Chapter 2 Psychology Midterm Review

Descriptive research

 research studies that do not test specific relationships between variables; they are used to describe general or specific behaviors and attributes that are observed and measured

Correlational research category: 

tests whether a relationship exists between two or more variables

Experimental research category

tests a hypothesis to determine cause and effect relationships

Advantages of laboratory experiment

High control over variables, easy to replicate, reduces confounding variables, precise measurements

Disadvantages of laboratory experiment

Artificial setting, change in participant behavior, Hawthorne effect

Advantages of a case study

case studies provide enormous amounts of information,

disadvantages of case study

but since the cases are so specific, the potential to apply what’s learned to the average person may be very limited.

Positive correlation

Two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller.

Negative correlation

- two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation.

Independent variable

is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter.

dependent variable

is what the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had. In our example, the dependent variable is the learning exhibited by our participants.

Single blind experiment

experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group but participants do not.

double-blind experiment

experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments.

Experimental group

The participants that experience the manipulated variable (group designed to answer the research question).

Control group

Participants that do not experience the manipulated variable.

-Serve as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results of the study

Placebo

people’s expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation. When people are given a pill to improve their mood their mood may increase just because they believe it will.

Participant observation

researcher actively participates in the social group or setting while simultaneously observing behavior, interactions, and norms.

Target population

overall group of individuals that the researcher is interested in (e.g. College students).

representativeness

refers to the extent to which the participants in a study accurately mirror the demographics, traits, and behaviors of the target population.

Opportunistic

Uses people from the target population who are available at the time.

self-selection

Participants volunteer.

For example, by answering an advertisement

random sampling

A random sample is a

sample in which every member of the target

population has an equal chance of being

selected and that selection of one member of

the target population does not alter the chances of

any other person being selected.

stratified sampling

When it is important that characteristics/

subcategories/strata of a target population be

investigated

Quota

The population is 1^st segmented

into mutually exclusive sub-groups, just as in

stratified sampling.

Snowballing

A procedure where a sample is acquired by a referral process among similar individuals

True experiment

including random assignment, manipulation of the independent variable and control of extraneous variables reduce the odds of results occurring by chance.

Randomization

a technique used in experiments to ensure that each participant has an equal chance of being placed in any experimental condition.

Milgram’s research

40 male volunteer

participants into thinking they were giving gradually increasing electric shocks to another participant (confederate)during a word association ask to test the effects of punishment on learning

Hofling’s research

Experimental, arranged for nurses in a hospital ward to receive a phone call from an unknown doctor. each nurse was asked to administer a drug before the a doctor arrived

skeels and dye’s research

-Orphanage research, quasi/natural experiment, tested the intelligence of 25 infants. Thirteen moved out, 12 were the control group.

Kinsey’s research

Descriptive survey method. n each history

a subject would be questioned on up to 521 items, depending on his/her specific experience

Humphrey’s research

stationed himself in “tearooms” and offered to serve as “watch queen” the individual who keeps watch and coughs when a police car stops nearby or a stranger approaches

Sybil/ wilbur research (case study

Interviewed her parents visiting Sybils former childhood home speaking with sybil’s physician and reviewing her records.

Informed consent

process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment and then obtaining the person’s consent to participate.

freedom to withdraw

participant has the absolute right to stop participating at any time, for any reason, without penalty or pressure.

Protection of participants from harm

Researchers must ensure that participants are not exposed to physical, psychological, emotional, social, or legal harm during or because of the study.

Deception minimized

Researchers should only use deception when there is no other way to study the behavior, and even then, they must keep it as minimal, safe, and transparent as possible.

Debriefing

when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion.

Confidentiality

Anything a participant says, does, or reveals must be kept private, stored securely, and never shared in a way that could identify them.

Correcting any desirable consequences/Protecting the dignity and respect of participants

is an ethical principle that requires researchers to repair any negative effects caused by the study and ensure participants are always treated with honor, fairness, and humanity.

Sample

- subset of individuals selected from the larger population.