SP Units 1-4

Question 1

Hypotheses

Answer 1

These are the predicted outcomes of an investigation, usually based on theory or previous research.

Question 2

Qualitative Studies

Answer 2

These are more exploratory and descriptive in nature. Typically, they aim to find out people’s motivations, opinions and reasons for behaving in a particular way, through techniques such as focus groups, interviews and observations.

Question 3

Quantitative Studies

Answer 3

These use objective measurements and the statistical analyses of data. They are often used to measure people’s attitudes, opinions or behaviours, through techniques such as correlational studies, surveys, and rating scales.

Question 4

Replication

Answer 4

This means that the results of one study could be repeated in another laboratory or by another researcher, using the same method. By repeating a study and finding the same (or similar) results, the study is found to be consistent and higher in reliability.

Question 5

Reliability / statistical reliability

Answer 5

Reliability is an examination of how consistent and stable the results of an assessment are.
This is important as it means that the results are an accurate representation of what is being measured, rather than being a product of unintentional factors or random errors.

Question 6

Critical Thinking

Answer 6

the process of assessing claims and making judgements on the basis of reasonable evidence.

What am I being asked to believe or accept?

What evidence is available to support this assertion?

Are there alternative ways of interpreting this evidence?

What additional evidence would help evaluate the alternatives?

Question 7

operational definition

Answer 7

a statement that defines the exact methods or operation used in research.

Question 8

variable (in research)

Answer 8

a factor or characteristic that is manipulated or measured in research

Question 9

validity / statistical validity

Answer 9

the degree to which evidence from a test or other research method measures what it is supposed to measure.

Question 10

confirmation bias

Answer 10

the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.

Question 11

“pop”/popular psychologists

Answer 11

self-proclaimed experts that seek to popularize oversimplified solutions without concern for validity, evidence, or evidence that conflicts their theories

Question 12

the law of parsimony

Answer 12

simplicity. The idea that when there are many conflicting theories the simplest one is often correct, throughout the history of science.

Question 13

observational methods

Answer 13

procedures for systematically watching behaviour in order to summarize it for scientific analysis

Question 14

naturalistic observation

Answer 14

the process of watching without interfering as phenomenon occurs in its natural environment

Question 15

case study

Answer 15

a research method involving intense examination of a specific phenomenon (a particular group, individual or situation)

Question 16

survey

Answer 16

a research method that includes giving people a questionnaire or a special interview designed to obtain descriptions of their attitudes, beliefs, opinions or intentions

Question 17

correlational studies

Answer 17

research methods that examine relationships between variables in order to analyze trends in data

Question 18

correlation, positive correlation, negative correlation, strength of correlation

Answer 18

in research, the degree to which one variable is related to another. A positive correlation (+) means that the variables increase or decrease together. A negative correlation (-) means the variables move in opposite directions. The strength of the correlation determines how much one variable can help you predict the other. A correlation coefficient is a number between 0.00 and 1.00 that describes the strength of the correlation, for example -0.02 would be a weak negative and -1.00 would be the strongest negative.

Question 19

experiment

Answer 19

a study in which the researcher directly controls one variable and then observes the effect of that manipulation on another variable, while holding all other variables constant

Question 20

experimental group

Answer 20

in an experiment, the group that receives the experimental treatment

Question 21

control group

Answer 21

in an experiment, the group that receives no treatment or provides some other baseline against which to compare the performance or response of the experimental group

Question 22

independent variable

Answer 22

The variable directly controlled by the researcher in an experiment.

Question 23

dependent variable

Answer 23

In an experiment, the factor measured to see whether or not it has been affected by the independent variable.

Question 24

confound

Answer 24

In an experiment, any factor that affects the dependent variable, along with or instead of the independent variable

Question 25

random variable

Answer 25

In an experiment, a confound in which uncontrolled or uncontrollable factors affect the dependent variable, along with or instead of the independent variable.

Question 26

randomizing

Answer 26

assigning participants in an experiment to groups randomly to help ensure that random variables are evenly distributed

Question 27

placebo

Answer 27

A physical or psychological treatment that contains no active ingredient but produces an effect because the person receiving it believes it will.

