experimental test 1

scientists are pervasive ____; that is, they constantly challenge accepted wisdom in their search for more complete answers

skeptics

_____ empiricism includes observing phenomena, not only directly but indirectly through direct observation of their impact on other subjects

sophisticated

which of the following brings together elements of both empiricism and rationalism

science

the method of acquiring knowledge in which an individual has a hunch or gut feeling but does not rationally examine facts is

intuition

which common method of acquiring knowledge is characterized by acceptance of an idea because it has always been accepted

tenacity

which of the following methods of gaining knowledge is developed through reasoning processes alone

rationalism

which of the following method employs the use of actual sense data

empiricism

a good scientist must

be willing to tolerate uncertainty

saying “research methods are easy so research is easy” is an example of

rationalism

inferences are largely drawn from

empirical observation

in differential research, a _____ variable defines the groups

preexisting

events such as personality, intelligence, stress, and memory are

rational ideas constructed by the researcher

which of the following would not be a fact

a person’s memory

statistical procedures that help determine the statistical significance of the observations are performed during

data-anaylsis phase

theories are

always tentative statements

the deductive theorist

makes predictions based on guiding constructs

since internal conditions are not observable, they must be

inferred

a researcher hypothesizes that criticism and aggresion increase among coworkers when frustration increases. workers are assigned to one of three groups (no frustration, moderate frustration, high frustration). for each group, verbal criticism and aggression are measured. In this example the independent variable is

frustration level

the APA’s ethical guidelines for research with human participants

guarantees a research participant the freedom to withdraw at any time from participation

which of the following is not an example of an observed organismic variable

a participants anxiety

validity

refers to how well a measure or study performs

which of the following is NOT a behavioral variable

a persons socioeconomic status

characteristics of particpants such as age and sex are

organismic variables

the two ways of controlling extraneous variables

the use of high-constraint research designs and the use of general control procedures

we seek to control extraneous variables in research because they

reduce validity

the ______ variable is under the control of the researcher

manipulated variable

an example of a stimulus variable is

the film participants watch as part of the study

why is it important to represent the diversity of the culture in psychological and medical research

because findings in one group may not apply to other groups

which of the following errors will reduce the validity of a measure of the weight of a person without reducing the reliability of the measure

the scale is not properly adjusted so that it always gives a reading that is 6 pounds 2 low

which is not a property of interval scales

a true zero point

what is the best way to reduce measurement error?

develop and apply a good operational definition

what is the relationship between the reliability and the validity of a measure

a valid measure must have reliability

the effective range of a measure helps determining a measure’s

appropriateness for particular group of participants

nominal scales are

naming scales

if a researcher was weighing mice and used an ordinary bathroom scale, what would be in place

floor effects

which of the following is NOT an example of an everyday use of a nominal scale

the ranking of color preferences when ordering a shirt by mail

science combines

rationalism and empiricism

tenacity

a willingness to accept ideas as valid knowledge despite contrary evidence or a lack of supporting evidence

*no demand to examine accuracy oif ideas, no consideration of alternate ideas, and no testing of the ideas through skeptical, critical, and objective review

intuition

the direct acquisition of knowledge without intellectual effort or sensory processing; mysticism, spiritualism, and drug-induced states

feelings

authority

acceptance of ideas as valid knowledge because a respected source claims the ideas are valid

*president, bible, etc

*or people have always accepted it as true

rationalism

a way of acquiring knowledge through reasoning

*all crows are black. i see a crow. therefore, the crow is black

rationalism has its

limitations- accuracy of the premises

*all 4 year old children have fears of dark, Lisa is 4, she has a fear of the dark BUT is this true

empiricism

gaining knowledge through observation, the senses

*experiencing the world outside of logic

naive empiricism

“I won’t believe it unless I see it”

sophisticated empiricism

accepting indirect evidence for a phenomenon

serendipity happens (development by chance)

to scientists with disciplined curiosity and a prepared mind

facts

events that we can observe directly and repeatedly

constructs

rational ideas that are inferred but not proven

reification of a construct

confusing a construct for a fact

inductive reasoning

reasoning from the particular to the general; used to generate theories based on observations

*a researcher who begins with empirical observations and then infers constructs

deductive reasoning

reasoning from the general to the particular, such as when one makes specific predictions about future events based on theories

*using constructs as the basis of making predictions about new observations

parsimonious theory

simple and straightforward, therefore preferred over a complex theory if the theories provide equivalent predictive ability

