Unit 0 AP Psych

What are the characteristics of the scientific attitude?

Curiosity, skeptism, humility

What are the three roadblocks to critical thinking? And why are they important?

Hindsight bias, overconfidence, perceiving patterns in random events → why we can’t rely on common sense, we think we know more than we do, very prone to pattern seeking but world is unpredicable

Hindsight bias

“I knew it all along”, tendency to believe after learning an outcome that one would have foreseen it

Scientific method

Self correcting proccess for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis

What do peer reviewers do

Evaluate study’s theory, originality, accuracy, other scientists who are experts, journal editors use these peer reviews to decide if research should be published

Theory, hypothesis, falsifiability

Theory = explain behavior/event, offers ideas that organize observations, summarizes

Hypothesis = testable predictions that specify which result support theory + which disconfirm it

Falsifiability = possibility that idea/hypothesis/theory can be disproven

Operational definition? Why is it important to scientific method

Def: statement of exact procedures used in study → can replicate original observations with diff participants/materials → important bc more confidence in finding’s reliability

Non-experimental research methods?

Case studies = studies once group/person in depth

Surveys/interviews = obtain self reported behaviors of a group, random sample of group (people can shade their answers)

Naturalistic observations = observing + recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without manipulating situtation

Social desireability bias

People answering in way that they think will please the researcher

Self report bias

When people report behavior inaccurately

Sampling bias

Generalize from a few, unrepresentative cases

Conviencnce sampling

Collected from a group that is readily available (not representative)

Population

All those in a group being studies

Random sampling

Represents population fairly bc each member has equal chance of inclusion

Correlation

Measure of extent to which two factors vary together and thus how well either factor predicts the other, correlation does not equal causation → suggest possible cause effect

Correlation coefficient

-1 to 1, statistical index of relationship between 2 variables

Scatterpolot

Amount of scatter suggest strength of correlation

Directionality problem

Can’t tell us which variable is the cause and effect (Correlational research)

Third variable problem

Third variable that could contribute to correlation - confounding variable

Illusory correlation

Perceive it relationship where none exists, or perceiving a stronger-than actual relationship (think we can personally influence chance events like rolling dice harder)

Regression toward mean

Tendency for extreme scores/events to fall back toward average

What is the only scientific method to establish cause/effect

Experiment

Experiment

Research method, thru random assignment → control other relavent factor

Independent v = factor manipulating

Dependent v = effect comes out of manipulating a factor

Two groups of experiment

Experimental group = exposed to treatment

Control group = not exposed to treatment, serves as comparison

Why is random assignment important

Equalizes two groups, minimizes preexisting differences between different groups,

Random assignment vs sampling

Representative survey sample vs equalizes experiment + control groups

Single blind vs double blind

Research participants are blind about which treatment received → control social desireability bias (want to please)

Participants + staff (give + collect data) both blind about whether participant recieve treatment or placebo, reduces experimenter bias (researches may unintentionally influence results to confirm beliefs)

Placebo effect

Caused by expectations alone

validity

Key goal of experimental design, experiment tests/predicts what it is supposed to test

Quantitative vs qualitative research

Relies on numerical data vs in depth, narrative data

Confederates

Pretend to be fellow participants but are actually part of experiement (prevent social desireability bias)

4 ethical rules by APA

Obtain potential participants informed consent (give them enough info about study to let them choose if they want to participate)

Protect them from harm+ discomfort

Keep their info confidential

Debrief people (explain purpose after, temporary deception)

Histogram

Bar graph depicting frequency distribution

Descriptive statistics

Measure + describe group characteristics, measure central tendency + variation

Central tendency and measures

Single score that represents whole set of scores

Mode, mean, median (percentile rank = percentage of scores that are less than a given score)

Skewed distribution

Rep of scores that lack symmetry around their average value

Def and Measure of variation

Variation = how similar/diverse scores are (low = reliable)

Range, standard deviation

Bell shaped distribution/normal curve

Large number of Data often forms normal curves, symm, 68% fall within one SD of mean

Descriptive vs inferential stats

Inferential = numerical data allow us to generalize (infer from sample data) vs describes group traits (summarize)

Metaanalysis

Stat procedure for analyzing results of multiple studies to reach overall conclusion, more estimates better than fewer (conduct multiple studies → combine all estimates)

statistical sig

How likely it is that a result occurred by chance, assuming no diff between pop, prob more than chance

Effect size

Strength of relationship between 2 variables (larger → one variable can be explained by the other more)