Research Methods Test #1

Objectivity

Taking empirical, quantifiable measurements.

Confirmation

Replicating research (pure replication) or replication with extension.

Self-correction

Being willing to change misperceptions when data doesn't fit.

Control

Keeping everything identical except the variable you manipulate.

Independent Variable (IV)

What the researcher controls or manipulates (e.g., drug vs. no drug).

Dependent Variable (DV)

The participant's response that you measure (e.g., anxiety scores).

Extraneous Variable

Unwanted factors that could ruin your cause-effect conclusions if not controlled.

Analytic

Always true (bad for research).

Contradictory

Always false (bad for research).

Synthetic

Can be true or false—the ideal choice using an "If... then" format.

Directional

Predicts a specific outcome direction ("Group A will do better than Group B").

Non-directional

Only predicts a difference ("Group A and Group B will differ").

Inductive Reasoning

Moving from Specific cases (like a real-world event) to General theories.

Deductive Reasoning

Moving from General principles/past literature to Specific predictions.

Confirmational

Trying to confirm results (horse guy story).

Disconfirmational (Falsification)

Trying to disprove your hypothesis; vital because you can never truly "prove" a case in psychology.

Paradigm Shifts

involve new shifts in direction for research rather than just building on prior research.

Precedent (Participant Selection)

Using the same participants as prior researchers (e.g., rats, college students) to build on existing knowledge.

Availability (Convenience Sample)

Choosing participants because they are easy to obtain, such as ordering rats from a colony or using college students for extra credit.

Participant Requirements based on Research Type

The specific project requirements dictate participants, such as needing rats for surgeries or children for developmental studies.

Finances & Participant Number

Financial costs for both human pay and animal care/housing limit the number of participants in a study.

Time & Participant Number

Time limits participant numbers; running studies with many participants or keeping continuous human observation is costly and time-consuming.

Within-Group Variability & Sample Size

The more homogenous a group of participants, the fewer are needed; more heterogeneous groups require larger sample sizes.

Homogeneous Samples

Samples with very little variability across participants (e.g., similar genetics, age, experiences), which reduces error and increases statistical significance.

Good vs. Bad Variability

Good variability is associated with the independent variable (IV); all other unwanted variability is bad and can obscure results.

Random Assignment Limitations

Random assignment helps create similar groups, but it does not guarantee equivalent groups, especially with small sample sizes.

Apparatus Role

Equipment used to either present an independent variable, measure a dependent variable, or both.

IV Presentation Apparatus

Equipment used to deliver the independent variable, such as EEG machines, Skinner boxes, or computers for an Implicit Association Test (IAT).

DV Recording Apparatus

Equipment that accurately and objectively records dependent variables while avoiding experimenter biases.

Experimenter Characteristics

Unintentional impacts on research results caused by the experimenter's age, sex, attractiveness, race, or confidence.

Experimenter Expectancies

Confounds where experimenter expectations influence participant behavior, making it difficult to isolate the effect of the IV.

The Rosenthal Effect (Pygmalion Effect)

When experimenter expectations influence how they treat participants, thereby altering participant behavior to match the expectations.

Controlling Experimenter Characteristics

Using standardized methods, carefully training researchers, and standardizing appearance and behavior.

Controlling Experimenter Expectancies

Using non-biased instructions, automated/computerized instructions, and single-blind or double-blind designs.

Single-Blind Experimental Design

A study design in which either the experimenter OR the participant is unaware of the treatment being received.

Demand Characteristics

Features of an experiment that inadvertently communicate the study's purpose and lead participants to act in a particular manner.

The Good Participant Effect

When participants alter their normal behavior to cooperate and behave as they perceive the experimenter wants them to.

Performance Cues

Cues that prompt participants to try to behave in a manner consistent with study hypotheses.

Role-Attitude Cues

Cues causing participants to alter behaviors based on their research role (cooperative, apprehensive, or negative attitudes).

Cooperative Attitude

desire to please the experimenter

Apprehensive Attitude

anxiety about how to perform

Negative Attitude

try to ruin the experiment

Yea-Saying and Nay-Saying Response Bias

The tendency of some participants to answer 'yes' or 'no' to all questions, yielding invalid data.

Response Set

When the testing environment or social desirability influences participants to respond based on contextual cues rather than truthfully.

Controlling Demand Characteristics

Using double-blind techniques, developing good cover stories via deception, and pretesting study materials.

Reverse Scoring

Using reverse-scaled questions in a survey to identify and remove participants who are not paying attention or are inconsistent.

Cross-Cultural Psychology

A branch of psychology whose main goal is to determine the universality of research results across different cultures.

Etic

A research finding that is the same across different cultures (e.g., response to positive and negative reinforcement).

Emic

A culture-specific research finding (e.g., the U.S. emphasis on individuality versus collectivity in other nations).

Ethnocentrism in Research

Viewing other cultures through the filter and assumptions of one's own culture.

Cultural Response Set

The tendency of a particular culture to respond in a certain manner due to familiarity or unfamiliarity with testing formats (like Likert scales).

