Test 1 Study Flashcards
Define rational
Logical thinking
What are the three essentials to science?
Rational and empirical
Science probabilistic
Science is public and open to verification
Define empirical
Test observations
What is a theory?
A theory is a statement or set of statements that describe general principles about how variables relate to one another
A logical rationale or explanation for the prediction
What is a hypothesis?
Predictions about the relationship between variables
What are the five characteristics of a good theory?
Supported by empirical data Falsifiable Parsimonious Useful Comprehensive
Define junk science
important topic, poor method
Define pragmatic science
Important topic and strong methodological rigor
Define irrelevant science
An unimportant topic and strong methodological rigor
Define hopeless science
An unimportant topic and poor methodological rigor
Theories are never proved or disapproved then what are they?
only supported or not supported
What are research-based claims evaluated on?
Practical importance
Methodological rigor
Weight of evidence
How are peer-reviews conducted?
they are conducted under double-blind review process
What is the problem with personal experience?
It lacks the comparison essential for scientific research
Define confounds
Alternative plausible explanations
What are the seven biases of intuition?
The good story bias The Present/present bias The pop-up principal Hindsight bias Cherry picking the evidence Asking biased or leading questions The overconfidence bias
That is cherry picking the evidence?
Getting information that confirms what we believe and ignoring evidence that contradicts it
Results from asking biased or leading questions?
The biases the answers to confirm our own beliefs.
What is the good story bias?
That sounds good so except it as true
An example would be getting a cold from being out in the rain
The present/present bias
We noticed what is present more than what is not present
The pop-up principle
that which comes into our mind easily
Vivid, recent ,and memorable events seem more correct
Hindsight bias
Inclination to see events that already occurred as being more predictable than they were before they took place
What are variables?
Any factor that can be changed
What are the three types of variables?
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Controlled variable
What is the benefit to random assignment?
It helps to account for some of the variability
How are the variables coined in correlational research?
Independent variables are measured -often called predictors
Dependent variables are measured – often called criterion
Controlled variables are held constant statistically
What are constructs?
Conceptual definitions
What are operational definitions?
How researchers manipulate or measure a variable within the scientific study
Researchers directly test operational definitions and not constructs
Name the three types of claims
Frequency claim, association claim, causal claim.
What is a frequency claim?
A measurement of the prevalence or parameter estimation
What is an association claim?
Two variables are related but causation cannot be implied
What are the three criteria for a causal claim?
Covariance, temporal precedence, internal validity
What is construct validity?
How well our operational definition measures our construct
What is external validity?
How well does our study generalize to people or to other settings
What is statistical validity?
How accurate conclusions about the data, we use correct stats analysis and P values and effect size and we also establish covariance
Define internal validity
How well does this study control for confounds and it only applies to causal claims
What are the sub validities to construct validity?
Face validity Content validity Concurrent validity Predictive validity Convergent validity Discriminant validity
