Foundations of Psychological Science: psych 209

Intuition

a way of knowing based on personal feelings instincts or gut reactions rather than systematic evidence

Authority

a way of knowing based on information from experts or trusted sources rather than direct evidence

Empiricism

a way of knowing based on direct observation measurement and systematic evidence. knowledge comes from observations

Falsifiability

the idea that a scientific claim must be testable and capable of being proven false

Peer Review

the process where other experts evaluate research before it is published to ensure quality and accuracy

Skepticism

a cautious attitude that involves questioning claims and requiring evidence before accepting conclusions

Pseudoscience

claims presented as scientific but lacking evidence proper testing or falsifiability

1) what is the primary goal 2) what did the researchers do and what was their method 3) what was measured 4) to what or whom can we generalize the results 5)what did they find, what were the results 6) have other researchers found similar results 7) what are the limitations of the study 8). what are the ethical issues present

8 key questions to ask a research study

Generalization

the extent to which findings from a study apply to other people settings or situations

Goals of behavioral science

describe, predict, explain, and change (or apply) human behavior. These methods, including experiments, observations, and surveys, enable researchers to understand why behaviors occur and to design interventions that improve outcomes

Description

identifying and describing behavior

Prediction

Statement of expected outcome of research investigation

Determining cause

identifying cause and effect relationships

Temporal precedence

the cause must come before the effect

Covariation of cause and effect

when the cause changes the effect also changes

Alternative explanation

techniques used to identify and rule out, or support, rival interpretations of research findings, ensuring validity and strengthening causal claims

Explanation

understanding why behaviors occur and the mechanisms behind them

Basic research

research conducted to increase general knowledge without immediate practical application

Applied research

research conducted to solve real world problems

Program evaluation

research that assesses the effectiveness of programs or interventions

Research question

a question that a study is designed to answer

Hypothesis

a testable statement about the relationship between variables

Prediction

a specific outcome expected if the hypothesis is correct

Common sense

ideas based on everyday reasoning which may not always be accurate

Practical problems

real world issues that inspire research questions

Observations of the world

noticing patterns or behaviors that lead to research ideas

Theory

a set of statements that explains general principles about behavior

Past research

previous studies that inform new research ideas

Literature review

a summary of existing research on a topic

Theory article

a paper that proposes or analyzes theories

Empirical article

a paper that reports original research findings

Abstract

a brief summary of the research

Introduction

explains background and purpose of the study

Method

describes how the study was conducted

Results

presents the data and findings

Discussion

interprets results and explains implications

Scholarly journals

academic publications that contain peer reviewed research

APA PsychInfo

a database for searching psychological research articles

Meta analysis

a statistical technique that combines results from multiple studies