Research Methods Exam 1 Review

Q: What is the Barnum Effect?

The tendency to accept vague, general personality descriptions as uniquely true (e.g., horoscopes).

What is “truthiness”?

Believing something is true simply because it feels right in your gut.

What are heuristics?

Mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making but can lead to errors.

What is the availability heuristic?

Judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind (e.g., fearing plane crashes after news coverage).

What is the representativeness heuristic?

Judging likelihood based on similarity to a prototype, often leading to stereotypes.

What is the conjunction fallacy?

Mistakenly thinking two events together are more likely than one event alone.

What is the satisficing heuristic?

Choosing a “good enough” option rather than the optimal one.

What is the anchoring/adjustment heuristic?

Relying heavily on an initial value (anchor) and adjusting insufficiently.

Do heuristics always lead to incorrect decisions?

No, they are useful but limited.

What is hindsight bias?

The “I knew it all along” phenomenon—believing you predicted an outcome after it happens.

What is confirmation bias?

Tendency to seek or interpret evidence that confirms existing beliefs.

What is the better-than-average effect?

People rate themselves as above average on positive traits (intelligence, driving, humor).

What is the overconfidence phenomenon?

Being more confident in our judgments than is justified.

What is the focusing effect?

Placing too much emphasis on one factor and ignoring others.

What is belief perseverance?

Holding onto beliefs despite contradictory evidence.

What is the “What You See Is All There Is” phenomenon?

Assuming our immediate experience is the full picture, failing to consider alternatives.

What is anecdotal evidence?

Personal stories used as evidence, often misleading compared to scientific data.

What is the law of small numbers?

Small samples produce more variable and less reliable statistics than large ones.

What are “person-who” statistics?

Dismissing data by citing one person who contradicts the findings.

What are key characteristics of a good scientist?

Skepticism, open-mindedness, objectivity, empiricism, creativity, communication.

What is basic research?

Research aimed at expanding knowledge and building theories.

What is applied research?

Research aimed at solving practical problems.

 What is FLICC in science denialism?

Fake experts, Logical fallacies, Impossible expectations, Cherry-picking, Conspiracy theories.

What makes a research question “scientific”?

It must be empirical, testable, and based on observations (not metaphysical or moral).

What is the difference between empirical and nonempirical questions?

Empirical questions can be answered with data/observation; nonempirical cannot (e.g., meaning of life).

Why search the literature before conducting a study?

To build on existing knowledge, refine questions, and avoid duplication.

What is peer review?

A process where experts anonymously evaluate a study before publication to ensure quality and credibility.

What are the main types of scholarly articles?

Research report, systematic review, and meta-analysis.

What are the 7 sections of an APA-style research report?

Title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references.

What is the difference between a scientific theory and a scientific law?

Theory explains why/how phenomena occur (explanatory), while law describes what happens under certain conditions (descriptive).

Can a theory exist without a law?

Yes, theories can be supported by evidence even without a law.

What are key qualities of a good hypothesis?

Parsimony (simplicity), specificity, falsifiability.

What is programmatic research?

A series of related studies that build on each other to provide a deeper understanding of a question.

What is informed consent?

Participants are told the study’s purpose, risks, and benefits before agreeing to participate.

What is debriefing?

Informing participants of the study’s true purpose and addressing deception at the end.

What is the main difference between nonexperimental and experimental designs?

In nonexperimental designs, researchers cannot manipulate the IV; in experimental designs, they can.

In correlational designs, what are the key variables called?

Explanatory (predictor) variable and criterion (response) variable.

What are independent and dependent variables?

IV is what researchers manipulate or measure as the cause; DV is the outcome or effect.

What is a between-subjects design?

Different groups of participants are exposed to different conditions.

What is a within-subjects design?

The same participants experience all levels of the IV (repeated measures).

When should researchers prefer between-subjects designs?

When worried about exposure or carryover effects in repeated measurements.

What is an operational definition?

A clear, specific description of how a variable will be measured or manipulated in a study.

Give an example of an operational definition of an IV.

Stress level defined as exposure to either 30 dB quiet noise or 80 dB loud noise for 15 minutes.

Give an example of an operational definition of a DV.

Memory performance defined as the number of words recalled from a 30-item list.

What is the difference between 'it can be done' and 'it should be done' in research?

