Psych Mod 4-8

What are the three roadblocks to critical thinking?

hindsight bias, overconfidence, and perceiving patterns in random events (because of this we cant rely on common sense)

Hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Overconfidence

we think we know more than we do

Oftentimes random sequences dont

look random

Hindsight bias, overconfidence, and our tendency to perceive patterns in random events tempt us to

overestimate the value of commonsense thinking

Scientific Method

a self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis

Theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events

• summarizes and simplifies

• produces testable predictions

Hypotheses

a testable prediction, often implied by a theory

Operational definitions

a carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study

Replicate

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations to see whether the basic finding can be reproduced (replication is confirmation)

Descriptive methods

describe behaviors (often by using case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations)

Correlational methods

associate different factors or variables (anything that contributes to a result)

Experimental methods

manipulate variables to discover their effects

starting point of any science

description

Professional psychologists

draw conclusions through case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys

Case study

a descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

Naturalistic observations

descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control the situation

Survey

a descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a specific group (usually by question could affect people expressed opinions)

Phrasing of a question could affect

peoples expressed opinions

Sampling bias

a flawed sampling process that produces an unrepresentative sample

Population

all those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn

Random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion (random number generator, used in well done survey, creates rep survey sample)

Correlate

a measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other

Correlation Coefficient

a statistical index of the relationship between two things

• can range from -1.0 to +1.0

• finds how closely 2 things vary/ how well one predicts the other

Variables

anything that can vary and is feasible and ethical to measure

Scatterplots

graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables

Slope of points

direction of relationship between variables

Amount of scatter

the strength of the correlation (little scatter=high correlation)

Correlation research

reveals relationships (doesn’t explain them)

Illusory Correlation

perceiving a relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than-actual relationship

Regression toward the mean

tendency for the extreme or unusual scores or events to fall back toward the average (the illusion that incontrollable events correlate with our actions)

Experiments aim to manipulate an ___, measure a ___, and control ___.

independent variable, dependent variable, and confounding variable

Experiment

when an investigator manipulates one or more factors to observe the effects by 1) manipulate factors and 2) keep other factors constant

Experimental group

group exposed to the treatment

Control group

group not exposed to the treatment

Randomly assign

assigning participants to experimental and control groups be chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the different groups (equalizes the two groups)

Double-blind procedure

when both research participants and staff are ignorant about whether the research participants and staff are ignorant about whether the research participants have received treatment or a placobo

Placebo effect

experimental results caused by expectations alone

Independent variable

factor that is manipulated

Confounding variable

a factor other than the factor being studied that might influence a study’s results

Dependent variable

outcome that is measured

Operational definitions

specify the procedures that manipulate the independent variable or measure the dependent

Validity

the extent to which a test/experiment measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Psychology science reveals general principles that help explain

behaviors

Animal Protection Movement

protests use of animals in research

the two issues:

• is it right to place human well-being above animals

• what safeguards should protect animal well-being in research

experiments on animals led to increased

empathy and protection

4 parts of the basic ethics codes

1. obtain potential participants informed consent to take part

2. protect participants from greater-than-usual harm and discomfort

3. keep info about individual participants confidential

4. fully debrief people (explain the research afterwards including any temporary deception)

Informed consent

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

Debrief

the post-experimental explanation of a study, including its purpose and any deceptions, to its participants

What do values affect

what we study, how we study it, and how we interpret it

Statistics

tools that allow psychologists to measure variables and then interpret results

Descriptive statstics

numerical data used to measure and describe characteristics of groups

• includes measures of central tendency and variation

• similar to performance assessments

Histogram

bar graph depicting a frequency distribution (read the scale label and note their range)

Measure of central tendency

single score representing a whole set of data

Mode

most frequently occurring score

Mean

average of data (+ scores and / by # of scores)

Median

middle score in data

Variation

how similar or diverse the scores are

Range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score

• uses info from each score

• better gauges whether scores are packed together and dispersed

Bimodal distribution

two peaks or humps

Normal distribution

symmetrical

Normal curve

symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data (most scores fall near the mean and few near the extreme)

Inferential statistics

numerical data that allow one to generalize and to infer from sample data the probability of something being true of a population

3 Principles of when its safe to generalize

1. representative samples are better than biased samples

2. less-variable observations are more reliable than those that are more variable

3. more cases are better than fewer

Statistical testing can estimate the probability

of the result occuring by chance

Statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance, doesn’t say anything about the importance of the result