skills of life Flashcards
does success in school, as in grades, predict your real world success
no
best predictor of real world grades
extracurricular activities
what percent of information could the brightest students in school remember
19%
most high school students do not give what
quality work
what color is mr schmitt and why
blue, because
degree of relationship between 2 or more values
correlation
variables change in the same direction
positive correlation
variables change in opposite direction
negative correlation
confusing correlation with causation
disadvantage of correlations research
most widely used method in psychology
experimental research
advantages of experimental research
permits best control of conditions and provides for most accurate measurement
allows for explanation of causation
possible explanation of events to be tested; a testable prediction (if… then…)
hypothesis
a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study
operational definition
participants in an experiment
subjects
an event, behavior, condition, or characteristic that has two or more values
variables
the experiment factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied
stimulus
cause
independent variable
the outcome factor; the variables that may change in response to manipulations of the IV
response
effect
dependent variable
a variable whose unwanted effect on the DV might be confused with that of the IV
cause serious problems in interpreting outcome of study
if do not control CVs, can’t be sure which variables caused response
confounding variable
group of subjects exposed to experimental condition
receive the IV
experimental group
comparison group of subjects who are not exposed to the experimental condition
no IV
control group
minimizes preexisting differences between groups
random assignment
two ways to create groups
match up experimental and control group members in relevant areas
random assignment
an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events
theory
tendency of people who know they are subjects in a study to behave differently than they normally would
participant bias
tendency of subjects in some experiments to respond to almost any change
hawthorne effect
college students and volunteers
unrepresentative sample
tendency of experiments to let their expectancies alter the way they treat their subjects
experimented bias effect
tendency of subjects to behave in accordance with expirimenter expectancy; one persons prediction of another’s behavior somehow comes true
robert rosenthals experiment
self fulfilling prophecy
procedure that controls experimenter and participant bias by preventing experimenters and subjects from knowing which participants have been assigned to particular conditions
double blend technique
can the results be generalized
yes
important to obtain informed consent and debrief subjects at conclusion of experiment
ethical treatment
easier to control potential CVs; can control behavior to a greater extent
shorter life spans and reproduce more rapidly
research on animals can generate hypothese that are then tested using humans
certain procedures not ethically permissible with humans are ethically permissible with animals
advantages of animal subjects
researchers must ensure the comfort, health, and humane treatment of animals and minimize infection, illness, and pain
APA ethical standards for treatment of animals
what percent of psychologists use animals
5%
observe and record behavior in the natural environment
need to be unobtrusive
naturalist observation
advantage of naturalistic observation
normal environment= true behavior
disadvantages of naturalistic observation
can’t generalize results until investigated
tells what happened but not why
obtain objective descriptions of background forces that may have influenced an individuals development
case studies
widely used in clinical and counseling psych
obtain info on family background, jone life, neighborhood activities, school experiences, health, work, etc
case studies
advantages to case studies
useful as a starting point in understanding and helping an individual
one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
disadvantages to case studies
may not be able to generalize results to others
can not determine the particular variables that caused the behavior being studied
info obtained may be partial and biased
a series of questions to collect info about subjects
questionnaire
written surveys
surveys
advantages to surveys
treat results statistically
disadvantages to surveys
dishonesty and social desirability
wording effects (how question is asked)
effect of social-cultural differences between subjects
low percentage of returns
unrepresentative sample of total population
random sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
random sample
obtain info through conversation
interviews
disadvantages to interviews
personal prejudice of interviewer
difficulty of expressing results in exact terms
a formal sample of a persons behavior
interest inventories, attitudes, abilities, intelligence, creativity, personality
psychological tests
test is administered and scored in a consistent manner; uses norms-standards used to compare scores
standardization
degree to which a test gives consistent results
reliability
extent to which a test measured what it is supposed to measure
validity
advantages to psychological tests
provides more objective data than previous methods
results expressed in statistical terms
can compare individual scores with the large group
helps make unbiased decisions
disadvantages to psychological tests
problems with standardization,reliability, and validity
provides only one source of data- use results with caution
systematic examination of collections of letters, manuscripts, video and tape recordings, or other records
archival research
advantages to archival research
valuable source of historical info
disadvantages to archival research
does not permit definite casual statements about findings
where does trivia sometimes show up
archives of the history of american psychology
university of akron