Just because a study is possible does not mean it is ethically acceptable; ethical considerations must be applied.

What is Mooers's Law?

An information retrieval system will tend not to be used if obtaining the information is more painful or troublesome than not having it.

In ethics, what is an 'ethical dilemma'?

A situation where moral principles or duties conflict, making it difficult to decide what is right.

Example Q: If you knew your best friend stole an exam, what ethical dilemma does this present?

Conflict between loyalty to your friend and honesty/justice to the class and university.

Example Q: In a bomb scenario where torture might save lives, what ethical perspectives come into play?

Utilitarianism (saving the greatest number) vs. deontological/rights-based approaches (protecting individuals).

What are the four main ethical perspectives?

Utilitarian (greatest good for the most), Egalitarian (equal distribution), Altruistic (helping others without benefit), Egoism (self-interest).

What did the Milgram experiment study?

Obedience to authority; participants delivered fake shocks, raising ethical concerns about stress and deception.

What happened in the Stanford Prison Experiment?

Students as guards/prisoners; guards became abusive, prisoners stressed, ended after 6 days.

What was the Monster Study?

Tested effects of positive vs. negative speech therapy; negative group developed stuttering-like symptoms.

What was the Little Albert experiment?

A baby was conditioned to fear a rat with loud noises; lacked consent and caused harm.

What was the Tearoom Study?

Humphreys secretly observed men in sexual encounters; raised privacy and consent issues.

What is 'Learned Helplessness' in animals?

Dogs exposed to unavoidable shocks later failed to escape even when possible; applied to human depression research.

What was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?

African American men with syphilis were denied treatment even after penicillin existed (1932-1972).

What were the Guatemalan STD studies?

U.S. researchers infected prisoners and patients with STDs without consent to test penicillin (1940s).

What are the three Belmont Principles?

Respect for Persons, Beneficence, and Justice.

What does 'Respect for Persons' mean?

Autonomy, informed consent, voluntary participation, assent for minors.

What does 'Beneficence' mean in research?

Do good, maximize benefits, and conduct cost-benefit analyses.

What does 'Nonmaleficence' mean?

Do no harm; includes protecting confidentiality, anonymity, and avoiding physical/psychological harm.

What does 'Justice' mean in research ethics?

Fair distribution of research benefits and burdens across groups.

What does IRB stand for and what do they do?

Institutional Review Board; reviews research involving humans for ethical merit.

What are the three levels of IRB review?

Exempt (very low risk), Expedited (minimal risk), Full Review (greater than minimal risk or vulnerable populations).

Example Q: Which IRB category would an anonymous survey fall under?

Exempt.

What is the IACUC?

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; oversees ethical use of animals in research, requires inspections every 6 months.

What are the three badges of open science?

Preregistration, Open Data, and Open Materials.

What is replication vs. reproducibility?

Replication: repeating a study (direct or conceptual). Reproducibility: obtaining the same results when reanalyzing data.

What are some Questionable Research Practices (QRPs)?

HARKing (Hypothesizing After Results Known), p-hacking, selective reporting, publication bias, inadequate sample size, undisclosed conflicts.

What is the file drawer problem?

Bias toward publishing only significant or positive results, hiding null results.

What is plagiarism?

Using others' ideas/words without credit; can include self-plagiarism.

How do you cite a paper with two authors in APA?

Thompson & O'Sullivan (2012).

How do you cite a paper with three or more authors in APA?

Culhane et al. (2011).

What are the three main types of psychological measures?

Self-report, behavioral, and physiological.

What is a self-report measure?

Asking participants to provide information about themselves (e.g., surveys, questionnaires).

What is a behavioral measure?

Directly observing and recording actions or performance.

What is a physiological measure?

Recording biological data (e.g., heart rate, brain activity).

Recording biological data (e.g., heart rate, brain activity).

What is reliability?

The consistency or stability of a study’s results measurement.

The consistency or stability of a measurement.

What is test-retest reliability?

The consistency of a measure across time.

The consistency of a measure across time.

What is internal consistency reliability?

The degree to which items on a test measure the same construct.

The degree to which items on a test measure the same construct.

What is inter-rater reliability?

The extent to which different observers agree on their observations.

The extent to which different observers agree on their observations.

What is validity?

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.