Variables

Events or behaviors that can assume two or more values.

Generic Prejudice Theory

A theory proposed by psychologist Neil Vidmar proposing that people have generic prejudices about individuals who commit certain crimes, leading jurors to rely more on the type of crime charged than on actual case facts.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that the experimenter controls or manipulates to compare different levels.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable that is measured (response), which changes as a result of the independent variable.

Operational Definition

Defining independent and dependent variables in terms of the specific operations needed to produce or measure them.

Physiological-Based Independent Variable

An independent variable created by manipulating the participant's physiological state, such as administering alcohol or drugs.

Experience-Based Independent Variable

An independent variable involving the manipulation of the amount or type of training or learning a participant receives.

Stimulus-Based Independent Variable

An independent variable created by manipulating some aspect of the environment.

Participant-Based Independent Variable

An independent variable focusing on non-manipulated participant characteristics such as age, gender, or personality traits.

Correctness (DV Measure)

A dependent variable recording method that counts the number of times a correct or incorrect response occurs.

Rate or Frequency (DV Measure)

A dependent variable recording method that counts the number of times a response occurs.

Degree or Amount (DV Measure)

A dependent variable recording method that determines a single number indicating degree or amount, such as a score on a Likert-type scale.

Latency or Duration (DV Measure)

A dependent variable recording method that measures how quickly a participant responds or how long the response lasts.

Validity

A characteristic of a good DV indicating that it measures what it is supposed to measure.

Reliability

A characteristic of a good DV indicating that it produces consistent measurements upon repeated testing.

Range Effects

Upper or lower limits on variables that decrease variability between or within treatment conditions.

Floor Effect

A range effect occurring when average scores on a dependent variable are clustered at the very low end of the scale regardless of condition.

Ceiling Effect

A range effect occurring when average scores on a dependent variable are clustered at the very high end of the scale regardless of condition.

Fruit and Vegetable Categorization Results Graph

A graph demonstrating ceiling effects for picture presentation, floor effects for botanical names, and variable performance for common words across time limits.

Extraneous Variables (Confounds)

Variables other than the independent variable that can influence the dependent variable, making it unclear which variable caused the observed results.

Confounding

A situation in which the results of a study can be attributed to either the operation of an independent variable or the operation of an extraneous variable.

Uncontrolled Variability

makes it difficult or even impossible to detect any real effects of the IV between the conditions.

Type I Error

An error committed when a researcher concludes that a hypothesis is true (that an effect exists) when it is actually false.

Type II Error

An error committed when a researcher concludes that a hypothesis is false (that no effect exists) when it is actually true.

Nuisance Variables

Unwanted variables that cause the variability of scores to increase within the same treatment condition or group.

Randomization (Control Technique for EV)

A control technique ensuring that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group in an experiment, distributing unique characteristics across conditions.

Random Assignment Method

Assigning participants to treatments randomly, such as by picking their name or number out of a hat, to help establish cause-effect relationships.

Elimination (Control Technique for EV)

A control technique in which the researcher completely removes extraneous variables from an experiment.

Constancy (Control Technique for EV)

A control technique in which EV’s are reduced to a single value that is experienced by all participants.

Balancing (Control Technique for EV)

A control procedure that achieves group equality by distributing known extraneous variables equally to all experimental and control groups.

Repeated Measures Design (Control Technique for EV)

An experimental design in which participants are exposed to all levels of the independent variable, allowing each participant to act as their own control.

Counterbalancing (Control Technique for EV)

A procedure for controlling order effects in repeated measures designs by presenting different treatment sequences to participants.

Within-Subject Counterbalancing

Presenting different treatment sequences to the same participant, such as experiencing conditions in an $A-B-B-A$ order.

Within-Group Counterbalancing

Presenting different treatment sequences to different groups of participants so that half receive one sequence and half receive the reverse sequence.

Complete Counterbalancing

A counterbalancing approach in which all possible treatment sequences are presented, requiring $n!$ participant orders (e.g., $4 \times 3 \times 2 \times 1 = 24$ participants for 4 conditions).

Partial (Incomplete) Counterbalancing

A counterbalancing approach in which only a portion of all possible treatment sequences are presented.

Sequence (Order) Effects

The impact on participant responses caused by the specific position of a treatment within a series of conditions.

Carryover Effects

An effect that “carries over” from one experimental treatment to another.

Learning (Carryover Effect)

A carryover effect where performance on a second treatment improves because the participant gained practice or knowledge from an earlier treatment.

Fatigue (Carryover Effect)

A carryover effect where performance on later treatments deteriorates because the participant becomes tired or bored.

Habituation

A carryover effect where repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to unresponsiveness or reduced emotional reaction toward later stimuli.

Sensitization

A carryover effect where exposure to an initial stimulus causes the participant to respond more strongly to subsequent encounters with the stimulus.

Contrast (Carryover Effect)

A carryover effect occurring when participants compare and contrast different treatments, altering their subsequent responses or confidence.

Adaptation

A carryover effect occurring when physical or physiological changes (such as dark adaptation or drug tolerance) cause earlier results to differ from later ones.