week 1 - introduction two psychology

Question 1

what is science

Answer 1

using systematic observation to gain knowledge using empirical methods often.
Unsystematic observation - anecdotal, based on personal experience but not empirical methods.
Observation can develop into logical ideas that can be tested, ex. hypothesis.
To test hypotheses we can create an experiment with controlled conditions assigned to be observed to have an outcome.

Question 2

type 2 error

Answer 2

A type II error is a statistical term used within the context of hypothesis testing that describes the error that occurs when one accepts a null hypothesis that is actually false. A type II error produces a false negative, also known as an error of omission.

type II error, when the data fail to show a relationship between variables that actually exists. In our example, this time pretend that maturity is —in reality—associated with academic performance, but the researcher doesn’t find it in her sample. Perhaps it was just her bad luck that her older students are just having an off day, suffering from test anxiety, or were uncharacteristically careless with their homework: the peculiarities of her particular sample, by chance, prevent the researcher from identifying the real relationship between maturity and academic performance.

Question 3

type 1 error

Answer 3

A type I error occurs during hypothesis testing when a null hypothesis is rejected, even though it is accurate and should not be rejected. … A type I error is “false positive” leading to an incorrect rejection of the null hypothesis.

type I error – when the researcher concludes there is a relationship between two variables but, in reality, there is not. Back to our example: Let’s now pretend there’s no relationship between maturity and grades, but the researcher still finds one. Why does this happen? It may be that her sample, by chance, includes older students who also have better study habits and perform better: the researcher has “found” a relationship (the data appearing to show age as significantly correlated with academic performance), but the truth is that the apparent relationship is purely coincidental.

Question 4

probability value

Answer 4

Probability value - how likely it is that we would observe this pattern of data if there was no difference in reality

Question 5

systematic observation

Answer 5

Systematic observation (recorded observations in a controlled environment)

                                      ⇩ leads to ⇩

Hypotheses we can test. When we develop hypotheses and theories, we state them in a way that can be tested

Question 6

science is democratic

Answer 6

people are more likely to want to be able to form their own opinions and debate conclusions. Scientists are skeptical and have open discussions about their observations and theories. These debates often occur as scientists publish competing findings with the idea that the best data will win the argument.

Question 7

science is cumulative

Answer 7

We can learn the important truths discovered by earlier scientists and build on them. Any physics student today knows more about physics than Sir Isaac Newton did even though Newton was possibly the most brilliant physicist of all time.

Question 8

Francis galton

Answer 8

a cousin of Charles Darwin
.
Galton used patches of color to test people’s ability to distinguish between them.

invented the self-report questionnaire,

Galton was able to use self-reports to examine—among other things

Nature nurture man

Question 9

informed consent

Answer 9

Informed consent - In general, people should know when they are involved in research, and understand what will happen to them during the study. They should then be given a free choice as to whether to participate.

Question 10

confidentiality

Answer 10

Confidentiality - Information that researchers learn about individual participants should not be made public without the consent of the individual.

Question 11

privacy

Answer 11

Privacy - Researchers should not make observations of people in private places such as their bedrooms without their knowledge and consent. Researchers should not seek confidential information from others, such as school authorities, without consent of the participant or their guardian.

Question 12

benefits

Answer 12

Benefits - Researchers should consider the benefits of their proposed research and weigh these against potential risks to the participants. People who participate in psychological studies should be exposed to risk only if they fully understand these risks and only if the likely benefits clearly outweigh the risks.

Question 13

deception

Answer 13

Deception - Some researchers need to deceive participants in order to hide the true nature of the study. This is typically done to prevent participants from modifying their behavior in unnatural ways. Researchers are required to “debrief” their participants after they have completed the study. Debriefing is an opportunity to educate participants about the true nature of the study.

Question 14

empirical methods

Answer 14

Empirical methods - Approaches to inquiry that are tied to actual measurement and observation.

Question 15

ethics

Answer 15

Ethics - Professional guidelines that offer researchers a template for making decisions that protect research participants from potential harm and that help steer scientists away from conflicts of interest or other situations that might compromise the integrity of their research.

Question 16

hypotheses

Answer 16

Hypotheses - A logical idea that can be tested.

Question 17

systematic observation

Answer 17

Systematic observation - The careful observation of the natural world with the aim of better understanding it. Observations provide the basic data that allow scientists to track, tally, or otherwise organize information about the natural world.

Question 18

theories

Answer 18

Theories - Groups of closely related phenomena or observations.

Question 19

induction

Answer 19

induction: drawing general conclusions from specific observations. For example, a person’s opinion that cramming for a test increases performance may be based on her memory of passing an exam after pulling an all-night study session.
Similarly, a researcher’s conclusion against cramming might be based on studies comparing the test performances of people who studied the material in different ways (e.g., cramming versus study sessions spaced out over time). In these scenarios, both scientific and everyday conclusions are drawn from a limited sample of potential observations.
The process of induction, alone, does not seem suitable enough to provide trustworthy information—given the contradictory results.

Question 20

anecdotal evidence

Answer 20

Anecdotal evidence – derived from personal experience and unsystematic observations (e. g., “common sense,”) – is limited by the quality and representativeness of observations, and by memory shortcomings.

Question 21

Causality

CAUSE

Answer 21

Causality - In research, the determination that one variable causes—is responsible for—an effect.

Question 22

deductive reasoning

Answer 22

Deductive reasoning - A form of reasoning in which a given premise determines the interpretation of specific observations (e.g., All birds have feathers; since a duck is a bird, it has feathers).

Question 23

induction

Answer 23

Induction - To draw general conclusions from specific observations.

Question 24

inductive reasoning

Answer 24

Inductive reasoning - A form of reasoning in which a general conclusion is inferred from a set of observations (e. g., noting that “the driver in that car was texting; he just cut me off then ran a red light!” (a specific observation), which leads to the general conclusion that texting while driving is dangerous).

Question 25

nhst

Answer 25

Null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST) - In statistics, a test created to determine the chances that an alternative hypothesis would produce a result as extreme as the one observed if the null hypothesis were actually true.

Question 26

pseudoscience

Answer 26

Pseudoscience - Beliefs or practices that are presented as being scientific, or which are mistaken for being scientific, but which are not scientific (e.g., astrology, the use of celestial bodies to make predictions about human behaviors, and which presents itself as founded in astronomy, the actual scientific study of celestial objects. Astrology is a pseudoscience unable to be falsified, whereas astronomy is a legitimate scientific discipline).

Question 27

cognitive psychology

Answer 27

Cognitive psychology - The study of mental processes.

Question 28

eugenics

Answer 28

Eugenics - The practice of selective breeding to promote desired traits.

Question 29

flashbulb memory

Answer 29

Flashbulb memory - A highly detailed and vivid memory of an emotionally significant event.

Question 30

functionalism

Answer 30

Functionalism - A school of American psychology that focused on the utility of consciousness.

Question 31

gestalt psychology

Answer 31

Gestalt psychology - An attempt to study the unity of experience.

Question 32

practitioner scholar model

Answer 32

Practitioner-Scholar Model - A model of training of professional psychologists that emphasizes clinical practice.

Question 33

psychophysics

Answer 33

Psychophysics - Study of the relationships between physical stimuli and the perception of those stimuli.

Question 34

scientist practitioner model

Answer 34

Scientist-practitioner model = A model of training of professional psychologists that emphasizes the development of both research and clinical skills.

Question 35

structuralism

Answer 35

Structuralism - A school of American psychology that sought to describe the elements of conscious experience.