Final Ch. 2

Psychology Final Exam

Rationalism

Knowledge gained through reason and logic rather than experience

Empiricism

Knowledge gained through observation and experience

Problem with rationalism

What people think they do does not always match how they actually behave

Door study

Demonstrates failure to notice major environmental changes

Scientific psychology

Approach using experiments and observation to study behavior

Scientific theory

Explanation built from data used to describe and predict behavior

Scientific method

A structured, step-by-step process for conducting research

Step 1: Identify problem

Form a research question based on observation, theory, or intuition

Step 2: Gather information

Review existing literature and research

Step 3: Develop hypothesis

Create an educated prediction about the outcome

Step 4: Conduct experiment

Test hypothesis under controlled conditions

Step 5: Analyze data

Draw conclusions from results

Step 6: Restart process

Replicate or refine research

Hypothesis

Cannot be proven true, only supported or not supported

Replication

Repeating research to strengthen findings

Naturalistic observation

Observing behavior in a natural environment without manipulation

Qualitative data

Descriptive, non-numerical observations

Quantitative data

Numerical measurements or counts

Operational definition

Clear definition of how a variable is measured

Ecological validity

Extent to which behavior reflects real-world conditions

Reactivity (Hawthorne effect)

People change behavior when they know they are observed

Interrater reliability

Agreement between multiple observers

Advantage of naturalistic observation

Provides real-world behavior and generates hypotheses

Disadvantage of naturalistic observation

Lack of control and inability to determine causation

Surveys

Method of collecting attitudes, opinions, and experiences

Population

Entire group being studied

Sample

Subset of the population

Representative sample

Sample that accurately reflects the population

Sampling bias

When sample is not representative of the population

Wording effects

Changes in wording influence responses

Response bias

Participants answer inaccurately

Acquiescence bias

Tendency to agree with statements

Social desirability bias

Giving socially acceptable answers

Better-than-average effect

Belief that one is better than others

Volunteer bias

Participants differ from non-participants

Advantage of surveys

Quick and cost-effective for large data collection

Disadvantage of surveys

Susceptible to multiple biases and low response rates

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Committee ensuring research is ethical before it begins

Ethical research

Research that minimizes risk and protects participants

Informed consent

Participants are fully informed and voluntarily agree to participate

Participant rights

Right to withdraw, understand risks, and have data protected

Vulnerable populations

Groups unable to give full informed consent

Decisional impairment

Limited ability to understand participation

Situational vulnerability

External pressure limits free choice

Ethical principle of justice

Vulnerable groups should still have access to research benefits

Guardian consent

Permission from a legal guardian

Assent

Agreement from participant who cannot fully consent

Correlational research

Examines relationships between variables

Correlation

When two variables change together

Scatterplot

Graph showing relationship between two variables

Correlation coefficient (r)

Number indicating direction and strength of relationship

Positive correlation

Both variables increase or decrease together

Negative correlation

One variable increases while the other decreases

Zero correlation

No relationship between variables

Line of best fit

Line showing overall trend in data

Strength of correlation

How closely variables are related

Range of r

From -1 to +1

Strong correlation

r close to -1 or +1

Weak correlation

r close to 0

Correlation ≠ causation

A relationship does not mean one variable causes the other

Confounding variable

A third variable influencing both variables

Value of correlation

Helps identify relationships and make predictions

Independent variable (IV)

Variable manipulated by researcher

Dependent variable (DV)

Outcome measured in experiment

Extraneous variables

Uncontrolled variables that may affect results

Goal of experiments

Ensure dependent variable changes are only due to independent variables

Descriptive statistics

Numbers that summarize data

Central tendency

Value that best represents a dataset

Mean

Average value

Median

Middle value

Mode

Most frequent value

Outlier

Extreme value that skews data

Median advantage

Less affected by outliers than mean