Psych 290: Unit 2, Chapter 2

anecdotal evidence (p. 80)

The use of personal narratives as evidence

case study (pp. 55-56)

The study of one subject (person or event) in depth

confounding of variables (p. 51)

When two variables are linked in a way that makes it difficult to determine their individual effects

control group (pp. 50, 52)

The group that does not receive the independent variable or treatment that the experimental group does.

anecdotal evidence (p. 80)

The use of personal narratives as evidence

case study (pp. 55-56)

The study of one subject (person or event) in depth

confounding of variables (p. 51)

When two variables are linked in a way that makes it difficult to determine their individual effects

control group (pp. 50, 52)

The group that does not receive the independent variable or treatment that the experimental group does.

correlation (p. 62)

The interaction between two variables, positive, negative, neutral

correlation coefficient (p. 62)

The statistical value for the relationship of effect between two variables

correlational research (pp. 55-58)

broadens the scope of of phenomena that psychologists are able to study. Cannot control events to isolate cause and effect, therefor cannot show that two variables are causally related.

data collection techniques (p. 46)

procedures for making empirical measurement and observations.

Direct questionnaire, Questionnaire, Interview, psychological test, physiological recording, examination of archival records

dependent variable (p. 49)

The variable that is being measured, and is thought to be affected by the manipulation of the independent variable

descriptive statistics (p. 59)

A method to organize and summarize data.

Methods of central tendencies, measures of variability, coefficient of correlation.

double-blind procedure (p. 69)

A technique in research where neither the subjects nor the experimenters know who is in the control group and who is in the experimental group

ethical guidelines (pp. 74-75)

The CPA and APA develop guidelines that are followed within psychological research and treatment. updated to meet current knowledge.

Gives needed protection to research subjects, but can also hinder scientific growth. Ex. Animal rights vs research. Full disclosure vs misleading for more natural results

experiment (p. 49)

a system of research that tests a hypothesis using a proven strategy involving the careful manipulation of one variable over another.

experimental group (p. 50)

The group in an experiment that receives the independent variable or experimental treatment. Opposed to the control

experimental research (p. 53)

Allows for discovery of cause and effect relationships between variables due to the control over the independent variable, and observing the effect on the dependent.

Cons. Experiments are artificial. Cannot study certain subjects due to ethics or availability

experimenter bias (p. 69)

The bias the experimenter has towards the findings of the study they conducting. It can skew the results in that direction. Expectations and preferences

extraneous variables (p. 51)

any other variables than the independent variable that seems likely to affect the dependant variable in the study

fear and sexual attraction (p. 47)

Are causally related to one another. The affect of both on the body is similar, which can lead to the experience on the individual being confused or subjective. Pain/Pleasure threshold. Suggests that one emotion can be relabelled as another dependent on the environment and stimulus

frequency distribution (p. 59)

The orderly arrangement of scores or data that shows the frequency of the score or a group of scores occurrence

frequency polygon (p. 59)

A line figure used to present the information from a frequency distribution

hypothesis (p. 44)

A theory regarding the outcome of a study. An idea of what will happen in regards to the independent and dependant variables

A tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables

independent variable (p. 49)

The variable (condition or event) that is manipulated in a study in order to see its effect on the dependant variable