Research Methods in Psychology

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers fundamental concepts in research methods and basic statistics as introduced in a psychology lecture.

Psychological Myths

Beliefs that lack positive evidence, even if they might theoretically be true under certain conditions.

Scientific Psychology

A field that differentiates between folk beliefs and conclusions based on empirical evidence and systematic research.

Research Methods

The systematic approach used in science to acquire knowledge, emphasizing how knowledge is obtained as much as what is known.

Critical Thinking

The ability to analyze information, evaluate claims, and differentiate between well-supported conclusions and unsubstantiated beliefs, especially important when consuming science news.

Research Question

A fundamental inquiry that psychological scientists begin with to guide their investigations.

Theory

An explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

Hypothesis

A specific, testable prediction derived from a theory, referring to exactly what will be measured in a study.

Operational Definition

A statement of the concrete procedures (operations) used to define research variables, detailing how hypotheses can be specifically tested.

Correlations

Descriptions of relationships between variables, showing how changes in one variable relate to changes in another.

Positive Relationship (Correlation)

A type of correlation where higher scores on one variable are associated with higher scores on a second variable.

Negative Relationship (Correlation)

A type of correlation where higher scores on one variable are associated with lower scores on a second variable.

Third Variable Problem

The issue in correlational research where an unmeasured confounding variable could be the actual cause of the relationship between two observed variables.

Causality

A relationship where one variable directly influences or produces a change in another variable, which correlations alone cannot establish.

Experiment

A research method in which one variable is manipulated to observe its effect on another variable, providing the clearest information about causality.

Independent Variable (IV)

The variable that is manipulated by the researcher in an experiment; it is the variable thought to be doing the causing.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The variable that is measured in an experiment; its value is predicted to depend on the independent variable.

Confounding Variables

Any variables, other than the independent variable, that could provide an alternative explanation for the observed effect in an experiment.

Experimental Group

The group in an experiment that receives the treatment or the manipulated independent variable.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that receives no treatment or a baseline condition, used for comparison against the experimental group.

Random Assignment

A procedure where participants are randomly allocated to different conditions (e.g., experimental or control groups), ensuring each participant has an equal chance of being in any condition, which helps to equate groups before the manipulation.

Noisy Measures

The concept that studies do not reveal a 'true' result but provide measures influenced by differences in people, observation noise, and limited samples.

Population

The entire group of individuals that a researcher is interested in studying and making inferences about.

Sample

A subset of individuals selected from a population for observation or measurement in an experiment.

Normal Distribution

A common type of distribution where data points cluster around a central mean, forming a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve.

Descriptive Statistics

Measures used to summarize and describe the characteristics of data, such as central tendency and dispersion.

Measures of Central Tendency

Single scores that represent where generally people score in a distribution, including mode, mean, and median.

Mode

The most frequently occurring score(s) in a distribution.

Mean

The arithmetic average of a distribution, calculated by summing scores and dividing by the number of scores, sensitive to outliers.

Median

The middle score in a distribution, with half the scores above it and half below it.

Measures of Dispersion or Variation

Statistical values that reveal the similarity or diversity of scores in a distribution.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution.

Standard Deviation

A computed measure of how much individual scores vary, or deviate, around the mean score of a distribution.

Inferential Statistics

Statistical methods used to determine whether an outcome is meaningful and to make inferences about a population based on sample data.

Statistical Significance

A determination made using inferential statistics that an observed effect, difference, or relationship in a study is unlikely to have occurred by chance.