🧠 FINAL MASTER RESEARCH SKILLS QUIZLET DECK

Why do psychologists study research methods and statistics?

To develop skills for conducting research and to critically evaluate evidence, allowing informed judgments about psychological claims.

What is meant by objectivity in science?

The attempt to describe and explain the world as it is, independent of personal desires, emotions, or biases.

According to Bertrand Russell, what characterises the scientific outlook?

A refusal to treat personal desires, hopes, or fears as guides to understanding reality.

What is critical thinking in science?

The process of questioning, evaluating, and improving ideas through criticism rather than accepting them as final truths.

What is the dogmatic tradition in science?

Accepting ideas as true based on authority or tradition without subjecting them to criticism.

What is the critical tradition in science?

Improving ideas by exposing them to criticism and testing rather than accepting them unquestioningly.

Who proposed falsification as a criterion of science?

Karl Popper.

Why can no scientific theory ever be proven true according to Popper?

Because future observations may falsify it, so theories can only be tentatively accepted.

What does falsification mean?

Testing theories in ways that could potentially show them to be false.

Why is falsification valuable?

It allows false theories to be rejected and replaced with better ones.

What does Popper mean by “the theory comes first”?

Observations are collected to test theories, not to passively accumulate facts.

What is the ‘bucket theory of knowledge’?

The incorrect idea that humans passively absorb knowledge through observation.

Why is the bucket theory wrong?

Because knowledge is guided by theories and questions, not passive observation.

What is a scientific paradigm according to Thomas Kuhn?

A shared theoretical framework within which normal science operates.

What is normal science?

Research that extends and refines an existing paradigm rather than questioning it.

What are anomalies in Kuhn’s theory?

Findings that cannot be explained by the existing paradigm.

What happens when anomalies accumulate?

They can lead to paradigm shifts where a new framework replaces the old one.

What is a paradigm shift?

A fundamental change in the theoretical framework of a scientific field.

What is rationalism according to Popper?

An attitude of openness to criticism and willingness to learn from being wrong.

What distinguishes rationalism from irrationalism?

Rationalism values criticism and evidence; irrationalism relies on emotion, identity, or authority.

Why is plurality of ideas important in science?

It allows criticism and comparison, which drives progress toward better theories.

What is the replication crisis?

The failure to replicate many well-known psychological findings.

What is direct replication?

Repeating a study using the same methods as precisely as possible.

What is conceptual replication?

Testing the same hypothesis using different methods.

What is HARKing?

Hypothesising After the Results are Known.

Why are small sample sizes problematic?

They are less representative and increase false positives.

What is cherry-picking results?

Reporting only findings that support the hypothesis.

What is the file drawer effect?

The tendency for non-significant results to go unpublished.

What is preregistration?

Specifying hypotheses and analysis plans before collecting data.

Why is preregistration important?

It reduces researcher bias and increases transparency.

What is open science?

A movement promoting transparency, data sharing, and reproducibility.

What are the four BPS ethical principles?

Respect, competence, responsibility, and integrity.

What does informed consent involve?

Participants understanding the study and agreeing voluntarily.

What is deception in research?

Withholding or misleading information, justified only when necessary and ethically approved.

What is debriefing?

Explaining the true purpose of the study after participation.

What is falsification of data?

Altering or inventing data, which is unethical.

What is biased reporting?

Presenting results selectively to mislead conclusions.

Why is ethical treatment of data important?

Because research findings influence future science and real-world decisions.

What is an independent variable?

A variable manipulated by the researcher.

What is a dependent variable?

A variable measured to assess the effect of the independent variable.

What is a confounding variable?

A variable that systematically varies with the IV and affects the DV.

What is a discrete variable?

A variable with countable values.

What is a continuous variable?

A variable that can take any value within a range.

What is nominal data?

Categorical data with no inherent order.

What is ordinal data?

Categorical data with a meaningful order but unequal intervals.

What is interval data?

Numerical data with equal intervals but no true zero.

What is ratio data?

Numerical data with equal intervals and a true zero.

Why is time measured in seconds ratio data?

Because it has equal intervals and a meaningful zero.

What is descriptive statistics?

Statistics that summarise data using measures of central tendency and variability.

What is inferential statistics?

Statistics that allow conclusions about populations based on samples.

What does a scatterplot show?

Scores on one variable plotted against scores on another variable.

What does a histogram show?

The frequency distribution of a single variable.

What is the mean?

The arithmetic average of scores.

What is the median?

The middle score when data are ordered.

What is the mode?

The most frequent score.

What is standard deviation?

A measure of the spread of scores around the mean.

What does a large standard deviation indicate?

High variability in the data.

What is a p-value?

The probability of obtaining the observed result assuming the null hypothesis is true.

What does p < .05 mean?

The result is statistically significant under conventional criteria.

What is the null hypothesis?

A statement that there is no effect or relationship.

What is the alternative hypothesis?

A statement that there is an effect or relationship.

What is a two-tailed hypothesis?

A hypothesis predicting a difference without specifying direction.

What is a Type I error?

Concluding there is an effect when there is not.

What is a Type II error?

Concluding there is no effect when there is one.

What does Cohen’s d measure?

Effect size, or the magnitude of a difference.

What does Cohen’s d = 0.5 indicate?

A medium effect size.

When is a paired-samples t-test used?

When comparing two related measurements from the same participants.

How do you interpret p = .008 in a t-test?

The result is statistically significant.

How do you interpret p = .052?

The result is not statistically significant at α = .05.

What does a significant t-test indicate?

A reliable difference between conditions.

What is regression in social cognition?

Updating beliefs gradually based on accumulating evidence.

What is demand characteristics?

Participants altering behaviour based on perceived study aims.

What is the purpose of random assignment?

To control confounding variables.

What is internal validity?

The extent to which causal conclusions are justified.

What is external validity?

The extent to which findings generalise beyond the study.

What is reliability?

The consistency of a measurement.

What is validity?

The accuracy of a measurement.

What is construct validity?

Whether a measure truly captures the theoretical construct.

What is a research report structured around?

Introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

Why are methods reported in detail?

To allow replication.

Why are non-significant results important?

They reduce publication bias and improve theory testing.