Studied by 0 people
Voxel Based Morphometry (VBM)
measures neurodensity in brain tissue
grey matter
shows where the most neurons have made connections and is biological proof for skill devlopment
the place where the processing of sensation, perception, voluntary movement, learning, speech and cognition takes place
conditions
different groupings of participants
sample size
the amount of participants in a study
participants
term for people in a study
psychology
the scientific study of the mind and behavior
the mind
the coordinated responses of whole living organisms to internal and/or external stimuli
attitudes
feelings of like or dislike towards an object, person, or idea
affects behavior and both positive and negative ways
emotions
combination of physiological and cognitive processes
there are seven basic emotions:
happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, and contempt
theory
an explanation for a psychological phenomenon
a statement that summarizes, organizes, and explains observations
used to make predictions of human behavior
probable and open to doubt
cannot explain all psychological phenomenons
theories are built on concepts:
hypothetical constructs that must be carefully defined so they can be tested
they must well defined and tested and often require the development of tools to measure
god theories are testable and if they aren’t, they are unfalsifiable
use anecdotal data
empirical evidence is used to support theories
has high heuristic validity
good theories aren’t biased
anecdotal data
personal experiences that support theories are considered
empirical evidence (empirical support)
characteristic of a good study
found in the form of:
experiment, observation, interview, and case studies
empirical evidence must be replicated to be well-supported
high heuristic validity
characteristic of a good theory
application in a practical way
reductionism
a theory that excludes certain factors
describing a phenomenon in terms of simple explanations or singular variables
experiment
widely used method to study behavior
has a goal to determine whether a cause-and-effect relationship exists between two variables
generates numerical data that can be statistically tested for significance to rule out the role of chance
independent variable
variable that causes change in another variable
dependent variable
measured after manipulation of the independent variable
control
key characteristic of an experiment, keeps other possible variables from changing
operationalized
variables must be written and clear and establishes what is being measured
standardized
characteristic of a study, procedure must be written in a way that it can be repeated
true experiment
randomly allocates participants to conditions, lessens potential for individuals characteristics to influence results
hypothesis
developed based on the studies aim
predicts how the independent variable will affect the dependent variable
experimental hypothesis
predicts the relationship between the independent and dependent variable and what is expected to come out of the manipulation of the independent variable
control condition
comparison between two conditions of the experiment
null hypothesis
created alongside an experimental hypothesis, states that the independent variable will have no effect on the dependent variable or that any change in the dependent variable will be due to chance
typically created to reject as to show the predicted cause-and-effect relationship exists as psychologists can only disprove, not prove
extraneous variables
other variables that may impact study results
low ecological validity
occurs when experiments occur in a controlled environment and does not reflect the realities of life in the results
field experiment
conducted outside of the lab in the “real world“
cannot control extraneous variables
cannot be easily replicated
many ethical considerations must occur
difficult to receive informed consent
quasi experiment
when participants are not randomly allocated to conditions
participants are grouped based on traits or behaviors
variables that are wanted to be studied cannot be assigned randomly
does not show direct causation but does imply a casual relationship between the independent and dependent variable
natural experiments
a subset of quasi experiments where participants are not randomly allocated to conditions
when an independent variable is environmental in nature and outside of the control of the researcher
uses pre-test and post-test design to measure behavior
does not show direct causation but does imply a casual relationship between the independent and dependent variable
extraneous variables
AKA: confounding variables
undesirable variables that influence the relationship between the independent and dependent variables
demand characteristics
when participants act differently because they know they are going to be in a study
participants may guess the studies aim and act accordingly
in qualitative research, demand characteristics are called participant expectations
expectancy effect
the participant attempts to discern the experimenter’s hypothesis with the goal of “helping“ the researcher
results in acting a certain way, giving the “right answer“
screw you effect
the participant attempts to discern the experimenter’s hypothesis to destroy the credibility of a study
social desirability effect
when the participant answers in a way that makes them look good to the researcher
done to avoid judgement or embarrassment
double blind control
avoids researcher bias
participants does not know if they are in the control or experimental group
person carrying out the experiment doesn’t know the studies aim or which group is which
participant variability
limitation of a study when characteristics of the sample affect the dependent variable
can be controlled by selecting a random sample and randomly allocating participants to experimental groups
artificiality
the situation created is unlikely where the validity is questioned
correlational studies
an experiment cannot be carried out, but collected data shows a relationship between two variables
when one variable changes, so will the other
positive correlation:
when both variables are affected in the same way
negative correlation:
when one variable increases, the other decreases
also considered that there may not be a cause-and-effect relationship or that there may be an alternative variable
bidirectional ambiguity
seen in correlational research
when no independent variable is manipulated, it is impossible to know if:
X causes Y, Y causes X, if they interact to cause behavior, if it is coincidental, or if results are due to a third variable
