Unit 2: Chapter 2: The Research Enterprise in Psychology Flashcards
3 Sets of Goals the Scientific Enterprise:
- Measurement and Description
- Understanding and Predication
- Application and Control
Measurement and Description
Develop measurement techniques that make it possible to describe behavior.
Understanding and Prediction
To evaluate their understanding, scientists make hypotheses.
Hypothesis
Tentative statement about a relationship between 2 or more variables.
Variables
Any measurable conditions, characteristics or behaviors that are controlled or observed.
Application and Control
To understand behavior better, scientists construct theories.
Theory
Must be testable, system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations.
Steps in a scientific investigation.
- Formulate a testable hypothesis.
- Select the research method and deign the study.
- Collect the data.
- Analyze the data and draw conclusions.
- Report the findings
Formulate a testable hypothesis.
Translate a theory or an intuitive idea into a testable hypothesis.
Operational Definition
Describe the actions or operations that will be used to measure or control a variable.
Select the research method and design the study.
Figure out how to put the hypothesis to an empirical test.
Participants
Persons or animals whose behavior is systemically observed in a study.
Data Collection Techniques
Procedures for making empirical observations and measurements. Some commonly used techniques include: direct observation, questionnaires, interview, psychological tests, psychological recordings, and examination of archival records.
Analyze the Data and Draw Conclusions
Observations in a study are converted into numbers, which constitute the raw data of the study.
Report the Findings
Write up a concise summary of the study.
Journal
Periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material, niche.
Research Methods
Various approaches to observation, measurement, manipulation, control of variables in empirical studies.
Experiment
Research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes any changes in a second variable.
Independent Variable
A condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable.
Dependent Variable
Affected by manipulation of the independent variable and what is being observed for potential change from the manipulated variable.
Experimental Group
Group in an experiment with special treatment (independent variable).
Experimental Research
Permits conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships between variables.
Stanley Schachter
Social psychologist who questioned why people feel anxious. His hypothesis was that increases of anxiety would increase the desire to be with others, also called the need for affiliation.
Control Group
Group in an experiment that does not receive any special treatment.
Extraneous Variables
Variables other than the independent that seem to influence the dependent.
Confounding of Variable
When 2 variables are linked in a way that it is difficult to identify their specific effects.
Random Assignment
When all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition.
Naturalistic Oberservation
Observation of behavior without intervention.
Reactivity
When a subject’s behavior is altered by the presence of an observer.
Case Study
An in-depth investigation of a particular subject.
Survey
Questionnaires or interviews to gather information about a participants’ behavior.
Statistics
Using math to organize, summarize, and interpret data.
Measures of Central Tendency
Researchers use the median, the mean, and the mode to constitute a typical or average score.
Median
Score that falls exactly in the center of a distribution of scores.
Mean
Arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution.
Mode
Most frequent score in a distribution.
Variability
How much the scores in a data set vary from each other and form the mean.
Normal Distribution
Symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that represents the pattern in which many human characteristics are dispersed in the population.
Percentile Score
Indicates the percentage of the degree of relationship between two variables.
Correlation
Exists when two variables are related to each other.
Correlation Coefficient
A numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables.
Inferential Statistics
Used to interpret data and draw conclusions.
Statistical Significance
Exists when the probability that chance is very low.
Meta-Analysis
Combines the statistical results of many studies of the same question yielding an estimate of the size and consistency of a variable’s effects.
Replication
Repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated.
Sampling Bias
When a sample is misrepresenting the population.
Sample
The collection of participants selected for observation in an empirical study.
Population
The larger collection from which the sample is drawn; what researchers want to study.
Placebo Effect
When participants’ expectations influence what they experience.
Social Desirability Bias
Tendency to give socially approved.
Response Set
Tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions.
Experimenter Bias
Experimenter’s result preferences influence the results of an experiment.
Double-Blind Procedure
Neither subjects nor experimenters know which group is the experimental or control groups.
Ethical Guidelines
Promote responsible and ethical treatment of all clients and research participants.
