Research Methods in Psych Exam 1

• Intuition

We rely on our gut and emotions to make decisions; can be wrong because it can favor emotion over logic.

• Authority

Accepting new ideas because some authority figure states they're true; need to make sure to question authority figures to evaluate if trusting is ok.

• Rationalism

Using logic and reasoning to acquire new knowledge; conclusion may not be valid if premises are wrong or error in logic.

• Empiricism

Acquiring knowledge through observation and experience; we are limited in what we can experience and prior experience and senses can deceive us.

• Scientific Method

Process of systematically collecting and evaluating evidence to test ideas and answer questions; most likely to produce valid knowledge, but not always feasible and cannot answer all questions (only empirical ones).

• Pseudoscience

Activities and beliefs claimed to be scientific by their proponents, but lack features of science.

• Falsifiable

There is an observation that would, if it were made, count as evidence against the claim.

• Goals of science

Describe, predict, and explain.

• Basic research

Conducted to get a greater understanding of human behavior, not addressing a particular problem.

• Applied research

Has a more immediate goal and looks for solutions to problems.

• Availability heuristic

Judging how likely something is based on how easily examples come to mind (e.g., riding out a hurricane).

• Representativeness heuristic

Judging something based on how much it seems like a typical example (e.g., “healthy” food).

• Better

than

• Overconfidence phenomenon

Being too sure that our judgments or predictions are correct.

• Hindsight bias

Thinking we “knew it all along” after something has already happened.

• Confirmation bias

Paying attention to information that supports our beliefs and ignoring what doesn’t.

• Focusing effect

Giving too much importance to one factor while ignoring others.

• What you see is all there is phenomenon

Making decisions based only on the information we have, without considering what we might be missing.

• Skepticism

Pausing to consider other possibilities and looking for real evidence before believing something, especially when it matters.

Chapter 2

• Steps in the research process

Formulate hypothesis → Design experiment → Collect the data → Analyze the data and draw conclusions → Report findings.

• What makes a source scholarly?

Written by experts, based on research or evidence, and usually reviewed by other scholars before publication.

• Types of scholarly sources

Journal articles (empirical papers, review articles, theoretical articles, meta

• Double

blind peer review

• PsycINFO

A psychology research database that helps you find scholarly articles and studies.

• How to generate research questions

By observing behavior, reading past research, and thinking about real

• Criteria for evaluating research questions

Should be clear, specific, testable, and based on existing knowledge.

• Theory

A broad explanation that organizes and predicts many related findings.

• Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction about the relationship between variables.

• Differences between a theory and hypothesis

A theory is a general explanation; a hypothesis is a specific prediction.

• Three characteristics of a good hypothesis

Testable, specific, and falsifiable (can be proven wrong).

• Variable: Quantitative and Categorical/Qualitative

A measurable factor in a study; quantitative is measured with numbers (age, height), qualitative/categorical is grouped into categories (gender, color).

• Independent variable

The variable the researcher changes or controls.

• Dependent variable

The variable that is measured to see the effect.

• Extraneous variable

Any outside factor that could affect the results.

• Confounds

Extraneous variables that change along with the independent variable and affect the results.

• Operational definition

A clear, specific explanation of how a variable is measured or manipulated.

• Population

The entire group the researcher wants to study.

• Sample

A smaller group taken from the population.

• Simple random sampling

Every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

• Convenience sampling

Selecting participants who are easy to reach.

• Internal validity

How sure we are that the independent variable caused the results.

• External validity

How well the results apply to real life or other groups.

• Laboratory study

Research done in a controlled, artificial setting.

• Field study

Research done in a natural, real

• Field experiment

An experiment conducted in a real

• Relationship between internal and external validity

Experiments usually have high internal validity but lower external validity; non

• Descriptive statistics

Numbers that summarize or describe data (mean, median, mode).

• Correlation coefficient

A number that shows the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.

• Inferential statistics

Methods used to draw conclusions about a population based on a sample.

• Statistically significant

A result that is unlikely to have happened by chance.

• Type I and II Errors

Type I: saying there is an effect when there isn’t one (false positive); Type II: saying there is no effect when there actually is one (false negative).

Chapter 3

• Morality

Personal beliefs about what is right and wrong.

• Ethics

Rules or standards that guide right and wrong behavior, especially in research.

• Framework for thinking about research ethics

A set of principles used to decide if research is ethical, including weighing risks against benefits, acting responsibly and with integrity, seeking justice, and respecting people’s rights and dignity.

• Autonomy

A person’s right to make their own decisions.

• Informed consent

Giving participants full information about the study so they can choose whether to take part.

• Confidentiality

Keeping participants’ personal information private.

• Anonymity

Not collecting or linking participants’ identities to their data.

• Framework for thinking about research ethics using the Milgram study

Showed the need to protect participants from harm, ensure informed consent, and properly debrief them after deception.

• Nuremberg code

A set of research ethics principles created after World War II, emphasizing voluntary consent.

• Declaration of Helsinki

Ethical guidelines for research with human participants, created by the medical community.

• Belmont Report

Established three main ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

• Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects

U.S. rules (Common Rule) that protect people who participate in research.

• Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the three classification levels

A committee that reviews research to make sure it is ethical and safe.

• APA Ethics Code

Guidelines created by the American Psychological Association for ethical behavior in research and practice.

• Deception

Misleading participants about some part of the study.

• Debriefing

Explaining the true purpose of the study to participants after it ends.

• Tuskegee Syphilis Study

An unethical study where Black men with syphilis were not treated or fully informed, even when treatment became available.

Chapter 4

• Psychological constructs

Ideas or traits in psychology that cannot be directly observed, like intelligence or stress.

• Conceptual definition

A general explanation of what a construct means.

• Operational definition

A specific explanation of how a construct will be measured.

• Self

report measures

• Behavioral measures

Observing and recording a person’s actions.

• Physiological measures

Recording body responses, like heart rate or brain activity.

• Nominal level of measurement

Categories with no order (e.g., eye color, gender).

• Ordinal level of measurement

Categories that can be ranked, but differences between them are not equal (e.g., 1st, 2nd, 3rd place).

• Interval level of measurement

Number scales with equal intervals but no true zero (e.g., temperature in Fahrenheit).

• Ratio level of measurement

Number scales with equal intervals and a true zero (e.g., weight, height, time).

• Reliability

The consistency of a measurement.

• Test

retest reliability

• Internal consistency reliability

How well different items on the same test measure the same construct.

• Interrater reliability

How much different observers agree in their measurements.

• Validity

How well a test measures what it is supposed to measure.

• Face validity

How much a test appears to measure what it should, at first glance.

• Content validity

How well a test covers all parts of the construct.

• Criterion validity

How well a test relates to other important outcomes.

• Concurrent validity

When the test and the related outcome are measured at the same time.

• Predictive validity

When the test predicts a future outcome.

• Convergent validity

When a test is strongly related to other measures of the same construct.

• Discriminant validity

When a test is not related to measures of different constructs.

• Socially desirable responding

Answering in a way that makes you look good to others.

• Demand characteristics

Clues in a study that influence how participants think they should behave.