Psych U1

Empiricism

knowledge acquired through observation gathering and analyzing data

Nature V Nurture

Nature - genetics

Nurture - experiences

Psychological Perspectives

Ways to explain behaviors

Biological Perspective

Explained by genetics, hormones, brain structure

Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Perspective

explained by unconscious urges and impulses; repression of childhood memories

Cognitive Perspective

Explained by thinking, problem solving, decision making, memory, reasoning, info processing

Behavioral Perspective

Explained by learning through associations rewards, observation/modeling

Humanistic Perspective

Explained by believing we are inherently good, we strive to reach our potential, unique perception, we have free will

Sociocultural Perspective

explained by societal and cultural factors, norms from family, peers, media, gender, religion, ethnicity

Individualist vs collectivist culture

Individualist - Focuses on individual

Collectivist - Focuses on the group

Evolutionary Perspective

Explained by need for surgical, survival of the fittest

Eclecticism

Combining more than 1 approach to explain behavior

Peer Reviewer

Other scientists who are experts evaluate a study's theory originality and accuracy

Theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

Hypotheses

A testable prediction, often implied by a theory

falsifiability

if we claim something is scientifically true, we must be able to specify what evidence it would take to prove it wrong

operational definition

a carefully worded statement of exact procedures used in research study

Non-experimental v experimental

Non-experimental - case studies, surveys, naturalistic observes

experimental - change variables to see effects

Case study

non-experimental technique where a group/individual is studied in depth

Survey

non experimental technique used to record self reported attitudes

Biases in surveys

social desirability bias, framing, self report

social desirability bias

the tendency for people to say what they believe is appropriate or acceptable

self report bias

bias when people report their behavior inaccurately

representative sample

true random sampling

biased sample

flawed sampling process that produces bad sample

random sample

each member has equal chance at inclusion

Population

all those in a group being studied

informed consent/assent

giving potential participants enough information to enable them to chose to participate

Debrief

post experimental explanation of study includes purpose and deceptions to its participants

Deceptions

only when essential participants are "lied" to or decieved

institutional review

process of examining studies for ethical concerns by a committee of peers

Confidentiality/Anonymity

part of ethics codes to keep participants info confidential

Risk/harm

Plagiarism can risk a scientist's career and fake science can cause harm.

Convenience Sampling

collecting research from an easily available group psych as friends at School

Risk

participants can not be placed at significant mental or physical risk. Requires interpretation by the review board.

Hypothesis

a testable prediction about the relationship between to variables

Quantitative Research/Data

Numbers

Likert Scale

a rating scale used to measure opinions, attitudes and motivations

Qualitative Research/Data

Narrative Data, no numbers

Structured Interview

Standardized method using predetermined questions

random assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the groups

experiment

a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effect on some behaviors or mental process. By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.

Experimental Group

in an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment that is one version of the independent variable

control group

not exposed to the treatment and acts as a comparison for evaluating the effect of treatment

Single blind

participants are ignorant about whether they have received treatment.

double blind

used often in drug evaluation, both doctor and patient are blind about whether research treatment or placebo has been given.

placebo effect

results caused by expectations alone because recipient assumes they have active agent

Independent variable

what is being manipulated

Cofounding variables

a factor other than the factor being studied

experimenter bias

researchers unintentionally influence results to confirm their own beliefs

dependent variable

the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated

validity

experiment tests what it is supposed to test

Quantitative Research

finds numerical data

Qualitative Research

finds narrative and descriptive data

informed consent

giving potential participants enough information about a study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

Debrief

explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants.

descriptive statistics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups

skewed

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value.

standard deviation

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value.

normal curve

inferential statistics

a representation of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

statistically significant

a statistical statement of how likely it is that a result (such as a difference between samples) occurred by chance, assuming there is no difference between the populations being studied.

meta-analysis

using multiple studies in findings?