UCSC Psych 100 EXAM 1

Evidence-based treatments

Therapies that are supported by research.

Empiricism

Using evidence from the senses or from instruments that assist the senses as a basis for conclusions.

Theory

Set of statements that describe general principles or how variables relate to each other.

Hypothesis

The specific outcome the researcher expects to observe in the study if the theory is accurate.

Data

Set of Observations

Theory Data Cycle

Theory -> Research Questions -> Research Design

-> Hypothesis -> Data

Falsifiability

A theory must lead to hypotheses that, when tested, could fail to support the theory.

Parsimony

Simplicity

Weight of the evidence

The strength of a piece, or multiple pieces of evidence.

Applied Research

Research with a practical problem in mind, researchers conduct work in a real-life context.

Basic Research

Enhance the general body of knowledge.

Translational Research

Use of lessons from basic research to develop and test applications to health care, psychotherapy, or other forms of treatment and intervention.

Journal

A monthly or quarterly periodical containing peer-reviewed articles on a specific academic discipline or sub discipline, written for a scholarly audience.

Journalism

News and commentary published or broadcast in the popular media and produced for a general audience.

Sources of evidence for people's beliefs

Experience, intuition, and authority

Comparison group

A group in an experiment whose levels on the independent variable differ.

Confounds

An actor playing a specific role for the experimenter.

Probabilistic

Its findings are not expected to explain all cases all the time.

Availability Heuristic

A bias in intuition, in which people incorrectly estimate the frequency of something, relying predominantly on instances that easily come to mind rather than using all possible evidence in evaluating a conclusion.

Present/present Bias

A bias in intuition, in which people incorrectly estimate the relationship between an event and its outcome, focusing on times the event and outcome are present, while failing to consider evidence that is absent and harder to notice.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to consider only the evidence that supports a hypothesis, including asking only the questions that will lead to the expected answer.

Bias blind spot

The tendency for people to think that compared to others, they themselves are less likely to engage in biased reasoning.

Empirical Journal Articles

A scholarly journal that reports for the first time the results of a research study.

Review Journal Articles

An article summarizing all the studies that have been published in one research area.

Meta-Analysis

A way of mathematically averaging the effect sizes of all the studies that have tested the same variables to see what conclusion that whole body of evidence supports.

Effect Size

The magnitude, or strength, of a relationship between two or more variables.

Variable

An attribute that varies, having at least two levels or values.

Level

One of the possible variations, or values of a variable.

Constant

An attribute that could potentially vary but that has one level in the study of question.

Measured Variable

A variable in a study whose levels are observed and recorded.

Manipulated Variable

A variable in an experiment that a researcher controls, such as by assigning participants, to its different levels.

Conceptual Variables

A variable of interest, stated at an abstract or conventional level.

Construct

A variable of interest, stated at an abstract level, usually defined as part of a formal statement of a psychological theory.

Conceptual Definition

A researcher's definition of a variable at the theoretical level.

Operationalize

To turn a conceptual definition of a variable into a specific measured variable or manipulated variable in order to conduct a research study.

Operational Definition

The specific way in which a concept of interest is measured or manipulated as a variable in a study.

Operational Variable

When a conceptual variable becomes operationalized.

Claim

The argument a journalist, researcher, or scientist is trying to make.

Frequency Claims

A claim that describes a particular rate or degree of a single variable. Usually one variable, and variables are always measured, not manipulated. (Ex. 15% of Americans smoke)

Association Claims

A claim about two variables, in which the value of one variable is said to vary systematically with the value of an other variable. (Ex. People with higher incomes spend less time socializing)

Correlate

To occur or vary together (covary) systematically, as in the case of two variables.

Correlational Study

A study that includes two or more variables, in which all the variables are measured, can support an association claim.

Scatterplot

A graphical representation of an association, in which each dot represents one participant in a study. Measured on two variables.

Positive Association

An association in which high levels of one variable go with high levels of the other variable, and low levels of one variable go with low levels of the other variable.

Negative Association

An association in which high levels of one variable, go with low levels of the other variable, and vice versa. Also called inverse relation.

Zero Association

A lack of systemic association between the two variables, also called zero correlation.

Causal Claims

A claim arguing that a specific change in one variable is responsible for influencing the value of another variable.

Three Criterion Casual Claims satisfy

Covariance

Temporal Precedence

Internal Validity

Validity

The appropriateness of a conclusion or decision.

Construct Validity

An indication of how well a variable was measured or manipulated in a study.

Generalizability

The extent to which the subjects in a study represent the population they are intended to represent; how well the settings in a study represent other settings or contexts.

External Validity

An indication of how well the results of a study generalizes to, or represent, individuals or contexts beside those in the study itself.

Statistical Validity

The extent to which statistical conclusions derived from a study are accurate and reasonable.

Margin of error of the estimate

A statistic based in part on sample size, indicating the probable true value of a percentage estimate in the population.

