Perspectives Research KBATS

Assent

a minor’s consent, obtained in addition to parent; an ethical guideline

Behaviorism

learning process; observe behavior and responses; middle finger

Belief Perspective

maintain a belief even after info originally gave rise to it has been refuted, a type of design challenge

Biopsychosocial

“hand perspective”; physical and mental health are determined by biological, psychological, and social factors

Case study

an in-depth examination of a specific subject (ex. Genie)

Cognitive

thinking + remembering; perception and language; pointer finger

Confederates

an actor or researcher helper who pretends to be a normal; a design challenge

Confidentiality

anonymity must be protected unless subject gives permission to identify

Confirmation bias

gather evidence that supports expectations, not bothering to seek opposing evidence

Confounding variables

any factors other than IV that seem likely to influence DV in a specific study; random assignments helps with this

Control group

similar subjects who do not receive the treatment given to the experimental group 

Convenience sampling

 sampling method that involves selecting a sample of people or cases that are close by or easily accessible 

Correlation

shows how factors might be related (limitation: can’t provide causation, results may be affected by other variables) 

Cross-sectional study

different groups studied at the same time, shows effects of time/environment on individuals    

Cultural norms

how behavior is shaped by history + culture + social norms, may create stereotypes; wrist

Debriefing

Full explanation of goals/procedure where participant can give feedback or withdraw; an ethical guideline

Deception

May be used if essential benefits outweigh risks (no debrief, ex experiment where women stands up) informed consent is given during debrief after experiement; ethical guideline

Demand Characteristics

may respond to cues about the purpose of study; a design challenge

Dependent variables

aspect of behavior thought to be affected by independent variable, usually measurement of a subject’s behavior 

Double-blind study

eliminates BOTH experimental and research bias; research participant and staff are ignorant about experimental and control conditions

Empirical evidence

information gained through experimentation (part of behavioral)

Evolutionary

Darwinism, maximizing reproductive success

Experimental group

subjects receive exposure to the IV

Experimenter bias

unconscious tendency for researches to treat member of experimental/control gorup differently to increase chance of confirming hypothesis; design challenge

False Consensus Effect

Assume one’s opinion is more widely shared than it actually is; design challenge

Hawthorne Effect

Merely selecting a group of people affects the performance of that group; knowing they are being observed impacts behavior; design challenge      

Hindsight bias

tendency to exaggerate ability to foresee  something after learning the outcome (I saw that coming (when you really didn’t)) 

Humanistic

 individual choice, potential for self-growth and actualization; hard to test; ring finger

Hypothesis

testable prediction or theory, usually an if/then statement with two variables

Independent variables

condition or event being studied or manipulated to examine impact on DV

Informed Consent

participant informed of risks of study and choose to participate; ethical guideline

Illusory Correlation

 Appearance of a relationship that in reality does not exist; superstitions arise from this, notice random coincidences and may forget they are random and see correlation; a design challenge 

Institutional review

 subgroup of APA (American Psychological Association), oversees ethics for human/animal study, assesses risks and minimizes has to approve experiments 

Likert scales

quantitative measure/ rating scale that uses a range of options from neutral to extreme (ex. Strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Longitudinal Study

Same group studied over time, shows effects on same people

Meta-analysis

Combination of results from multiple studies, increases conclusion validity with more comprehensive view (limitation: research design can vary and might not be compatible) 

Naturalistic observation

observing overt behavior in a natural setting, more generalized (limitation: observer bias and may not reveal all factors that contribute to the observation)

Operational definitions

 a clear, exact description of how a theoretical concept or abstract variable is observed, measured, or manipulated in practice; helps with test reliability

Overconfidence

where one overestimates the accuracy of current knowledge 

Placebo effect

Responded to placebo causes subject to believe they are being exposed to “real” things, they have expectations; a deisgn challenge

Psychoanalytic

childhood, past experience when unconscious; uses dream analysis to interpret, but difficult to test; thumb

Random assignment

process by which subjects are put in experimental and control groups; each subject has an equal chance of being put into any group 

Random sampling

method by which subjects are chosen at random, equal chance of being selected

Sampling Bias

Technique used to choose sample group favors one part of a population over another; design challenge; stratified sampling helps with this

Stratified Sample

Population divided into groups; random sample is taken from each group; helps reduce sampling bias 

Single-blind study

 Either staff/participant uninformed; gets rids of either experiment or research bias

Social desirability bias

responses based on society’s expectations; research challenge

Test Reliability

 Consistency; replicability- study can be done by someone else with the same result; operational definitions help with this; design challenge Consistency; replicability- study can be done by someone else with the same result; operational definitions help with this

Test Validity

applicable or legitimate degree in which it is truly measuring what we intended it to; design challenge

Voluntary

 inform that participation is voluntary, right to withdraw without penalty; ethical guideline