Ch 2 Research Methods

Question 1

What is the scientific method?

Answer 1

Procedure for using empirical evidence to establish facts.

Question 2

What is a theory?

Answer 2

Explanation of a natural phenomenon; can never be proved right.

Question 3

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 3

Falsifiable prediction made by a theory (research question).

Question 4

What is empiricism?

Answer 4

Belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation; essential element in scientific method.

Question 5

What is dogmatism?

Answer 5

Hang onto your beliefs even though they are refuted.

Question 6

What is an operational definition?

Answer 6

Description of property in measurable terms.

Question 7

What is the key feature of a good operational definition

Answer 7

Construct Validity

Question 8

What is construct validity?

Answer 8

Extent to which the thing being measured adequately characterizes the property.

Question 9

Key features of a good detector:

Answer 9

Reliability & Power

Question 10

What is reliability in measurement?

Answer 10

Tendency for a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to measure the same thing.

Question 11

What is power in measurement?

Answer 11

Ability of a measure to detect conditions specified in the operational definition.

Question 12

What are the 2 steps to a measurement of a property

Answer 12

Define, then Detect

Question 13

What are demand characteristics?

Answer 13

Aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think someone else wants or expects.

• Make it hard to measure behavior
• Psychologists avoid demand characteristics by observing people without their knowledge

Question 14

What is naturalistic observation?

Answer 14

Technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments.

Question 15

Why is natural observation not always most practical

Answer 15

1. Some events are not naturally occurring
2. Some events can only be observed through direct interaction
3. Observer bias​​

Question 16

What are techniques for avoiding demand characteristics

Answer 16

Privacy
Control
Unawareness

Question 17

What is observer bias? And why does it occur?

Answer 17

Tendency for observers’ expectations to influence what they believe they observed and what they actually observed.

▪ Expectations can influence observations.
▪ Expectations can influence reality.

Question 18

How can observer bais be avoided?

Answer 18

Double-blind study

Question 19

What is a double-blind study?

Answer 19

Technique to avoid observer bias by ensuring neither the participants nor the observers know who is in the experimental or control group.

Question 20

What is the difference between a population and a sample?

Answer 20

Population is a complete collection of people; sample is a partial collection drawn from a population.

Question 21

What is frequency distribution?

Answer 21

Graphic representation showing the number of times in which the measurement of a property takes on each of its possible values.

Question 22

What is normal distribution?

Answer 22

Mathematically defined frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the middle.

Question 23

What is variability?

Answer 23

Extent measurements differ; tells how much the measurements differ from each other.

Question 24

What is range?

Answer 24

Value of the largest measurement in a frequency distribution minus the value of the smallest measurement.

Question 25

What is standard deviation?

Answer 25

Statistic that describes the average difference between the measurements in frequency distribution and the mean of that distribution.

Question 26

What is correlation?

Answer 26

Relationship between variables in which variations in the value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other.

Question 27

What is correlation coefficiency(and whats the strongest you can have)

Answer 27

Measure of correlation Highest is 1

Question 28

What is causation?

Answer 28

Sometimes we see causal relationships that do not exist.

Question 29

What is the third-variable problem?

Answer 29

Natural correlation between two variables cannot be taken as evidence of a causal relationship because a third variable might be causing them both.

Question 30

What are the three possible reasons why X and Y are correlated?

Answer 30

X → Y, Y → X, or Z → X & Y.

Question 31

What is experimentation?

Answer 31

Technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables.

Question 32

What are the three steps of experimentation?

Answer 32

Manipulate the independent variable, measure the dependent variable, and compare measurements of conditions.

Question 33

What is random assignment?

Answer 33

Procedure that lets chance assign participants to the experimental or control group.

Question 34

What is statistical significance?

Answer 34

Determined when we calculate the odds that random assignment has failed through inferential statistics.

Question 35

What is internal validity?

Answer 35

Attribute of an experiment that allows it to establish causal relationships.

Question 36

What is external validity?

Answer 36

Attribute of an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a representative way.

Question 37

What is the case method?

Answer 37

Method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual.

Question 38

What is random sampling?

Answer 38

Technique for choosing participants to ensure that every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.

Question 39

Is nonrandom sampling a fatal flaw in psychological science?

Answer 39

No, sometimes the representativeness of a sample doesn’t matter.

Question 40

What is replication?

Answer 40

Experiment that uses the same procedures as a previous experiment but with a new sample from the same population.

Question 41

What is a Type I error?

Answer 41

Error occurs when researchers conclude that there is a causal relationship between two variables when there is not.

Question 42

What is a Type II error?

Answer 42

Error occurs when researchers conclude that there is not a causal relationship between two variables when, in fact, there is.

Question 43

What are some important rules that govern the conduct of psychological research?

Answer 43

Informed consent, freedom from coercion, protection from harm, risk-benefit analysis, deception, debriefing, confidentiality.

Question 44

What is the key takeaway regarding correlation and causation?

Answer 44

Correlation does not equal causation.

Question 45

Define dependant, independant, and confoundant variables

Answer 45

In an experiment, the independent variable is the factor that a researcher manipulates, the dependent variable is the outcome or result being measured, and a confounding variable is an unpredicted external factor that is associated with both the independent and dependent variables, distorting the observed relationship and threatening the study's validity.

Question 46

What is informed consent

Answer 46

Informed consent in psychology is a process of communication where a psychologist provides a client or research participant with comprehensive information about the proposed service or study, including its purpose, procedures, potential benefits, risks, alternatives, and limits of confidentiality.

Question 47

what is debriefing

Answer 47

expalnation experimenter is giving to participant at end of study to ensure them of what they just partook in