Question 28

experimenter bias

Answer 28

A confound that occurs when an experimenter unintentionally encourages participants to respond in a way that supports the experimenter’s hypothesis

Question 29

Valence (also: Hedonic Tone)

Answer 29

the affective quality referring to the intrinsic attractiveness/”good”-ness (positive valence) or averseness/”bad”-ness (negative valence) of an event, object, or situation

Question 30

External Validity

Answer 30

the extent to which you can generalize the findings of a study to other situations, people, settings, and measures.

Question 31

Ecological Validity

Answer 31

a measure of how test performance predicts behaviors in real-world settings.

Question 32

Reliability

Answer 32

the consistency of the findings or results of a psychology research study. If findings or results remain the same or similar over multiple attempts, a researcher often considers it reliable

Question 33

Predictive (about a theory)

Answer 33

how much a theory helps to make informed assumptions about what might happen in similar future events

Question 34

influence (about a theory)

Answer 34

The way a theory supports, adds to or challenges existing theories or provokes further lines of research

Question 35

integrative complexity

Answer 35

the extent to which a person’s thinking is open-ended and flexible.

Question 36

Heuristics

Answer 36

assumptions and biases that guide our decision making about certain events, especially when they are uncertain. Like rules of thumb or cognitive shortcuts, they help us save mental energy but process less information (not taking into account the full picture).

Question 37

counterfactual thinking

Answer 37

• considering other possibilities than the present reality
  
  • upward counterfactual thinking: imagining better possible outcomes
  • downward counterfactual thinking: imagining worse possible outcomes

Question 38

stereotype

Answer 38

prototypes that are shared by a social group

Question 39

prototype

Answer 39

a standard we have in our minds by which we compare other items of that category, a ‘mental image’

Question 40

schemata (plural) schema (singular)

Answer 40

mental structures that an individual uses to organize knowledge and guide cognitive processes and behaviour. People use schemata (the plural of schema) to categorize objects and events based on common elements and characteristics and thus interpret and predict the world

Question 41

attribution: internal/external, stable/unstable

Answer 41

inferences that people make about the causes of events and behavior.

Internal: because of a trait, ability or inability

external: because of luck, a situation, etc.

stable internal: ability
unstable internal: effort
stable external: help
unstable external: luck

Question 42

area of the brain that processes impression formation

Answer 42

dorsomedial prefrontal cortex

Question 43

Representativeness Heuristic:

Answer 43

a mental shortcut to predict the probability of something based on its similarity to a category we are familiar with. For example, thinking that because someone is wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase, they must be a lawyer because they look like the stereotype of a lawyer.

Question 44

Availability heuristic:

Answer 44

a cognitive shortcut that allows us to draw upon information about how quickly information comes to mind about a particular event, to deduce the frequency or likelihood of that event.

Question 45

Anchoring/adjustment heuristic:

Answer 45

a cognitive heuristic that makes us place weight upon ini­tial standards/schemas (anchors) and as a result means we may not always adjust sufficiently far from these anchors to provide accurate judgements.

Question 46

Base rate information:

Answer 46

information that gives us an idea about how frequent certain categories are in the general population.

Base rates are a statistic used to describe the percentage of a population that demonstrates some characteristic. Base rates indicate probability based on the absence of other information.

Question 47

Cognitive miser:

Answer 47

a view of people as being often limited in processing capacity and apt to take shortcuts where possible to make life simple. (Fiske & Taylor 1991; 2008)

Question 48

stereotype threat

Answer 48

“socially premised psychological threat that arises when one is in a situation or doing something for which a negative stereotype about one’s group applies”- Steele & Aronson, 1995)

Question 49

Vulnerability Response (in the context of stereotype threat)

Answer 49

respones exhibited by those victimized by stereotype threat, such as underperformance, disengagement, disidentification

Question 50

the actor-observer asymmetry

Answer 50

• actors explain their own behavior differently than an observer would
• actors prefer external explanations, but observers prefer dispositional explanations

this is different than the fundamental attribution error (FAE) which is mostly about trait inferences from behaviour, where as actor-observer asymmetry is about the explanations of behaviour

Question 51

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

Answer 51

the tendency for people to over-emphasize dispositional, or personality-based explanations for behaviors observed in others while under-emphasizing situational explanations.

Basically to assume that a person’s actions depend on what “kind” of person that person is rather than on the social and environmental forces that influence the person.