Psychological Research and Scientific Method Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering psychological research methods, scientific attitude components, cognitive biases, measurement metrics, and research designs based on lecture notes.

Science practice

The science practices and skills that are central to the study and practice of psychology.

Curiosity

A component of the scientific attitude characterized by asking 'does it work?' (associated with James Randi).

Humility

A component of the scientific attitude defined as an awareness of our own vulnerability to error ('that was unexpected, let's explore more').

Skepticism

A component of the scientific attitude characterized by asking 'What do you mean? How do you know?' (associated with Clever Hans).

Pseudoscience

Popular beliefs that seem to be related to science but just aren't, such as ESP or horoscopes.

Hindsight bias

A cognitive bias where people believe that they knew something was going to happen after it has already occurred, even if they didn't actually predict it beforehand ('knew-it-all phenomenon').

Confirmation bias

A cognitive bias where people tend to look for, interpret, or remember information in a way that confirms what they already believe.

Overconfidence

A cognitive bias occurring when people have too much faith in their own language, judgements, or abilities, thinking they know more than they actually do.

Empirical evidence

Information that is obtained through observation, experimentation, and measurement, which helps prevent distorted thinking.

Scientific method

A systemic approach used to study human behavior and mental processes by making observations, forming hypotheses, conducting experiments or studies, and analyzing data.

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction about the relationship between variables or the outcome of a research study, based on existing theories, observation, or previous findings.

Falsifiable

A characteristic of a hypothesis in psychology stating that it can be tested and potentially proven false through observation or experimentation.

Operational definition

A clear description of how researchers measure and manage variables in a study.

Replication

The process of repeating or reproducing a research study to determine if its findings can be consistently observed.

Reliability

The consistency of a measure or test, producing consistent results when administered repeatedly under similar conditions ('RRR = repeated, reliable, realistic').

Validity

The extent to which a research study or measurement tool accurately measures what it intends to measure ('VAT = valid, Accurate, true').

APA

A leading professional organization dedicated to advancing the field of psychology and promoting the applications of psychological knowledge to improve human welfare.

Non-experimental research

Research that observes and describes behavior without manipulating variables; its primary limitation is that it cannot establish a cause and effect relationship.

Naturalistic observation

A descriptive research method where researchers study, observe, and record behaviors in real-world settings without intervention or manipulation.

Observer effect

A phenomenon that occurs when people know they are being watched, making them less likely to behave naturally.

Observer bias

A distortion in observation that occurs when researchers know the goal of the study and allow that knowledge to influence their observations.

Case study

An in-depth non-experimental research method focusing on specific subjects, which cannot be generalized due to its specific focus.

Research design

The overall plan or structure of a research study

Research methods

The specific techniques used to collect data, such as surveys, observations, experiments and interviews

Correlational study

study that examines the relationship between two variables without manipulating them.

Meta analysis

method that combines and analyzes the results of many different studies on the same topic.

Quantitative

Data expressed as numbers or amounts that can be measured.

Qualitative

Descriptive, non-numerical information, such as words, observations, or descriptions.

Likert scale

rating scale used to measure attitudes or opinions, often ranging from something like “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”

social desirability bias

When people give answers they think are more socially acceptable or favorable instead of giving completely honest answers.

Inferential statistics

Estimate the likelihood that you would get similar results if you repeated the study (results are not likely due to chance)

Frequency distribution

Table or graph that shows how different numbers or scores appear in a particular set of scores

Mean

Average number in a data

Median

Middle number in a set of scores (less sensitive to extremes and outliers)

Mode

“Most” frequently occurring score in a data set

Skewed distribution

Scores concentrated to one side

Range

Spanning scores in a data set, difference between highest and lowest score in distribution

Standard deviation

Scores in group differ from the mean of that group (Small SD: more scores bunch together around mean)

(Big SD: scores are more spread out from the mean)

-1,+1

68%

-2,+2

95%

-3,+3

99%