Psych 1X03 Research Methods Flashcards

Scientific Method (7 Steps)

1. construct a theory

2. generate hypothesis

3. choose research method

4. collect data

5. analyze data, reject or accept hypothesis

6. report findings and publish article

7. revise existing theories, related scientists look over study

paradigm shift

challenging an existing theory

experimental group

group that has independent variable manipulated, experimental and control group should be as similar as possible

control group

group that has independent variable stay the same, experimental and control group should be as similar as possible

within-participant design

participant is both control and experimental groups

between-participant design

there is a control group and an experimental group

confounding variable

variable associated with independent variable that affects independent variable, distorting the results of the experiment

blind experiment

participants don't know who's in the control or experimental group

double blind experiment

participants and researcher don't know who's in the control or experimental group

descriptive statistics

presents data in a way that can be communicated instantly i.e. a histogram

what is the shape of a normal distribution?

bell curve

inferential statistics

use results from samples to make inferences

t-test

considers each data point from both groups individually

p-test

probability (0-1) indicating the likelihood of the difference being observed

what value should the p-value be less than to prove significant?

0.05

statistically significant

difference between two groups is real and not due to random chance

type 1 error

thinking there's a difference when there isn't

type 2 error

thinking there's no difference when there is one

structuralism

view that psychology should focus on conscious thought and perception, we should reduce conscious experience to its core components

introspection

experimenters trained participants to observe and report their own experiences

ob-ob mouse

obesity in mouse is the result of a genetic mutation that causes the body to turn almost all of the food they eat into fat

operational definition

describes the actions or operations that are made to objectively measure or control a variable

parsimony

where there are two equally good explanations use the one that is most simple

natural order

a behaviour is a reflection of the same underlying mechanism in people all over the world

generalizability

the same causes that produces effect in the lab also produces those effects in everyday life situations

conservatism

supporting current explanations until new facts accumulate that the current explanation can't argue against

empiricism

emphasizes that knowledge should be based on actual observation and not on reasoning alone

reliability

measurement consistency of a test

construct validity

the extent to which there is evidence that a test measures a particular hypothetical construct

inductive reasoning

builds theories based on various incidents of observed phenomena converging on a hypothesis

deductive reasoning

allows us to make predictions about certain phenomena based on testable claims of a particular theory

case study

detailed examination of one particular individual (group)

correlation

measure of the direction and strength of a relationship you cannot have a correlation between 3 or more variables, it HAS to be 2

binary variables

variables with only two possible values

extraneous variables

confounding variables, variables that the researcher did not manipulate/measure that could affect the experiment

bayesian inference

uses our prior experience and expectation when looking at outcomes, uses Bayes theory to update the probability of a hypothesis as more information becomes available

variability

extent to which scores in a data set tend to vary from each other and from the mean

experimenter bias

actions made by the experimenter, intentionally or unintentionally, to promote the result they hope to achieve

social desirability bias

tendency to give socially desired answers