Unit I: Introduction and Research Methods Flashcards
Biological level of analysis
BLOA:
Focus on psychology and genetics
Ex: Explains differences in gender behavior with genetic makeup (XX and XY chromosomes) and hormones (testosterone and estrogen)
Cognitive level of analysis
CLOA:
Focus on mental processes like memory, thinking, perception, and attention
Ex: explaining differences with gender scheme theory- people form mental representations of what it means to be a boy or girl, which shapes and guides behavior
Socialcultural level of analysis
SCLOA:
Focused on how environment and culture affect behavior or thinking.
Ex: people learn gender behavior by watching how other people of their own sex behave.
Social Cognition
The way we perceive a person (related to gender)
Ex: gender stereotypes like “boys like sports” or “girls like Barbies”
Episemology
- “Episteme” (knowledge) •”logos” (reasoning)
- TOK- ways of knowing
- when we ask questions about how human beings come to know the world
Ex: sensation, perception, memory, language, reason (cognitive psychology)
Neuroeconomics
A combination of neuroscience, economics, and psychology to investigate how people make choices in economics.
Ex: Activity in the brain’s pain centre occurred when people found that price of a product was too high.
Self-efficacy
Ones own belief as to whether one will succeed in something, based on previous experiences.
Ex: are people who score high on a self-efficacy scale more likely to engage in health-preserving behavior?
Fixed mindset vs. Growth mindset
Fixed mindset- belief that intelligence is static
Ex: Not studying for Ms. Few’s test
Growth mindset- belief that intelligence is not fixed
Ex: Studying hard for a psychology redo, even though it’s not your best subject
Wilhelm Wundt
Mid 19th century physiologist
Father of modern academic and experimental psychology
Defined psychology as “psychology of consciousness” (criticized)
Empirical studies (Definition)
A study, not a theory, that gets its results from direct observation or experience
Dweck and Blackwell (2007)
An experiment with low achieving 12-13 year olds. Students who learned that intelligence can be developed were more motivated and improved their math grades.
Application: if the idea that intelligence can be developed is taught, humans will be more motivated and possibly perform better in school
Critical Thinking
The ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgements in the basis of well-supported reason and evidence, rather than emotions, beliefs, myths and anecdotes.
Application: if influenced by bias data may be skewed or influenced.
Aim
The purpose of the study. Which behavior or mental process will be studied?
Ex: to determine if people’s attitudes towards health will influence their behavior
Target population
The group whose behavior the researcher who he’s to investigate
Ex: if bilingual students are better able to recall items in a list than monolingual students
Procedure
Step-by-step process used by the researcher to carry out the study.
Ex:
- Give each individual a list of words
- Ask the individuals to memorize as many words as possible in 30 seconds.
- Take the paper away after 30 seconds and ask them to recite as many words as possible
Findings
How the researcher interpreted the data that was collected
Application: findings are increasingly credible if the results can be found by different people around the world more than once and help us make new discoveries
Participants
People who take part in a psychological study
Ex: people who run and record their thoughts while running to determine the breakdown of what long distance runners think about
Sample
The nature of the group of participants
Ex: women who have birthed twins
Representative sample
A sample that represents a population.
Ex: taking a sample of teenagers in regards to teenage drinking to represent the whole population of teenagers
Opportunity sampling/convenience sampling
A sample of whoever happens to be there and agrees to participate
Ex: setting up a table in the middle of a supermarket and giving out food or drink to get you to participate in a study
Self-selected sample
Made up of volunteers
Application: self-selected volunteers are often easy to obtain and highly motivated but they rarely represent the whole population
Snowball sampling
When participants recruit other participants from amount their friends and acquaintances
Application: often used in social psychology research where it may be difficult to access participants
Example: trying to reach drug users
Participant variability
The extent to which the participants may share a common set of traits that can bias the outcome of the study.
Ex: a survey about anxiety about mathematics- what kind of people would volunteer?
Random sampling
When every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected.
Ex: put 30 names in a hat and pull one
Generalize
The behaviors observed in the random sample are assumed to be representative of those in the larger population.
Application: representative sample
Stratified sample
Drawing random samples from each subpopulation within the target population.
