Psychology Unit 1

shi long ash :l

Psycholgy

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes in both humans and animals

What is the behavior of psychology?

any observable action

What are the mental processes of psychology?

individual thoughts and feelings that cannot be observed

_________ is related to psychology

everything

What are the 2 things that make psychology a science?

• empirical/factual evidence

• the scientific method

What is the goal of basic research?

to increase scientific knowledge or information just to know it

What is the goal of applied research?

to find solutions to specific problems

What are the three research methods in psychology?

• descriptive research

• correlational design

• experimental method

Quantitative data

numerical information about quantities

Qualitative

non-numerical information that’s descriptive

Descriptive research

studies used to describe general or specific behaviors that are observed or measure

Case Study

An observation technique where people are carefully studied in-depth

What are the positives of a case study?

• gives a plethora of information

• Unusual cases can shed light on problems that are unethical to study

What are the negatives of a case study?

It’s unrepresentative so the potential to apply whats learned to the larger population may be limited

Survey Method

self reported data that relies on an individuals own report of something

Wording Effects

the possible effects on participants caused but the order/ choice of words shown

What are the positives of a survey method?

• easy to conduct with a large group of people

• allows a large amount of info to be obtained

What are the negatives of a survey method?

• they aren’t always accurate because of it being self-reported data

Naturalistic Observation Technique

Careful observations of animals/people in there natural state/environment

What are the three data collection methods? (CBF)

• tally counts

• observer narratives

• audio or video recordings

Laboratory Observation

observing behavior in a more controlled situation like a lab; simulating tests as similar to real life situations as possible

Hawthorne Effect/ Observer Effect

When people know they’re being watched, making them less likely to be have naturally

Observer Bias “Research Bias”

People who are closely involved in a research project as an observer, where they may unconsciously skew their observations to fit their research goals

What is a positive to naturalistic observation?

• Allows investigators to directly observe the subject in a natural setting

• Useful in first stages of research orgram

What are the negatives of a naturalistic observation?

• allows little or no control of the situation

• Observations may be biased

• Doesn’t allow firm conclusions about cause and effect

Correlation Studies (CBF)

research used to see if two variables are related and to make predictions based on the relations

Correlation ___ _____ prove causation.

does not

What are the positives of correlation studies?

• has a predictive value

• allows the researcher to clearly see if there is a relationship between variables

What are the negatives of correlation studies?

• correlation does not and cannot imply causation

Correlation Coefficient (CBF)

a number representing the direction of the relationship between the variable and it’s strength

What does a correlation coefficient help us figure out?

How closely two things vary together, and thus how well either one predicts the other

What is the number range of a correlation coefficiant?

+1.00 and -1.00

What does a strong correlation coefficient represent?

Predictable

What does a weak correlation coefficient represent?

Less predictable

How do you know what a positive correlation coefficient looks like on a scatterplot?

Both variables will either go up or down

How do you know what a negative correlation coefficient looks like on a scatterplot?

One variable will go up, while the other variable goes down (vise versa)

How do you know what a zero correlation coefficient looks like on a scatterplot?

no relationship between the two variables are shown

Third Variable Problem

Researchers cannot rule out the possibility of a third variable causing both other variables to increase/decrease

Experimental method

The only way to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables is to conduct a scientific experiment

What is the positives of an experimental method?

• It allows the researcher to control the situations

• Allows the researcher to identify cause and effect

What are the negatives of an experimental method?

• It can create artificial situations that don’t always represent real-life situations

Variable

anything that can vary or change

Independent Variable (Treatment)

the factor that the experimenter controls and manipulates

What variable stand for the “If” of “If_____, Then _______?”

independent variable

Dependent Variable (outcome/measured)

The variable that is being measured/tested in an experiment

What variable stand for the “Then” of “If_____, Then _______?”

Dependent Variable

Confounding Variables (Lurking Variable)

Differences between the experimental group and the control group other than the ones from the independent variable

Where do confounding variables come from?

Imperfect experimental control

Operational Definitions (CBF)

When applied to data, a variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured

Population

Includes all the individuals in the group that the study applies to

What does the “C” in C.H.U.G. for FRQ’s stand for?

