PSYC 255 Exam 1

empiricism

the process of generating knowledge through systematic use of one’s senses

theory

a set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another

hypothesis

predictions about the outcomes of your research

falsifiable

aspect of a theory that is vulnerable to disconfirming evidence

parsimonious

aspect of a theory that is all else being equal, the simplest solution is the best

basic research

research meant to enhance the general body of knowledge

applied research

research that addresses a practical problem

translational research

research that connects basic and applied research

peer review

in medical journals, process of having multiple anonymous experts assure a study’s quality before it is published

comparison group

group that has the baseline treatment, critical part of experiment design

confounds

alternate explanations for an outcome

probabilistic

research is based on what is likely, but will not explain all cases at all times

availability heuristic

examples seem much more common when they pop out

present-present bias

tendency to rely on only evidence that is present

confirmation bias

seeking or believing only evidence that supports our beliefs

bias blind spot

belief that we are unlikely to fall prey to biases

trade books

books on scientific topics targeted towards general public

frequency claim

claim that describes the rate/level of a variable

association claim

claim that describes how two variables are related

positive association

as one variable increases, so does the other

negative association

as one variable increases, the other decreases

causal claim

claim that asserts that one variable causes a change in another variable

construct validity

measures well the variables are measured and operationally defined

external validity

measures how well the results generalize and represent the population

statistical validity

measures if the numbers are valid and how big/reliable the effect is

internal validity

measures whether one variable causes a change in another

margin of error estimate

specific element of statistical validity for frequency claims

statistical significance

element of statistical validity for association and causal claims

covariance

element of a causal claim that says variables must be correlated with one another

temporal precedence

element of a causal claim that says that the causal variable must precede the outcome variable

Belmont Report

document that sets up ethical guidelines

respect for persons

Belmont principle that addresses, treating participants as “autonomous agents”, informed consent, no coercion

beneficence

Belmont principle that involves protecting participants, limiting risks and harm to participants, and not withholding known effective treatments

justice

Belmont principle that involves who carries risks and who benefits, undue burden of risk, sample representing the population

integrity

APA principle involving being accurate and truthful

fidelity and responsibility

APA principle involving being professional

omission

leaving out information

commission

straight up lying

fabrication

making up data from scratch

falsification

altering data

type I error

false alarm

type II error

missed effect