
sample
partial collection of people drawn from a population
88
case method
method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual
89
random sampling allows us to
generalize from the sample to the population
90
what are the most important rules of conducting research?
informed consent - written agreement freedom from coercion protection from harm risk-benefit analysis deception debriefing - verbal description of the true nature and purpose of the study confidentiality
91
protection of animals
procedures must be supervised by pyschologists must minimize discomfort, infection, pain, illness only use pain when there is no alternative proper anesthesia
92
what does pyschology work on?
the honors system \*can't fabricate results, mislead by omission \*obligated to share data and give proper credit where needed

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