Ex: a school has 20% Indian students, for a sample of 30 students, 6 would be randomly selected from the Indian population
Informed consent
Participants must be informed about the nature of the study and agree to participate
Deception
Deception should generally not be used; however, slight deception- which doesn’t cause stress to the participant- may be used sometimes. At the end of the study any deception must be explained to participants
Debriefing
When the true aims and purpose must be revealed to the participants at the end of all studies.
Withdrawal from a Study
Before a study participants should be told that they have the right to leave the study at any time, and they can withdraw their data at the end of the study if they wish.
Confidentiality
All information obtained in a study must be confidential
Protection from physical or mental harm
No harm may be done to participants- it isn’t allowed to humiliate a participant or force them to reveal private information.
Reliability
If a study is reliable, it means that the results can be replicated
Ecological validity
When a study represents what happens in real life
Cross-cultural validity
Does the study represent other cultures?
Ethnocentric
A study that’s based on the values and beliefs of one culture
Independent Variable
The variable that causes a change in the other variable
Ex: Jordan Hensel’s actions
Dependent Variable
The variable that is measured after the manipulation of the independent variable
Ex: Ms. Sutherin’s mood
Operationalized
Variables need to be written in such a way that it is clear what is being measured.
Ex: IV- noise
Operationalized- high music at volume 35
Control Condition
What the changed variable is being compared to
Ex: no noise when students are trying to remember words
Null Hypothesis
IV has no effect on the DV, any change is due to chance
Ex: Noise has no effect on an individual ability to recall a list of words; or, any change in the individual’s ability to recall a list of words is due to chance
Application: Either accept or refute the Ho
Experimental Hypothesis
Alternative Hypothesis:
Predicts the relationship between the IV and the DV
Ex: noise will decrease the number of words that an individual is able to recall from a list of words
Laboratory experiments
Experiments that take place in a lab
Application:
PROS:
-researchers have strict control of the variables
-easier to replicate
CONS:
-environment is artificial (participants may act differently)
Field Experiment
The experiment takes place in a natural environment, but the researchers still manipulate variables
Ex: Piliavin and Rodin (1969)
Piliavin and Rodin (1969)
New York subway- a confederate collapsed in front of people (drunk condition versus lame condition). More people helped the lame person (90% versus 20%)
Application: example of a field experiment
Tiffany Field study
80 premature infants (standard care vs daily massage group). The ones who got massages gained 47% more weight, more socially responsive, discharged earlier, and generated about $10,000 in savings per infant.
Application: touch therapy is being widely practiced across the U.S.
Natural experiment
An experiment where the researchers have. I control over the variables. They are naturally occurring- already there to study.
Ex: research on stroke victims
Confounding variable
Undesirable variables that influence the relationship between the IV and DV
Ex: Researcher bias
Orne (1962)
A study testing if one could distinguish differences between those who had been hypnotized and this who were simply pretending to be hypnotized.
Discovered people who believed they were taking part in an experiment acted different than they would in daily life.
-Math torn up paper
Application: Demand Characteristics
Bidirectional ambiguity
When it is not possible if the IV is effecting the DV or if the DV is affecting the IV.
Ex: TV viewing caused the aggression, or aggression led the child to watch more television.
Negative correlation
As one variable increases, the other decreases.
Ex: as number of hours watching TV increases, exam scores decrease.
Positive correlation
When both variables are affected the same way.
Ex: The more hours you spend studying, the better you do on exams; or the fewer hours you spend studying the less well you do on exams.
Artificiality
When the situation created is so unlikely to occur that one wonders if there’s any validity in the findings.
Application: related to ecological validity.
Double blind control
Participants don’t know whether they are in the treatment or control group, and the person carrying out the experiment doesn’t know the aim of the study, or whether each group is the treatment or control.
Application: helps avoid researcher bias
Researcher bias
(Observer bias)- when the expectations of the researcher consciously or unconsciously affect the finding of the study.
Application: could give results that are unrepresentative of the population.
Single blind control
Participants don’t know what the study is about.
Application: prevents Demand characteristics and the Hawthorne effect.
Triangulation
A combination of different research methods.
Application: collects richer data
Inductive approach
The researcher does not define variables in advance- instead, they first gather the data and then see what these could mean.
Application: defined variables may be more likely to express the researchers ideas than the participant’s.
Deductive approach
A hypothesis is tested against empirical evidence so that it can be either accepted or rejected.
Application: method used in experiments.
Objectivity
No bias- well rounded perspective
Application: experimental method is based on the assumption of objectivity in the research process.
