Test 1: Research Methods

Question 1

Three things that make people especially difficult to study:

Answer 1

Complexity, variability, reactivity

Question 2

Case Studies

Answer 2

• Detailed description of an individual
• Observations, formal psychological testing, drawings, clinical interviews, questionnaires, family interviews
• ex- Genie

Question 3

Observational Study

Answer 3

Researcher observes, measures, records behavior while trying to avoid intruding on the people being observed

Question 4

Naturalistic Observation

Answer 4

observe people in natural setting (home, school)

Question 5

Laboratory Observation

Answer 5

researchers have more control over situation

Question 6

Problems with Observational Studies?

Answer 6

• Mere presence of researchers and equipment will change how people behave
• only correlational and not causal

Question 7

Psychological Tests (Assessments)

Answer 7

Measure personality traits, emotional states, IQ, abilities

Question 8

Test-retest reliability

Answer 8

Give people the same test twice

Question 9

Alternate-forms reliability

Answer 9

Give people two versions of the same test

Question 10

Reliability

Answer 10

produce same result across time, place, and scorer

Question 11

Validity

Answer 11

it must measure what it sets out to measure

Question 12

Construct validity

Answer 12

items broadly represent the trait in question

Question 13

Predictive validity

Answer 13

ability to predict other measures of the trait in question, related traits

Question 14

Power

Answer 14

the ability of a measure to detect differences

Question 15

Surveys

Answer 15

questionnaires and interviews that gather info by asking people directly about their experiences, attitudes, opinions.

Question 16

Representative sample

Answer 16

a group of participants that accurately represents the larger population the researcher wishes to describe.

Question 17

Problems with Surveys?

Answer 17

Volunteer bias
People lie
Researcher’s bias

Question 18

Correlational study

Answer 18

a descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena

Question 19

Correlation

Answer 19

a measure of how strongly two variables are related to one another.
Pero, correlation does not establish causation

Question 20

Experiment

Answer 20

a controlled test of a hypothesis in which a researcher manipulates one variable to discover its effect on another.

Question 21

Control Group

Answer 21

Need a control group to be sure that the behavior you are interested in would not have occurred anyway

Question 22

Experimenter Effects

Answer 22

• Experimenters can influence the results of a study (facial expressions (smile), tone of voice)
• Rosenthal (1966)
  
  • “maze bright” and “maze dull” rat

Question 23

Single-blind study

Answer 23

participants don’t know which group they are in (still have EEs)

Question 24

Double blind study

Answer 24

both tester and subject are blinded

Question 25

Descriptive statistics

Answer 25

statistical procedures that organize and summarize data

Question 26

Inferential Statistics

Answer 26

allow researchers to draw inferences about how statistically meaningful a study’s results are.

Question 27

Cross-sectional Experiment

Answer 27

A study in which subjects of different ages (or any groups) are compared at a given time.

Question 28

Longitudinal

Answer 28

A study in which subjects are followed and periodically reassessed over a period of time.