PSY110 Exam 1

confirmation bias

we tend to look for evidence that confirms our beliefs

overconfidence error

when our subjective confidence in our answer is much higher than our objective accuracy

scientific attitude

curiosity, skepticism, and humility

machine

the mind is a product of the brain (mUSE)

unconscious

we are aware of only a small part of our mental activity (MuSE)

social

other influence/change our behaviors and thoughts (MUsE)

experience

Experience physically changes the brain (MUSe)

hawthorne effect

a phenomenon where individuals modify their behavior—often improving performance—simply because they are aware of being observed, rather than due to changes in environmental conditions

rosenthal effect

a psychological phenomenon where high expectations lead to improved performance, while low expectations lead to lower performance

illusory correlations

the cognitive bias of perceiving a relationship between variables (events, actions, or traits) even when no such relationship exists

availability heuristic

a mental shortcut where people estimate the probability or frequency of an event based on how easily examples come to mind

representativeness heuristic

a mental shortcut that helps in making quick, intuitive judgments by assessing how closely an object, person, or event resembles a typical prototype or stereotype, rather than relying on actual probability data

base rate fallacy

cognitive bias where people focus on specific, vivid information while ignoring general, statistical data (base rates) when assessing probabilities

empirical evidence

systematic, rigorous, independently verifiable, falsifiable, peer reviewed

good theory

supported by data, falsifiable, parsimonious, weight of evidence

causation

experiments

correlation

prediction

operational definitions

to define the variables of a hypothesis is a measurable way

descriptive methods

research tools used to observe, collect, and record data about behavior and mental processes as they occur, without manipulating variables

experimental methods

scientific procedures used to determine cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating one variable (independent variable) to measure its effect on another (dependent variable) under controlled conditions

naturalistic observation

watching behavior without trying to change or influence the behavior

case study

examining one individual in depth

correlation

observation that two traits or attributes are related to each other in a predictable way

correlation efficient

a measure of how closely two factors vary together, or how well you can predict a change in one from observing a change in the other

strength (CE)

how close the dots are to a straight line, number varies from 0.00 to ± 1.00

direction (CE)

postive (upward slope) or negative (downward slope)

random sampling

a technique for making sure that every individual in a population has an equal chance of being in your sample.

independent variable

manipulated variable

dependent variable

variable we expect to change

extraneous variables

any factors in an experiment, other than the independent variable, that can influence the dependent variable and skew results

confounding variables

external factors in research that influence both the independent and dependent variables, creating false correlations or masking true relationships

control group

group that is the same in every way except the one variable we are changing

random assignment

randomly selecting some study participants to be assigned in the control group or the experiment group

replicating research

trying it again using the same operational definitions of the concepts and procedures

test-retest

do participants have similar scores if they repeat the measure

interrater

do multiple observers come to the same conclusion

internal validity

extent to which a causal conclusion is warranted

external validity

extent to which the results of an experiment will generalize beyond the study’s sample

categorical variable

mutually exclusive categories, not ranked

ordinal variable

ordered categories where difference between measurements is not meaningful

interval variables

difference between measurements is meaningful - no true zero

ratio variable

true/meaningful zero

Institutional Review Board

IRB

Institutional animal care and use committee

IACUC

justice

any decision to include or exclude participants must be scientifically justified

beneficence

need for research to maximize benefits and minimize potential harm to participants

respect for persons

participants are treated as autonomous, capable decision-makers

justice

How are participants selected? do they represent the people who will benefit from the study?

beneficience

cost-benefit analysis

respect for persons

informed consent, protection of vulnerable populations, deception and debriefing

replacement

how could we use alternative techniques or avoid the use of animals altogether?

refinement

what procedures will be used to refine the technique to minimize pain and suffering

reduction

what will be done to minimize the number of procedures or animals used

rehabilitation

provide care and rehabilitation to animals after they have finished being in the experiment

repayment

if not to the study animals than to the species (memorials, donations)