Unit 1 - Research Flashcards
Empiricism
Twofold view that knowledge comes from the senses (not innate) and observation and experimentation are the basis of science.
Nature-nurture issue
Controversy over the relative contributions that genes (nature) and experiences (nurture) make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.
Intuition
Understanding without conscious reasoning.
Hindsight Bias
Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome including psychological research finding, that one would have foreseen it (AKA I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)
Overconfidence
Tendency to overestimate our knowledge and/or abilities in a certain area.
Confirmation Bias
Obstacle to problem solving in which people tend to search for information that validates their preconceptions.
Peer Reviewers
Scientific experts who evaluate a research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy.
Theory
Explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.
Hypothesis
Testable prediction, often implied by a theory; testing the hypothesis helps scientists to test the theory.
Falsifiable
The possibility that an idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment.
Methodology
Details of how you will measure variables, how you will observe and measure the results, and how you will evaluate the hypothesis.
Operational Definition
Precise statements of procedures/operations used to define independent and dependent variables and how the variables are measured.
Replication
Process of repeating an experiment, often with different participants and in different situations, to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other people and circumstances.
Naturalistic Observation
Non-experimental technique in which one observes and records behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation; does not establish cause/effect relationships between variables.
Case Study
Descriptive/non-experimental strategy in which one person is studied in great depth, often with the intention of revealing universal principles; findings cannot be generalized to a larger group.
Survey
Descriptive/non-experimental TOOL for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people or a group.
Social Desirability Bias
Bias from people’s responding in ways they presume a research expects or wishes.
Self-report Bias
Bias when people report their behavior inaccurately.
Meta-analysis
A statistical procedure for analyzing the results of multiple studies to reach an overall conclusion.
Demand Characteristics
Subtle cues interviewers may convey about their expectations which may cause interviewees to behave in ways they believe the interviewer wants them to behave.
Positive Correlation
Variables move together in the same direction (time spent increases, fitness level increases); number falls between 0 and +1.
Negative Correlation
Variables that have an inverse relationship (more a person practices golf, the lower his/her game score will be); number falls between 0 and -1.
Correlation Coefficients
Indicate the strength between two variables; no correlation is 0.
Scatterplot
Type of graph designed to display correlational data so the relationship between the two variables is visible. The slope of the points suggest the direction of the relationship and the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation. Litter scatter indicated a high correlation.
Illusory Correlation
False perception of a relationship between two events when none exists or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship.
Regression toward the mean
The tendency for extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back (regress) toward the average.
Population
Consists of all the members of a group being studied, from which random samples may be drawn.
Random Sample
One that is representative because every member of the population has an equal chance of being included; allows you to generalize findings to a larger group.
Sampling Bias
An error in the sampling process that allows some members of a population to be more or less likely than others to be included in a study.
Convenience Sampling
Selecting participants that are easily accessible; doesn’t allow you to generalize.
Experiment
Research strategy in which a researcher directly manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variable); experiments therefore make it possible to establish cause-effect relationships.
Falsifiability of a Hypothesis
It’s possible to disprove it with observable evidence or experimental observation.
Independent Variable
Factor being manipulated or tested
Dependent Variable
Factor being measured; depends on the independent variable.
Placebo
Inert substance or condition that is administered as a test of whether an experiment participant behaves the same as he or she would if the treatment were present.
Placebo Effect
Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which the recipient assumes is an active agent.
Single-blind study
Participants do not know whether they belong to the control group or experimental group but researchers gathering data do.
Double-blind procedure
Control procedure in which neither the experimenter nor the research participants are aware of which condition is in effect - use to prevent experimenters’ and participants’ expectations from influencing the results of an experiment.
Experimental Group
Experiment is one in which participants are exposed to the independent variable being studied.
Control Group
Experiment is one in which the treatment of interest (or IV) is withheld so that comparison to experimental condition can be made.
Random Assignment
Procedure of assigning participants to the experimental and control conditions by chance to minimize preexisting differences between the groups.
Participant Bias or Response Bias
Tendency for subjects to behave in certain ways based on their perception of the experiment; can be controlled using single-blind or double-blind procedures.
Experimenter Bias
Unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently in increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis; is nota a conscious act because if a researcher purposely distorts their data, that is fraud; again, reduced by double-blind procedures.
Confounding Variable
Any difference between the experimental and control conditions, except for the independent variable, that might affect the dependent variable; an experiment allows the researcher to manipulate the IV and control for confounding variables; examples; eating a big meal prior to a food experiment, suffering from a migraine during a test, temperature of the room in which the experiment is located.