*single theory to explain multiple things is preferred over multiple theories that explain one thing

functional theories

place approximately equal emphasis on induction and deduction

idea-generating phase

identify a topic of interest to study

*ideas can be generated in many different ways

problem-definition phase

refine the vague and general ideas generated in the previous step into a precise question

*scientist examines already done research and sees how it has been tested and relayed

*goal is to produce more clear questions based on knowledge of previous theory and the scientists own ideas and speculations

procedures-design phase

decide on the specific procedures to be used in the gathering and statistical analysis of the data

*also make decisions about what participants to include

observation phase

use the procedures devised in the previous step to collect your observations

*central in all science

data analysis phase

analyze the data collected using appropriate statistical procedures

*describe, evaluate, and determine significance in observations

interpretation phase

compare your results with the results predicted based on your theory; Do your results support the theory

*relate the findings to original questions and other concepts and findings in the field

*determine how accurately their theories predict new observations

communication phase

prepare a written or oral report of your study for publication or presentation to colleagues

*journals, books, on internet

*APA style

levels of constraint

degree of systematic control applied in research

5 levels of constraint

• naturalistic observation

• case study research

• correlational research

• differential research

• experimental research

naturalistic observation

observing participants in their natural environment; researcher should do nothing to limit or change the behavior of the participants

*not bound by a strong hypothesis; free to shift observation whenever

case study research

moving the participants into a moderately limiting environment, intervening to a slight degree, and observing the participant’s responses

*piaget used to study aspects of development in young children

correlational research

quantifying the strength of the relationship between two variables; the researchers must carefully define and precisely follow the measurement procedures

*testing the relationship between obesity and diabetes or social class and religiosity

differential research

comparing two or more preexisting groups of participants, the setting is usually highly constrained, and the measurement procedures must be carefully defined and precisely followed

*males and females, dems and republicans

*preexisting variable

experimental research

assigning participants randomly to groups and then testing each other under a different condition

behavioral variables

any observable response of an organism

stimulus variables

factors that have actual or potential effects on the organism’s responses

*may be specific and easy controllable

*researcher controls these

organismic variables

characteristics of the participants such as age, gender, race, and musical ability

response-inferred organismic variables

someone’s racial attitudes we can’t observe

independent variable

variables that the experimenter manipulates

dependent variable

participant’s responses to these manipulations

manipulated independent variables

experimenter actively controls

non manipulated independent variables

researchers assign participants to groups based on preexisting characteristics

extraneous variables

unplanned and uncontrolled factors that can arise in a study and affect the outcome

constant

set of events that the researcher prevents from varying

validity

the quality or precision of a study, how well it does what it intended to do

*control of extraneous variables aids in validity

the belmont report

beneficence- risk is minimized

autonomy- right to decide

justice- given risks and benefits

deception

giving false information

concealment

witholding some information

debriefing

explaining to the participants the true nature of the deception/concealment as soon as possible

informed consent

*critical safeguard

researchers must provide participants with enough information about the research to enable the participants to make reasonable, informed decisions about their participation

*children can not give consent

institutional review boards

consist of researcher’s peers and members of the community at large; systems establish iRBs to review research proposals to see if they meet ethical guidelines

nominal scale

naming scales; identify

ordinal scales

measure a variable in order of magnitude

interval scales

have properties of ordinal scales in addition to equal intervals between consecutive values on the scale

*like measurement of temp (0 does not mean a lack of degree)

ratio scale

have all the properties of preceding scales as well as a true 0 point

*weight, distance, length, volume, # of responses

measurement error

distorts scores so that the observations do not accurately reflect reality

*wearing shoes one time and no shoes the next

response-set bias

tendency to respond in specific ways regardless of the situation or your experiences

*social desirability, underreporting food intake in a weight loss study

operational definition

definition of a variable in terms of the procedures used to measure and/or manipulate it

*involves drawing on past research

*vary in constraint

reliability

consistent results regardless of who is measuring

interrater reliability

two independent observers agreeing with each other or not

test-retest reliability

testing participants at 2 different times

internal consistency reliability

used when several observations are made to obtain score for each participant

*the more observations we make to obtain a score, the greater will be the internal consistency reliability of the score

effective range

the range over which the dependent measure accurately reflects the level of the dependent variable

ceiling effect

participants already being at the top of the scale before intervention

floor effect

participants score near the bottom of the scale because the scale does not allow a sufficiently low range

validity and reliability

a measure cannot be valid unless it is reliable, but a measure can be reliable without being valid

predictive validity

researcher wants to know if SAT scores predict performance in college