Psychology Research Method

Empirical Approach

evidence-based method that draws on observation and experimentation

Scientific Method

A way to go about an experiment; Curiosity, Skepticism and Humility

critical thinking

thinking that does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions. It instead questions and asks for proof

Hindsight Bias

After an event occurs we think we knew it was gonna happen all along.

Overconfidence

Overestimating our ability to do something before actually doing the task

Tendency to Perceive Orders in Random Events

Even when something is random we tend to find patterns in something so that it can make more sense in our brain

Peer Reviewers

experts who evaluate a research article’s theory, originality, and accuracy

theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

hypothesis

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced

case study

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

naturalistic observations

a technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Survery

a technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group

Wording Effect

When wording can be biased or confusing it can influence the results

Random Sampling

Taking a small portion of the population to represent the entire population. this would consist of taking an equal amount of people from each group

Sampling Bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

population

all those in a group being studied

correlation

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

correlation coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two variables

variable

a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the value of two variables. The slope of the points suggest the direction of the relationship between the two variables