Cross-sectional Study
Researchers compare several groups to one another based on variables such as age, socioeconomic class, and gender resulting in less expensive and quicker study.
Longitudinal Study
Researchers study individuals at several points during the life span (study a degenerative illness over many years).
Generalizability
Apply what is learned from a study/research to all people.
Internal Validation
Likelihood that differences in the dependent variable are caused by the independent variable rather than some other factor, depends on how well the methodology controls factors other than the independent variable.
External Validity
Ability to generalize the results to the larger population.
APA Ethical Guidelines for Human Research
Any type of academic research must first propose the study to the ethics board or instructional review board (IRB) at the institution; guidelines for human research include: coercion, informed consent, confidentiality, lack of risk, debriefing procedures.
APA Ethical Guidelines for Animal Research
Ethical psych studies using animals must meet the following requirements: have a clear specific purpose, care for and house animals in a humane way, acquire animal subjects legally, design experimental procedures that employ the least amount of suffering feasible.
Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC)
Committee on the IRB that weighs the risks to the animal against the benefits of the research.
Committee on Animal Research and Ethics (CARE)
Advocates for ethical use of animals in research; main goal is to provide education on responsible research with nonhuman subjects and to establish clear guidelines about what ethical and responsible use of animals in psychology research means
Institutional Review Board
Meet to review any study to determine if the proposal is ethical or if it poses risks to those involved and ensures the safety of those participating in research studies and a study cannot begin until the IRB has given approval.
Informed Consent
Participants in a study must give SIGNED consent indicating that they understand the components and the potential risks of the study and agree to take part. However, even with informed consent, participants are not obliged to complete the study. Called informed assent if the participant is a minor.
Coercion
To force or require a participant to comply; human participants in research studies must be participating by their own free choice, not by coercion.
Deception
Involves misleading participants about the nature of an experiment and its methodology and is acceptable when the researcher believes it is necessary for the efficacy of the study and the IRB agrees with the researcher’s reasoning.
Confedrates
Actors who are told prior to the experiment how to react.
Debrief
When deception is used, the researchers must explain to the participants the deception after the study.
Confidentiality
Protects participant’s private information; not identify by name, information cannot be shared with anyone outside the study without permission of participants.
Qualitative Measure
Non-numerical such as structured interviews or focus groups allowing you to capture complex experiences numerical analysis can’t.
Quantitative Measure
Numerical data gathered through surveys, correlations, or experiments such as using Likert Scales (0-5 rating).
Descriptive Statistics
Techniques for organizing and describing data sets.
Frequency Distribution
Organizing data to determine how often something occurs.
Mode
Most frequently occurring score in distribution; the simplest measure of central tendency to determine.
Bi-modal
Two modes
Mean
Arithmetic average or measure of central tendency computed by adding the scores in a distribution and diving by the number of scores.
Median
Measure of central tendency which is the score that falls at the 50th percentile, cutting the distribution in half.
Range
Measure of variation computed as the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.
Standard Deviation
A measure of how broadly or narrowly a set of scores or values deviate from the mean - small standard deviation means the data is tightly clustered around the mean.
Z-score
Number of standard deviations from the mean (z-score of -1SD means a score is one standard deviation below the mean.)
Variance
Indicates how widely spread scores are from one another and the mean.
Statistical Significance
Means that an obtained result, such as the difference between the average for two samples, very likely reflects real difference rather than sampling variation or chance factors; if less than 5% chance (0.05) then the research is statistically significant and did not occur by chance.
P-value
The probability of getting the experimental results; to be acceptable in psychological research and to be considered statistically significant p needs to be less than 0.05.
Inferential Statistics
Statistics that can determine whether findings can be applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected.
Effect Size
The strength of the relationship between two variables. Larger effect size means one variable can be explained by the other.
Normal Curve
Bell shaped curve that represents a distribution of scores that is normally distributed (few scores at the low end and high end of the distribution, which most scores clustered around the mean); approximately 68% of scores fall within one standard deviation of the mean, approximately 95% fall within two standard deviations of the mean, and most 99% of scores fall within three standard deviations of the mean.
Negative Skew
Occurs when most data points are high and few data points are low; these scores pile up on the right side of the graph and the slope/Skew/tail falls on the left; mean is to the left.
Positive Skew
Occurs when most data points are low and a few data points are high; the scores pile up on the left side of the graph and the slope/Skew/tail falls on the right (looks like a P (for positive) pushed on its back); mean is to the right.
Percentile Rank
Percentage of scores in a distribution that a score falls above; to determine this you need to know that scores are normally distributed, the mean, and the standard deviation.
