Psychology - Chapter 2: Psychological Research

empirical

Scientific research is _________. It’s grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing.

prove, study, testing

Research allows us to _____ certain ideas through _____ and _______.

scientific evidence, belief

Advertising campaigns often claim to be based on “__________ ________” when in reality it’s based off ______.

Deductive Reasoning

Results are predicted based on a general premise.

Deductive Reasoning

All living things require energy to survive (premise), ducks are living things, therefore ducks require energy to survive (conclusion). This is an example of what kind of reasoning?

Inductive Reasoning

Conclusions are drawn from observations.

Inductive Reasoning

You may see many fruit growing on trees and therefore assume all fruit grows on trees. This is an example of what kind of reasoning?

ideas, deductive

Scientists form _____ (theories/hypotheses) through _________ reasoning.

empirical, conclusions, inductive

After forming a hypothesis, hypotheses are then tested through _________ observations and scientists form ___________ through _________ reasoning.

theories, hypotheses, generalizations

These conclusions made after testing a hypothesis lead to new ________ and __________ (or more broad _______________).

inductive, deductive

Psychological research relies on both _________ and _________ reasoning.

Theory

Well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena.

Hypothesis

A tentative and testable statement (prediction) about the relationship between two or more variables. Predicts how the world will behave if the theory is correct. Usually an “if-then” statement. Is falsifiable.

scientific method

The __________ ______ of research includes proposing hypotheses, conducting research, and creating or modifying theories based on results.

scientific

Sigmund Freud did not practice __________ psychology. Many of his theories (such as the mind’s divisions of id, ego, and superego) have fallen out of favor in recent decades because they are not falsifiable. But his views did set the stage for much of psychological thinking today, such as the unconscious nature of the majority of psychological processes.

5 Basic Approaches to Research

Clinical or Case Studies, Naturalistic Observation, Surveys, Archival Research, and Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Research are the _ _____ __________ __ ________.

Clinical or Case Studies

Focuses on one individual. The studied individual is typically in an extreme or unique psychological circumstance that differentiates them from the general public. This allows for a lot of insight into a case. It’s difficult to generalize results to the larger population. Example: Genie.

Observational Studies

Observation of behavior, either in a laboratory or in its natural setting. Naturalistic observation has proven to be the most effective at studying the most accurate and genuine behaviors because it allows any feeling of performance or anxiety of the studied individual to be eliminated. Establishment of clear criteria to observe should help eliminate observer bias.

Observer Bias

When observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations.

Naturalistic Observation

Observation of behavior in its natural setting.

Surveys

A list of questions that can be delivered in many ways, such as paper and pencil, electronically, or verbally. Can be used to gather a large amount of data from a sample (subset of individuals) from a larger population. Can be administered in a number of ways, including electronically administered research.

Archival Research

Uses past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships. A researcher doing archival research examines records, whether archived as a hardcopy or electronically.

Cross-Sectional Research

Compares multiple segments of a population at a single time (such as different age groups).

Longitudinal Research

Studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time.

drop out

Researchers expect some participants to ____ ___, particularly in this type of study and therefore often initially recruit a lot of participants.

Attrition

Reduction in the number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time.

Correlation

Relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does.

Correlation Coefficient

Number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, and usually represented by r.

Positive Correlation

Two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller.

Negative Correlation

Two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation.

Scatterplots

A graphical view of the strength and direction of correlations. The stronger the correlation, the closer the data points are to a straight line.

Cause and Effect Relationship

Changes in one variable causes the changes in the other variable; can be determined by only through an experimental research design.

Confounding Variable

Unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable.

cause, effect

The only way to establish that there is a _____ and ______ relationship between two variables is to conduct a scientific experiment.

Observation, previous research

Hypotheses can be formulated through ___________ and after review of ________ ________.

Experimental Group

The participants that experience the manipulated variable (group designed to answer the research question).

Control Group

Participants that do not experience the manipulated variable.

comparison, chance factors

Experimental and control groups serve as a basis for __________ and controls for ______ _______ that might influence the results of the study.

Experimental manipulation

This is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, so any differences between them are due to this rather than chance.

Operational Definition

Description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables.

Experimenter Bias

Researcher expectations skew the results of the study.

Participant Bias

Participant expectations skew the results of the study.

Single Blind Study

Experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group but participants do not. (Controls for participant expectations).

Double Blind Study

Experiment in which both the researcher and the participants are blind to group assignments. (Controls for both participant and experimenter expectations).

