Psych Unit 2

describe objective measurements

measurement is consistent with each test

describe variable in scientific research

the object concept or subject being studied

operational definitions

statements that describe the procedure and or specific measurements that are used to record observations

reliability

when a measure gives consistent and stable answers across multiple observations and points in time

test-retest reliability

able to give same results each time

alternate- forms reliability

create alternative forms to test so there is no bias on the second one

inner rater reliability

multiple observers should come to the same conclusions

validity

degree to which an instrument or procedure actually measures what it claims to measure

generalizability

degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, individuals, or events

random sample

every individual of a population has an equal chance of being included

convenience sample

samples of individuals who are the most readily available

ecological validity

degree to which results of a lab study can be applied to or repeated in the natural environment

hawthorne effect

describes situations in which behaviour changes as a result of being observed

inadvertent cues

cues given off by experimenter or experimental context that provide info about how participants are expected to behave

social desirability responding

participants respond in ways that increase the chances they will be viewed favourably

observer expectancy

researchers expectations can influence subjects behaviour

what are the techniques to reduce bias (4)

Anonymity, confidentiality, inform participants, single-blind study, double blind study

inform participants

fully explaining a study to reduce anxiety and social desirability bias

single blind study

participants do not know true purpose of the study, or do not know which treatment they are receiving (placebo or drug treatment)

double blind study

neither participant or experiementer knows the exact treatment for any individual

the replication crisis

where replication of a study cannot be reproduced (chance results can and do happen)

what are the weak forms of evidence (4)

anecdotal evidence, appeal to authority, appeal to common sense, selective use of data

anecdotal evidence

individuals story about an observation or event that is used to make a claim as evidence

appeal to authority

the belief in an experts claim even when no supporting data

appeal to common sense

tradition or novelty, "this is the way its always been done" OR "theres a new thing that everyone is trying they must have a reason for trying it"

selective use of data

stats innappropriately used to help weak arguments

descriptive data

from observations (no explanaton of why)

what is descriptive data generated from

case studies, naturalistic observation, surveys and questionnaires

case studies

details of a specific case (difficult to generalize)

naturalist observation

psychologists observe and record behaviour as it occurs in the subjects natural environment

correlation research

measuring the degree of association between two variables

illusory correlations

correlations by insinuation

random assignment research

dividing subject samples into 2 or more groups by random

confounding variables

variables outside of the researchers control that might affect the results

between subjects comparison

participants in diff groups are compared

within-subjects design

all participants respond to all types of stimuli or experience all experiemental conditions

quasi- experimental research

a research technique in which two or more groups are compared and selected based on predetermined characteristics (e.g. women and men)

research ethics

promoting the welfare of research participants

descriptive statistics

techniques used to organzie, summarize and interpret data

frequency

number of observations in a certain catergory or range of scores

central tendancy

measure of the central point of distribution (mean, median, mode)

variability

degree to which scores are dispersed in a distribution

standard deviation

measure of variability around the mean

hypothesis test

method of evaluating whether differences among groups are meaningful or could be by chance alone

statistical significance

implies that the mean of the groups are farther apart than you would expect them to be by random chance alone