Hawthorne Effect
being observed/watched = change of behaviour
Factory lighting study → brighter or dimmer, workers still worked harder just because someone was paying attention.
Empiricism
knowledge comes from experience and observation through the senses
Ex: You know an apple is sweet because you’ve tasted it, not because someone told you.
Falsification
a hypothesis that is testable and capable of being proven wrong
Ex: “All swans are white” → one black swan destroys it.
Positivism
the belief that the only reliable knowledge is scientific knowledge based on observable facts, experiments, and logic
Only what can be observed/measured is valid
Social Constructionism
reality is built by social agreement
Ex: Money is just paper until we all agree it has value.
Positivism vs Social Constructionism
- Positivism = “World shapes us”
- Social Constructionism = “We shape the world”
Social Support
the help and comfort we get from others (friends, family, community)
Main Effect Model
having supportive social relationships provides health benefits
Stress Buffering Model
social support asks as a buffer, reducing the impacts of stress
Measure Reliability
assess the consistency and reproducibility of research
Measure Validity
determines how accurate whatever was measured is
Internal Validity
a study’s accuracy and integrity
External Validity
the study’s generalizability
Operationalization
turning abstract concepts into measurable observations
Correlation vs Causation
correlation means two variables move together, causation means that one variable directly influences or causes a change in another variable
Quasi-Experimental Design
type of research used to estimate the causal impact of an intervention (IV)
important for times when random assignment isn’t possible
Qualitative Methods
research that utilizes non numerical methods
Ex: observations, interviews, focus groups
Self Determination Theory
explains human motivation by focusing on people’s insecure psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness
Self Reference Effect
people remember information better when they have some relationship to it
Better-than-average Effect
the tendency for people to perceive their abilities, attributes, and personality traits as superior compared with their average peer
Illusory Optimism
an unrealistic favourable attitude that people have towards themselves and people that are close to them
Sociometer Theory of Self-Esteem
the degree to which people perceive that they are relationally valued and socially accepted by other people
Upward Social Comparison
when people compare themselves to people who are better than they are
Downward Social Comparison
when people compare themselves to those who are less proficient than they are