Ontology
Does social reality exist independently of human perceptions and interpretations?
Application: associated with researchers’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge and how it can be acquired (qualitative research).
Reflexibility
The researcher needs to reflect on his or her own background and beliefs, and how they could play a role in the research process.
Application: parallel to the belief that the relationship between the researcher and participants is not objective and value-free due to the assumptions of the researcher (qualitative research).
Coherence theory of truth
The truth or falsity of knowledge is not absolute, but rather consensual.
Based on the assumption that “the truth” is somehow lodged in the data.
Application: is a way to answer the question of “what can be held as truth?” (Social sciences)
Correspondence theory of truth
The truth or falsity of knowledge is determined by whether or not it accurately describes the world. Must be a match between the observations of the natural world and an independent reality.
Application: answers “what can be held as truth?” (Natural sciences)
Inferential generalization
The findings of the study can be applied to settings outside the setting of the study. (AKA transferability or external validity).
Ex: study in homeless people is a pilot programme to test the effectiveness of a service the question is whether the findings can be applied to other devices that provide help to homeless people.
Representation generalization
Findings from qualitative research studies can be applied to populations outside the population of the study.
Application: usually qualitative research involves small samples that are not selected to be statistically representative- however, if other studies confirm the findings, it is argued that generalization is possible.
Theoretical generalization
Theoretical concepts derived from the study can be used to develop further theory.
Application: the findings from the study may contribute to wider social theory.
Participant expectations
(AKA reactivity)
(Qualitative Data) the participants’ ideas of the research and the researcher which can affect the trustworthiness of the data.
Application: could affect the data negatively
Demand Characteristic
(Quantitative)
When participants act differently simply because they know they are in an experiment
Application: may introduce bias
Hawthorne
(Observation)
When a participant tries to guess the aims of the study and act accordingly
Application: may introduce bias
Social desirability bias
(Interviews)
When people want to present a positive picture of themselves so they don’t always tell the truth when asked personal questions.
Application: Could introduce bias
Credibility
(Rolfe 2006) (qualitative) similar to internal validity.
Application: linked to the concept of trustworthiness
Trustworthiness
(Qualitative)
When the findings of the research reflect the meanings as they are described by the participants.
Ex: Sandeliwski (1986) “leaving a decision trail so that the reader would be able to track and verify the research process”.
Purposive sampling
(Qualitative)
Targets a particular group of people and the participants are chose on the basis of particular characteristics that will help the researcher to explore the research topic.
Ex: sociopath-economic characteristics, specific experiences, or social rules.
Subjective
Weakness of qualitative data- data may be subjective
Application: reflexivity can help minimize.
Structured Interview
(Qualitative)
The interview schedule states exactly what questions should be asked and is highly controlled.
Application: easy to analyze and compare, but may appear somewhat artificial
Unstructured interview
(Qualitative)
the interview schedule only specifies the topic and the available time.
Application: more may be revealed but the data may be more difficult to analyze.
Semi-structured interview
(Qualitative)
Interview involves a schedule that involves a set of questions which allow for more freedom.
Application: often preferred in modern psychology.
Participant Bias
(Interviews)
People will adjust their responses to what they “think” is appropriate for the interviewer.
Application: Need to limit interviewer effects
Interviewer Effects
When an interviewer affects the responses
Ex: age, race, sex, people skills
Naturalistic observations
(Qualitative)
Observations that take place in a natural setting.
Application: the majority of observations
Inter-observer reliability
(Observations)
Making sure that what they observed actually happened
Application: several observers observe the same behavior and compare the results of their observations
Non-participant observation
When the researcher is not part of the group being observed.
Ex: a study in interactions between students and teachers- interviewer sits in the room and takes notes.
Application: participants may demonstrate reactivity, researcher bias may occur
Researcher bias
The observation may be affected by what the researcher expects to find.
Application: can be combated by inter-observer reliability
Participant observation
The researcher is a part of the group that is being observed.
Application: Covert/overt, researcher needs to maintain balance between participation and observation.
Ex: Zimbardo
Overt observation
The participants know that the observer is a researcher
Application: may be concise red more ethical than covert observations
Covert observation
The participants do not know that they are being observed
Application: ensures that participants behave in natural ways, may be unethical
Rosenhan (1973)
Is it possible for anyone to fame insanity and get a diagnosis of a serious mental disorder?
