Unit 1 - chapter 1 (thinking critically)

Question 1

Why do we need research?

Answer 1

Everyday thinking can sometimes lead to wrong conclusions

• hindsight bias: also known as the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon
• overconfidence
• perceiving order in random events

Question 2

independent variable
dependent variable
confounding variable

Answer 2

indp - the variable that is manipulated
dep - variable that changes based upon the independent variable
confounding - variable that is the control

Question 3

case study

Answer 3

examines one individual or a group in depth

Question 4

naturalistic observation

Answer 4

observing and recording behavior in naturally occuring situations

Question 5

surveys

Answer 5

many cases and is less in depth

-uses self-report measures to learn about behaviors or opinions

Question 6

descriptive research

Answer 6

this type of research means no manipulation

Question 7

correlate
correlation coefficient
scatter plot

Answer 7

correlate - the relationship between two factors and how well they predict each other
correlation coefficient - a statistical measure that gives a numerical value to help us figure out how closely related two things are
scatter plot - used to display a visual representation of the relationship between the variables

Question 8

correlational research

Answer 8

• used to detect naturally occurring relationships
• predictability
• much like descriptive research, correlational research has no manipulation
• r is for correlation coefficient (-1 to 1)

Correlation does NOT mean causation

Question 9

experimental research

Answer 9

different from descriptive and correlational because the researcher manipulates variables to observe the outcome

• you should always have two or more groups
  1. control group
  2. experimental group(s)

Question 10

random sampling in research

Answer 10

• research generalizes hypotheses from representative samples of the population
• random sampling is using a subset of people that fairly represents a population in which each person has an equal chance of inclusion

Question 11

group assignments in experimental research:

1. random assignment
2. double-blind procedure

Answer 11

1. random - a procedure used in experimental research to assign participants to either the control or experimental group(s) at random
2. double-blind procedure - neither the participant nor the experimenter knows which participant is getting which treatment

Question 12

placebo effect

Answer 12

expectation alone can reduce pain, depression, and other symptoms

Question 13

measures of central tendency

Answer 13

mean (most affected by extreme values), median, and mode

Question 14

measures of variation

Answer 14

variation - how similar or diverse scores are

range - one or two extreme scores can cause the range to seem large

standard deviation (SD) - much more reliable

Question 15

evaluating research
internal validity
external validity

Answer 15

internal - results must accurately describe the true relationship under study
external - the conclusions generalize to a population, other places, and different situatins

Question 16

goals of research

Answer 16

develop theories
make predictions
general understanding

Question 17

Why do psychologists study animals?

Answer 17

Some psychologists will study animals to learn about their behaviors. Humans share common biology with other species and have similar mechanisms of learning and behavior.

Question 18

statistical significance means

Answer 18

that the observed differences are likely not due to chance