Placebo Effect

People’s expectations are beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation.

Independent Variable

The variable that is influenced/controlled by the experimenter. Ideally this should be the only important difference between the experimental and control group.

Dependent Variable

The variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had.

independent, dependent

In an experiment, manipulations of the ___________ variable are expected to result in changes in the _________ variable.

random

Professional surveys strive to provide ______ samples to more accurately represent the populations.

sample of convenience

Many experiments use “______ __ ___________” (people willing to help, usually college first year students who do it for extra credit).

Population

Overall group of people the researcher is interested in.

Sample

Subset of individuals selected from the larger population.

Participants

Subjects of psychological research.

Random Sample

Subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. This form of sampling is preferred because it’s more likely that the selected participants will be representative of the larger population (sex, ethnicity, social economic status, etc).

Random Assignment

Method of experimental group assignment in which all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group. Can be achieved using statistical software or by simply flipping a coin. Prevents systematic differences between groups such as gender or age.

random

Without ______ assignment, an experiment cannot find a true cause-and-effect relationship. Any relationship could be due to preexisting differences between the groups. In fact, it helps to avoid preexisting systematic differences so that any significant differences between groups can be said to be the result of the manipulation.

quasi experiment

An experiment where the independent variable cannot be manipulated and participants cannot be randomly assigned.

Statistical Analysis

Determines how likely any difference between experimental groups is due to chance.

significant, non-significant, 5, significant

When interpreting experimental findings, psychologists usually discuss results as ___________ or _______________. If the odds that the differences occurred by chance are % or less, then the results are __________.

journals, peer-reviewed

Research is usually reported in scientific ________. They are usually aimed at an audience of professionals/scholars. Articles published are _____________ journal articles.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Article read by several other scientists (usually anonymously) with expertise in the subject matter, who provide feedback regarding the quality of the manuscript before it’s accepted for publication. Helps weed out poorly conceived or executed studies, improves articles with suggested revisions, and determines whether the research is clearly described enough to be replicated.

Replication

Determines reliability of original research design. Can include additional measures that expand on the original findings. Provide more evidence to support the original finding or to cast doubt on those findings.

Vaccine-Autism

An example of bad science and retraction is the ______________ myth. Many peer reviewed articles were published that made claims that routine childhood vaccines cause some children to develop autism. Since then, large scale research was carried out and proved that was not the case. Many of the original studies were retracted. It was found that the leading research in the OG study had a financial in linking vaccines to autism. Unfortunately many people still think vaccines cause autism.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that review proposals for research involving human participants. Exists at any research institution that receives federal support for research involving human participants. Generally, they must approve a research proposal before it can proceed. An institution’s board meets regularly to review experimental proposals that involve human participants.

Informed Consent

The process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment and then obtaining the person’s consent to participate. Includes: Potential risks involved, implications of the research, notification that participation is voluntary, and notification that any data collected will be kept confidential.

guidelines

Research involving human participants must adhere to strict __________.

deception, harmful

Sometimes _________ is necessary to prevent the participant’s knowledge of the research question affecting the results as long as it’s not considered _______.

Deception

Purposefully misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment.

Debriefing

When an experiment involves deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

In 1932, participants were recruited in an experiment studying syphilis in black men. Participants that tested positive were not informed that they had the disease. Although no cure existed at the beginning of the study, a cure was found in 1947 (penicillin), but it was not administered to participants. Many participants unknowingly spread the disease and many died. What study was this?

90

__% of psychological research involving animal subjects uses rodents or birds.

basic, humans

Animals make for good substitutes because many of their _____ processes are sufficiently similar to those in ______.

unethical

Animals are used when the research would be _________ in human participants.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

Committee of administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members that review proposals for research involving non-human animals.

Illusory Correlations

Occur when people believe that relationships exist between two things when no such relationship exists. Example: The supposed effect that the moon’s phases have on human behavior.

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs.

Reliability

The ability to consistently produce a given result.

Validity

The extent to which a given instrument or tool accurately measures what it’s supposed to measure. It can be expressed in a number of ways.

Ecological Validity

The degree to which research results generalize to real-world applications.

Construct Validity

The degree to which a given variable actually captures or measures what it’s intended to measure.

Face Validity

The degree to which a given variable seems valid on the surface.

Empirical

Grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing.

Falsifiable

Able to be disproven by experimental results.

Generalize

Inferring that the results for a sample apply to the larger population.

Inter-Rater Reliability

Measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular event.