Applications: showed that psychiatric diagnosis was not based on an objective set of symptoms, but instead based off stereotypes.
Reactivity (Observations)
Hawthorne effect- participants try to guess what the observation is about.
Application: seen in non-participant observations/overt
Money (1974)
A study done on a boy who was castrated and raised as a girl.
Application: nature>nurture
Jorm, Rogers, and Christenden (2003)
2.8% of 2561 adults said they used medication to enhance memory, despite strong evidence of its ineffectiveness.
Application: its effectiveness could be tested (it versus a placebo pill)
Rosenthal and Jacobson 1968
Does teachers’ expectations on a students performance actually have an effect on how well the student learned? Yes it does.
Application: self-fulfilling prophecy
Sampling bias
Bias related to sampling (especially seen with convenience sampling).
Ex: Sears (1986) 2/3rds of research at universities used students exclusively. More egocentric, stronger need for peer approval.
Validity
Does the research do what it claims to do?
Application: important when discussing findings
Application
How a theory or empirical study is used.
Ex: studies of neurotransmitters have led to the development of drugs (not street drugs)
Tan (Broca’s study)
A case study on one individual- man could only say “tan”, diagnosed with “Broca’s aphasia”
Application: later discovered that our speech function was localized- different areas: comprehension, production, formation
Clive Wearing
The cold sore virus destroyed parts of his brain and he lost all of his memories. Called the man with the “30 second memory”
Application: link between physical brain and memory storage
H.M. (Milner and Scoville)
H.M. Fell off a bike, hit head (7), got seizures (10), couldn’t have normal life (27). Experimental surgery- took out parts of hippocampus. Seizures stopped. Lost memory.
Application: provided insure to memory storage in different parts of the brain
Phineas Gage
Became profane fitful and had a horrible personality after the front part of his brain was taken out by an iron.
Application: discovered relationship between personality and front part of the brain
Bidirectional relationship
(BLOA)
Biology can affect cognition, and cognition can affect biology
Application: generates a crossover analysis between BLOA and CLOA
Nature vs. nurture debate
(BLOA)
Is human behavior a result of biological or environmental favors?
Ex: Money-> Proved nature>nurture
Interactionist Approach
Doesn’t use a nature or nurture approach-adapts a more holistic view of human nature.
Application: I really like this
Reductionist approach
Micro-level of research which breaks down complex human behavior Into its smallest parts.
Application: makes a human behavior easier to analyze
Culture
(SCLOA)
The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another.
Application: experiments may not have cross-cultural validity
Social Self
(SCLOA)
the self emerges from social interactions
Ex: observing and interacting with others
Cognitive Psychology
(CLOA)
the study of mental processes
Ex: thinking, memory, perception, attention
Cognitive neuroscience
(CLOA)
the study of how the physical brain and nervous system combine with the body, mind, intellect to create patterns of thought and behavior.
Application: BLOA and CLOA approaches
Cognition
(CLOA)
all of the mental activities that are involved in learning, remembering, and using knowledge.
Ex: process of thought
Mental representations
mental imagery of things that are not currently seen or sensed by the sense organs
Ex: remembering a birthday party (might remember smell, but you aren’t actually smelling).
Bottom-up processing
(CLOA)
Perception starts at the sensory input
Ex: see flower, info goes from retinas to the brain, travels in one directions
Top-down processing
(CLOA)
The development of pattern recognition through the use of contextual information.
Ex: using context clues while reading
Cognitive distortions
(CLOA)
Ways our mind convinces us of something that’s not really true.
Ex: filtering- don’t think about all the positive, focus on the one negative
schema
(CLOA)
an organized pattern of thought or behavior. It consists of structured cluster of pre-conceived ideas
Application: schemas allow us to take shortcuts when analyzing large amounts of information
Perception
(CLOA)
the process of recognizing and interpreting sensory stimuli
Ex: depth perception
False Memories
(CLOA)
a person recalls a memory that did not actually occur
Application: often considered in court cases about childhood sexual abuse.
Reconstructive nature of memory
(CLOA)
the process of assembling information from stored knowledge when a clear or coherent memory of specific events does not exist
Ex: interviewer working with a victim to assemble info about the crime
Stereotyping
(CLOA) a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people.
Application: may create bias, helps us respond quickly in situations based off previous experiences
