Experimental Psychology - Exam 1

Empiricism

knowledge is based on observation; the use of verifiable evidence as the basis for conclusions

Quantitative

A way of collecting empirical data in which information is converted to numbers for future statistical analysis (how many or how strongly related)

Qualitative

rich descriptions that are not simplified into numbers

Theory

a statement (or set of statements) that describes a general principle of how variables are related

Hypothesis

prediction about the relationship between variables that are being tested in a given study

Law

general rule that applies to all situations, usually in physical science (not common in psychology)

Preregistration

before collecting any data, the researcher has stated publicly what the study’s outcome is expected to be

Falsifiable

it’s possible to collect data that’ll indicate the theory (or hypothesis) is wrong; there’s a possible way to demonstrate that it is not true

universalism

standards and criteria are consistent

communality

transparency and shared knowledge

Disinterestedness

objective interest in discovering the truth no matter what it is

organized skepticism

question everything

applied research

done with a practical problem in mind and aiming to solve it

basic research

done to enhance the general body of knowledge

translational research

using knowledge from basic research to develop and test applications

parsimonious

simplest working explanation is usually the best

comparison group

a group in an experiment whose levels on the independent variable differ from those of the treatment group in some intended and meaningful way

confounds

a general term for a potential alternative explanation for a research finding; a threat to internal validity

probabilistic

stating that science is intended to explain a certain proportion (but not necessarily all) of the possible cases

availability heuristic

people incorrectly estimate the frequency of something, relying predominantly on instances that come easily to mind rather than using all possible evidence to evaluate a conclusion

base rate fallacy

Remember cases and disregard the data

Present Present Bias

when two things are present we notice them, thinking they work together

confirmation bias

tendency to only consider evidence that supports a hypothesis, asking questions that will lead to an expected answer

belief perserverance

maintaining a belief or attitude even when faced with conflicting evidence or new data

overconfidence

when a person’s subjective certainty in their judgements, knowledge, or abilities is much higher than their objective accuracy

Bias Blind spot

tendency to think that compared to others, they themselves are less likely to engage in biased reasoning

empirical journal article

a scholarly article that reports for the first time the results of a research study

review journal articles

an article summarizing all the studies that have been published in one research area

meta-analysis

averaging the effect sizes of all studies that have tested the same variables to see what conclusion that whole body of evidence supports

variable

an attribute that varies, having at least two levels, or values

constant

an attribute that could potentially vary, but only has one level in the study

operational definition

the specific way in which a concept of interest is measured or manipulated in the experiment

construct

name of the concepts being studied

conceptual

construct define at the theoretical level

frequency claims

describe rates of one measured variable

association claims

two variables are related, but does not claim causation

causal claims

one variable is responsible for change in another

temporal precedence, internal validity, and covariance

for causal claims you must have …

validity

the appropriateness of a conclusion or decision

construct validity

is the operational definition adequate and acceptable?

all claims

in what claims can construct validity be used?

statistical validity

extent to which statistical conclusions derived from a study are accurate and reasonable

all claims

in what claims can statistical validity be used?

external validity

an indication of how well the results of a study generalize to the greater population

mundane realism, demand characterisitcs, reactivity, social desirability, homogeneous attrition

what are some threats to external validity

primarily frequency and association

In what claims is external validity used

internal validity

a study’s ability to eliminate alternative explanations for the causal relationship between two variables

causal claims only

in what claims is internal validity used

man who contacted CDC during the Tuskegee Syphilis study and eventually took it to the press

who is peter buxton?

respect for persons

participants should be treated as autonomus agents and certain groups deserve special protection

benefice

do no harm, risk benefit analysis, need to consider individual and community

justice

fair balance between who benefits and who risks

data fabrication

researchers invent data that fit their hypothesis

data falsification

researchers influence a study’s results

Deception through omission

researchers withhold some details of the study from participants

deception through commission

researchers actively lie to participants

Refinement, Reduction, Replacement

What are the three Rs for animal testing

Replacement

Find alternatives to animal research when possible

Refinement

Modify procedure to reduce harm to animals

reduction

Procedures that use the least amount of animals

self-report meausre

people give direct, explicit responses

observational measure

experimenter judges observable behaviors or responses

Physiological measures

recording of biological or physical data

convergent validity

scores correlate with other tests of the same construct

discriminant validity

scores do not correlate with tests that are different for different constructs

categorical variables

a variable whose levels are categories

quantitative variables

a variable whose values can be recorded as meaningful numbers

ordinal

levels represent a ranked order and in which distances between levels are not equal

interval

equal intervals between levels/scales, but no true zero

ratio

equal intervals between levels and a true zero

reliability

the consistency of the results of a measurement

test-retest reliability

individuals scores are the same every time a measure is used

interrater reliability

two or more coders give consistent ratings of a set of targets

Internal (inter-item) reliability

different items (parts/questions) all measuring the same construct should yield similar responses

criterion validity

does the measure relate to some specific outcome?

predictive validity

gives information that allows one to predict future behavior

concurrent validity

related to a criterion or behavior measured at the same time

known-groups paradigm

researcher tests two or more groups that are know to differ on the variable of interest

correlations

reliability is assessed with ________

reliable

A measure can be ______ but not valid

valid

A measure cannot be _______ and not reliable

accuracy

criterion oriented validities are used to asses _______ of measures

random variability; reliability

measure error increases ________ in measure and decreases _________

random variability

variability that we can’t explain, noise, within Ss variability

Exempt research

no more than minimal risk*, certain specific

categories including benign interventions, surveys, educational

studies

Expedited research

no more than minimal risk, includes clinical

studies, noninvasive biological samples, recording, risk to

privacy/confidentiality

Full review research

more than minimal risk/stress, certain

vulnerable populations

conceptual variable

the name of the concept being studied