Psychological Research (September 1st)

Scientific knowledge is empirical

Meaning it is grounded in objective and tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again

Research Options

Studies

Surveys

Archival Research

Correlational Research

Naturalistic Observation

Structural Observation

Longitudinal Research

Cross-sectional research

Correlation Coefficient

Statistical index of relationship between 2 things.

Range of -1 to 1

Correlation of 0 means no relationship

Ecological Validity

Degree to which research results generalize to real-world applications

Construct Validity

Degree to which a given variable actually captures or measures what it is intended to measure

Face Validity

Degree to which a given variable seems valid on the surface

Hindsight Bias

Tendency to believe after learning an outcome, belief that one could have foreseen the outcome

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to trust evidence that supports your ideas, while disregarding evidence that challenges your ideas

Patternicity (Apophenia)

Tendency to perceive meaningful patterns or connections among unrelated events

Operational Definitions

Carefully worded statements of exact procedures used in a research study. Is defined BEFORE the study

Case Study

Small group studied in-depth

Strengths: allows study of rare occurrences and provides directions for future research

Weaknesses: Individual cases may be misleading and is difficult to generalize findings

Naturalistic Observation

Observing behavior in natural environment

Strengths: allows more-natural behaviors. Can also inspire another hypothesis

Weaknesses: Cannot determine explanations for behavior

Survey

Technique for obtaining self-reported attitudes of behavior of a partial population

Strengths: Easy to administer and provides evidence of relationships between variables

Weaknesses: Cannot show casual relationships (A causes B). Repsondent Honesty

Correlation

measures extent to which 2 factors vary together and how well one represents the other

Correlation does NOT =

causation!

Illusory Correlation

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

Hypocampus

Primary encoding region of the brain, also responsible for retrieving memories

Placebo Effect

Occurs when people’s expectations of beliefs influence or determines their experience in a given situation

Archival Research

Use existing records

Correlational Research

Find relationship between 2 variables

Structured Observation

A research technique that tasks participants with a specific job

Longitudinal Research

Research that gathers data from over an extended period of someone’s lifetime

Cross-sectional Research

Research used to compare multiple segments of a population

The Independent Variable

Is manipulated or controlled in the experiment

The Dependent Variable

Is what the researchers measure during the experiment