PSYCH 101 > Chapter 2 > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

LO: What are the three primary goals of science?

A

1) description (what)
2) prediction (when, where)
3) explanation (why)

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2
Q

Data

A

Measurements gathered during the research process

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3
Q

Scientific Method

A

Scientific procedure for conducting research

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4
Q

Theory

A
  • ideas or concepts
  • empirical evidence
  • makes predictions about a phenomenon
  • explanation based on observation
  • best theories generate a lot of hypotheses
  • simple
  • typically been around for a while
  • not the same as opinions or beliefs
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5
Q

Hypothesis

A
  • prediction based on theory
  • testable = falsifiable (can be proven wrong)
  • you can’t prove a hypothesis, you can only support it
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6
Q

Research

A
  • scientific process
  • careful collection, analysis, and interpretation of data
  • tests hypothesis
  • can be duplicated (replicable)
  • either supports or fails to support the theory
    Supports: strengthens theory
    Fails to support: revise or discard
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7
Q

Q: Which scientific goal is fulfilled by a project seeking to understand the causes of teen vaping?

A

Explanation (why)

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8
Q

SQ: Describe the 7 steps used in the Scientific Method

A

1) Frame a RESEARCH QUESTION
2) Conduct a LITERATURE REVIEW
3) Form a HYPOTHESIS
4) DESIGN a study
5) CONDUCT the study
6) ANALYZE the data
7) REPORT RESULTS

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9
Q

1) Research Question

A
  • specific, basic
  • testable using data
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10
Q

2) Literature Review
- why is it helpful?

A
  • search for what’s already been discovered on your topic
  • helps you guide your research: inspiration
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11
Q

3) Hypothesis

A
  • testable research predictions
  • design tests
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12
Q

4) Design Study

A
  • decide which research method to use
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13
Q

5) Conduct Study

A
  • recruit participants
  • measure responses
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14
Q

Operational Definition
- why is it important?

A

a definition that qualifies (describes) and quantifies (measures) a variable so it can be easily understood
- helps with replicability

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15
Q

Variable

A

something that can vary and that a researcher can manipulate, measure, or both

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16
Q

6) Analyze the Data

A
  • describe findings
  • look for conclusions
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17
Q

7) Report Results
- why is it important
- how does it support science

A
  • submit to research journals
  • peer review
  • benefits society, supports scientific culture, inspires others
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18
Q

Q: In the scientific method, what do you call a specific, testable prediction?

A

Hypothesis

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19
Q

Replication
- why do some studies not replicate?

A

Repetition of a study to confirm or contradict results
- theory is wrong, false positives, questionable research methods

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20
Q

False Positive

A

results when there is no real effect but a study produces statistically significant results by chance

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21
Q

Questionable Research Methods

A

Practices that unintentionally make research less replicable

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22
Q

What are 4 common questionable research methods?

A

HARKing
p-hacking
Small samples
Underreporting null effects

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23
Q
  1. HARKing
    - why is it a problem?
A

Hypothesizing After Results are Known
- leads people to believe the study was conducted for that one outcome when many other outcomes could have been possible by chance

