PSYC 202 (chap. 1-3)

What is an availability heuristic?

a mental shortcut in which your brain estimates how common or likely an event is based on how easily you can recall a similar example (i.e. recent, shocking, emotionally impactful)

What is a representativeness heuristic?

mental shortcut in which a person judges the probability of an event based on recall of a familiar stereotype or schema

What is the better-than-average effect?

the tendency to overestimate your abilities in comparison to others

What is the overconfidence phenomenon?

our tendency to be overly confident in the accuracy of our judgements

What is the focusing effect?

a cognitive bias in which a person places too much emphasis on a single aspect of a situation rather than the bigger picture

What is introspection and its limitations?

reflecting on our own thoughts and experiences to find relevant evidence.

Limitation: lacks external validity, often causes bias (what you see is all there is phenomenon)

What is the pleasure paradox?

when an introspective analysis regarding a positive experience results in it becoming less enjoyable

What is the “law of small numbers”?

extreme outcomes are more likely when considering a small number of cases

What is the problem of outliers or “person-who” stats?

we can dismiss data from a study that contradicts our beliefs because we know a “person-who” violates the findings

What are the 6 characteristics of a good scientist?

1. Skepticism

2. Open-mindedness

3. Objectivity

4. Empiricism

5. Creativity

6. Communication/replication

What is empirical research?

gaining knowledge with the use of systematic observation, experience, or measurement

What is nonempirical research?

gaining knowledge with the use of nonsystematic methods such as the examination of personal experiences and opinions

What is basic research?

expanding knowledge on a topic to build upon what we already know by developing theories to explain phenomena in our world

What is applied research?

research with the goal of solving practical problems; examines the real-world implications of a particular theory

What is direct vs. indirect observation?

Direct observation: watching or measuring a phenomenon while it happens

Indirect observation: studies secondary reports or traces of the phenomenon after the fact

What is a scientific law?

a statement based on repeated experimental observation that DESCRIBES some aspect of the world.

What is a scientific theory?

a well-substantiated EXPLANATION of some aspect of the natural world confirmed through repeated observation and experimentation

Does psychology rely more on scientific law or theory?

Theory

What is the “finding the exception to the rule” strategy in generating hypotheses?

crafting hypotheses about outcomes in the opposite direction of prior research that has potential to provide new insights into the phenomenon

What is the “matter of degree” strategy in generating hypotheses?

thinking about variables in terms of amounts (quantity, intensity, strength, volume, number, force, persistence, and effort)

What is the “change the directionality” strategy for generating hypotheses?

considering the opposite direction in how one variable influences another

What is a “parsimonious” hypothesis?

choosing a hypothesis that introduces fewer variables or unproven assumptions; cutting out unnecessary steps and complexity

What is “Occam’s razor”?

the cutting away of the unnecessary or convoluted in favour of simplicity

What is The Barnum Effect?

the tendency of people to believe that general descriptions of their personality are highly accurate (i.e. astrology)

What is the difference between variables and constants?

variables can change and take on different values; a constant stays fixed and remains the same for everyone

What is a conceptual definition?

defining a variable in theoretical terms; describes essence or nature of a concept rather than it’s application (e.g. describing what the concept is and it’s driving forces rather than how it will be measured)

What is an operational definition?

describing how you will use variables in your study; how you will test and measure variables

What are “levels” in an independent variable?

different variations of the independent variable determined by the researcher

What is the explanatory/predictor variable?

the potential causal variable in non-experimental designs

What is the criterion/response variable?

the outcome variable in-non experimental designs

What is between-subjects vs. within-subjects design?

a between-subjects design uses different groups of participants for each condition, while a within-subjects design has the same participants experience every condition

What is programmatic research?

a systematic and planned sequence of related studies, with subsequent studies building directly on previous study’s findings; provides richer understanding of connections between variables

What is open science?

the practice of freely sharing scientific work along all stages of the research process

What is a “research protocol”?

a detailed series of steps that lets the researcher know the order in which to administer the study and provides a script

What is a “script”?

a written set of instructions that the researcher will read to each participant while collecting data

What is the order of an APA- style report?

1. title page

2. abstract

3. introduction

4. method

5. results

6. discussion

7. references

What are the 3 Belmont Principles?

1. Beneficence and Nonmaleficence

2. Justice

3. Respect for persons (autonomy/informed consent)

What is the difference between confidentiality and anonymity?

Confidentiality: the participants identities are known to the researcher, but not disclosed to the public.

Anonymity: the participants identities are unknown, even to the researcher.

What is the monster study?

unethical study designed to test whether negative labeling affected stuttering.

What are the 3 Levels of IRB (Institutional Review Board) review?

1. Exempt

2. Expedited

3. Full Review

What constitutes an “exempt” review from the IRB?

when the research poses less than minimal risk (i.e. no known physical, emotional, psychological, or economic risk) and includes a nonvulnerable population; reviewed by the chair of the IRB.

What constitutes an “expedited” review from the IRB?

when the research poses minimal risk typically encountered in daily life, such as moderate exercise or minor stress from testing or surveys, and includes a nonvulnerable population; reviewed by the chair or by qualified member of IRB.

What constitutes a “full review” from the IRB.

when the research poses a greater than minimal risk typically encountered in daily life, such as maximal exercise, stressful psychological tests, or questions about illegal activities, or includes vulnerable population (i.e. pregnant women, prisoners, mentally disabled persons, children, elderly)

What is the IACUC?

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

What are the IACUC responsibilities?

Inspecting labs every 6 months, and ensuring that animals have proper housing, food, healthcare, and clean conditions

What are the 5 APA general ethical principles?

1. Beneficence and Nonmaleficence (Belmont principle 1)

2. Justice (Belmont principle 2)

3. Respect for persons [rights and dignity] (Belmont principle 3)

4. Fidelity and Responsibility (building professional relationships based on trust, accountability, and ethical compliance)

5. Integrity (promoting accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness)

What is the APA principle of “fidelity and responsibility”?

building professional relationships based on trust, accountability, and ethical compliance

What is the APA principle of Integrity?

promoting honesty, accuracy, and truthfulness

What is “massaging data”?

“editing” data to confirm hypothesis (i.e. dropping participants, reporting only significant results, including some variables and excluding others)

What is a covariate?

an independent variable that can influence the outcome in a statistical model even though it may not be the primary focus of the research

What is the File Drawer Problem?

there is a bias towards publishing results that support the researcher’s hypothesis, therefore eliminating contradictory findings

What is the Little Albert Experiment?

baby taught to fear white rat, unethical

What is the Guatemalan Venereal Disease Study?

researchers intentionally exposed Guatemalan people to STI’s

What is the Milgram Experiment?

study of willingness to obey authority by administering shocks that participants believed led to someone’s death

What is Laud Humphrey’s Tea-room study?

researcher deceived and stalked “participants”, did not know they were subjects of study, studied their closeted homosexual behaviour