Concisely answer the prompt

What does the “H” in C.H.U.G. for FRQ’s stand for?

Handwriting; write legibly in black or blue pen

What does the “U” in C.H.U.G. for FRQ’s stand for?

Underline the vocab term your talking about

What does the “G” in C.H.U.G. for FRQ’s stand for?

Get rid of unnecessary paragraphs like an intro or conclusion

What does the “first S” in S.O.D.A.S. for FRQ’s stand for?

Spacing out your answer with a line in between ideas

What does the “O” in S.O.D.A.S. for FRQ’s stand for?

Order of prompt

What does the “D” in S.O.D.A.S. for FRQ’s stand for?

Define every term before applying it

What does the “A” in S.O.D.A.S. for FRQ’s stand for?

Apply every term to the scenerio

What does the “second S” in S.O.D.A.S. for FRQ’s stand for?

Synonyms in replace fo a term

Confederate

Individuals who seem to be a participant in a study, but are really apart of the research team tricking real participants

Representative Sample

A group that closely matches the characteristics of its population as a whole

Random Sample

Select people to participate in research in a way that everyone has an equal chance of being included

Why is random sampling good?

It dictates that the experimenter will have little to no bias in choosing the people for the sample

Control Group (“Comparison Group)

No treatment with no effect, used to control the possibility that other factors might be causing the effect that’s being studied

The variable being tested is _____ in a control group.

present

The variable being tested is _______ in an experimental group.

absent

Experimental group

Group that’s exposed to the independent variable, receives the treatment or manipulations

Random Assignment (CBF)

A process that ensures all members have an equal chance of being placed in either the control or experimental group(s)

How could you replicate a random assignment?

Put multiple names in a hat and pick randomly

Quasi Experiment

designed like a true experiment except participants aren’t randomly assigned

What are researchers interested with a quasi experiment?

The independent variables that can’t be assigned

Placebo Condition (CBF<3)

Allows researchers to separate the effect of the variable itself from the expectations of participants

Single-Blind Studies

A research design where participants don’t know which treatment group (control or experimental) they’re in

Double-Blind Studies

A research design where the experimenter AND participants don’t know who is in which treatment group

What do double-blind studies eliminate?

researcher bias

Reliability “Consistency”

Whether or not an experiment can be repeated (produces similar scores each time)

Validity “Accuracy”

The experiment testing what is supposed to be tested

Statistics

a large amount of data collected in research studies that psychologists need to make sense of

Descriptive Statistics

The analysis of data helps describe/ summarize data in a meaningful way, making it visually appealing

What does descriptive data restrict us from doing?

to make conclusions beyond the data we already have

Frequency Distribution Table

An ordered arrangement of scores showing the frequency of each score/group of scores (how often something happens)

Histogram

A plot that shows the underlying frequency distribution shape of a set of continuous data

Measure of Central Tendency

describes the average or most typical scores for a set of research data

What are the 3 M’s descriptive statistics?

• Mean

• Median

• Mode

Mean (Average)

average number in a data set

Median

middle number in an ordered set of scores

Mode (CBF <3)

most frequently occurring score in a data set

Range

represents the span of scores in a data set (subtract the lowest # from the highest #)

Standard Deviation (SD)

scores in a group that differ from the mean of that group (How far from the average?)

What type of standard deviation scores are more spread out from the mean?

large SD

What type of standard deviation scores are more bunched together around the mean?

small SD

Z scores

the number of standard deviations from the mean of a data point

What do Z scores range from?

-3 to +3

What is the percentage score of ±1 SD?

68%

What is the percentage score of ±2 SD?

95%

What is the percentage score of ±3 SD?

99%

Normal distributions (bell curved shape)

when the mean, mode, and median turn out to be the same score in symmetrical distributions

Negative Skewed Left (Long tail facing the left side)

The mean is on the left side of the peak

Positive Skewed Right (Long tail facing the right side)

The mean is on the right side of the peak

Inferential Statistics

Used to interpret data and draw conclusions (small sample to large population)