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24
Q
  1. p-hacking
A

Testing the same hypothesis until finding a significant result

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25
What are 3 practices that can help avoid questionable research methods?
- preregistration - meta-analysis - larger samples
26
1. Preregistration
documenting a study's hypotheses, methods, and analysis plan ahead of time and publishing it on a time-stamped website
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2. Meta-analysis
"study of studies" - combines findings of multiple studies to arrive at a conclusion
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Q: How does preregistration prevent HARKing?
- holds researchers accountable - forces them to submit their hypothesis publicly before conducting their study
29
What are the 3 types of studies used in psychological research?
1) descriptive 2) correlational 3) experimental
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1. Descriptive Studies
Observing and describing behaviour - answers "what" questions Includes: case studies, observational studies, and self-report studies
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1.a) Case Study - what is the goal?
Descriptive research method that involves intense examination of an atypical person or organization Goal: describe events or experiences that led up to or resulted from the exceptional feature
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1.b) Observational Studies (2) - what is the goal?
1) Participant Observation - researcher involved in situation 2) Naturalistic Observation - researcher as a passive observer Goal: assessing and coding overt behaviour
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1.c) Self-reports and interviews - what is the goal?
Data collection through surveys or questionnaires Goal: gather large amounts of data in short periods of time
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2. Correlational Studies
- used for making predictions - examine how variables are naturally related in the real world - can describe some types of relationships between variables but can't make claims about causal relationships
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Directionality Problem
Researchers find a relationship between variables but they can't determine which variable is causing changes in the other (ex. does wealth cause happiness or does being a happy person prompt success?)
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Third-Variable Problem
There might be a third variable that causes both A and B to happen Maybe A and B don't actually have any correlation (ex. what if success and happiness are determined by intelligence and resilience and don't actually impact each other at all?)
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Scatterplot
Graphic depiction of the relationship between two variables
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Correlation Coefficient
A descriptive statistic that indicated the strength and direction between two variables
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3. Experimental
Tests causal hypothesis by manipulating and measuring variables
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Q: Suppose a study finds that hair length has a negative correlation with body weight: People with shorter hair weigh more. Why should you avoid acting on these results by growing your hair to lose weight?
Because correlation does not indicate causation
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Independent Variable
Manipulated
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Dependent Variable
Measured (y axis)
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Experimental Group
participants who receive treatment
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Control Group
participants who receive no intervention or one that is unrelated to the independent variable being manipulated
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Random Assignment
Placing research participants into an experiment in a way that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group
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Confound
Anything that affects a dependent variable (unintentional third variable)
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Q: How does random assignment help eliminate confounds in experiments?
Any differences between the participants in the conditions, both known and unknown, tend to average out
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Quasi-experiment
Can't use random assignment because participants need to be split into groups based on certain characteristics
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Population
Everyone in the group the experimenter is interested in
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Sample
A subset of the population
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Culturally Sensitive Research
Studies that take into account the role that culture plays in determining thoughts, feelings, and actions
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LO: Identify ethical issues associated with conducting psychological research on human participants
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LO: Identify the key issues regarding the humane treatment of animal subjects
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LO: Identify three characteristics that reflect the quality of data
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LO: Describe measures of central tendency and variability
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LO: Discuss the rationale for inferential statistics
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Validity
degree to which an instrument or procedure measures what it claims to measure (is it valid?)
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Construct Validity
How well does it measure the concept
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External Validity
- degree that effects observed can be generalized to other people, settings, situations - does it relate to the real world?
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Internal Validity
- degree to which the effects observed are due to the independent variable and not to confounds
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Reliability
- degree to which a measure is stable and consistent over time
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Accuracy
- degree to which an experimental measure is free from error
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Q: You want to know whether the results of your study generalize to other groups. What kind of validity are you most concerned about?
External Validity
64
What are the two types of statistics?
1) Descriptive 2) Inferential
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1) Descriptive Statistics
Statistics that summarize the data collected in a study
66
Central Tendency
A measure that represents the typical response or behaviour of a group as a whole
67
Mean
- measure of central tendency - (average) - sum of scores/number of scores
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Median
- measure of central tendency - middle number
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Mode
- measure of central tendency - most common number
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Variability
In a set of numbers: how widely dispersed the numbers are from each other and from the mean
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Standard Deviation
Statistical measure of how far away each value is, on average, from the mean
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Range
difference between highest and lowest score
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2) Inferential Statistics
Set of procedures that enable researchers to decide whether differences between two or more groups are just chance or whether they reflect true differences in the populations being compared (ex. placebo)
74
Q: Why might you prefer the median to the mean in certain circumstances?
Because the mean can be distorted by outliers, but the median is simply the middle value
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