Type 1 Error

A "false positive" result in the statistical inference process, in which researchers conclude that there is an effect in the population, when there really is none.

Type 2 Error

A "miss" in the statistical inference process, in which researchers conclude that their study has not detected an effect in a population, but there really is one.

Covariance

The degree to which variables go together. The proposed causal variable must vary systematically with changes in the proposed outcome variable.

Temporal Precedence

The proposed causal variable comes first in time, before the proposed outcome variable.

Internal Validity

A study's ability to rule out alternate explanations for a causal relationship between two variables.

Experiment

A study in which one variable is manipulated, and the other is measured.

Independent Variable

In an experiment, a variable that is manipulated.

Dependent Variable

In an experiment, a variable that is measured.

Random Assignment

The use of a random method (Ex. coin flip) to sign participants into different groups (helps improve internal validity).

Survey/Poll

A method of posing questions to the people on the telephone, in personal interviews, on written questionaires, or via the internet.

Open-ended questions

A survey question that allows respondents to answer any way they like.

Forced-choice questions

A survey question format in which respondents give their opinion by picking the best of two or more options.

Likert Scale

A survey question format using a rating scale containing multiple response options anchored by the specific terms (strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly disagree).

A scale that does not follow the format exactly is called a Likert-type scale.

Semantic Differential Format

A survey question format using a response scale where numbers are anchored with contrasting adjectives.

Leading Question

A type of question in a survey or poll that is problematic its wording encourages one response more than others, thereby weakening its construct validity.

Double-barreled Question

A type of question in a survey or poll that is problematic because it asks two questions in one, thereby weakening its construct validity.

Negatively Worded Question

A type of question in a survey or poll that contains negatively phrased statements, making its wording complicated or confusing and potentially weakening its construct validity.

Response sets/Non-differentiation

A shortcut respondents may use to answer items in a long survey rather than responding to the context of each item.

Acquiscence/Yea-saying

Answering "yes" or "strongly agree" to every item in a survey or interview.

Fence Sitting

Playing it safe by answering in the middle of the scale for every question in a survey or interview.

Faking Good/Socially Desirable Responding

Giving answers on a survey (or other self-report measure) that makes one look better than one really is.

Faking Bad

Giving answers on a survey (or other self-report measure) that make one look worse than one really is.

Observational Research

The process of watching people or animals and systematically recording how they behave or what they are doing.

Observer Bias

A bias that occurs when an observers expectations influence the interpretation of a participant's behavior or the outcome of a study.

Observer Effects

A change in the behavior of study participants in the direction of observer expectations, also called expectancy effects.

Reactivity

A change in the behavior of study participants (such as acting less spontaneously) because they are aware that they are being watched.

Codebooks

Precise statements of how the variables are operationalized.

Masked Design

A study design in which the observers are unaware of the experimental conditions to which participants have been assigned, also called blind design.

Unobtrusive Observation

An observation in a study made indirectly , through physical traces of behavior, or made by someone who is hidden or is posing as a bystander.

Which claim is External Validity most important?

Frequency Claims

Population

A large group from which a sample is drawn; the group to which a study's conclusions are intended to be applied.

Sample

The group of people, animals, or cases used in a study; a subset of the population.

Census

A set of observations that contains all members of the population of interest.

Biased Sample

A sample in which some members of the population of interest are systemically left out, and therefore the results cannot generalize the population of interest.

Unbiased Sample

A sample in which all members of the population of interest are equally likely to be included (usually through some random method), and therefor the results can generalize to the population of interest.

Convenience Sampling

Choosing a sample based on those who are easiest to access and readily available; a biased sampling technique.

Self-selection

A form of sampling bias that occurs when a sample contains only people who volunteered to participate.

Probability Sampling/Random Sampling

A category name for random sampling techniques, such as simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, cluster sampling, in which a sample from the population of interest so each member has an equal and known chance of being included in the sample.

Nonprobability Sampling

A category name for nonrandom sampling techniques, such as convince, purposive, and quota sampling, that result in a biased sample.

Simple Random Sampling

The most basic form of probability sampling, in which the sample is chosen completely at random from the population of interest.

Cluster Sampling

A probability sampling technique in which clusters of participants within the population of interest are selected at random, followed by data collection from all individuals in each cluster.

Multistage Sampling

A probability sampling technique involving at least two stages: A random sample of clusters followed by a random sample of people from within the clusters.

Stratified Random Sampling

A form of probability sampling; a random sampling technique in which the researcher identifies particular demographic categories, or strata, then randomly selects individuals within each category.

Oversampling

A form of probability sampling, a variation of stratified random sampling in which the researcher intentionally overrepresent one group.

Systemic Sampling

A probability sampling technique in which the researcher uses a randomly chosen number N, and counts off every Nth member of a population to achieve a sample.

Purposive Sampling

A biased sampling technique in which only certain kinds of people are included in a sample.