Ap psych AAQ

Controlled conditions, variable manipulation

experiment

Measuring relationships w/o manipulation

Correlational study

In-depth study of one person/group

Case study

Watching behavior in natural settings

Naturalistic obersvation

Statistical combo of results from many studies

Meta-analysis

How to intro operational definition?

“The operational definition of () is ().”

What do you do when it asks to describe the difference between groups?

Compare, explain who performed better or worse, and connect these to the research question

What are the key ethical guidelines?

Informed consent, protection from harm, confidentiality, debriefing, right to withdraw

How do you tell if something is generalizable?

Who were the participants (age, gender, background) how were they selected (random or convenience), how diverse and large was the sample, and from what population were they drawn?

Example: "The study included 120 adults aged 65-80 from a retirement community in Florida."

Strong answer: "The research findings have limited generalizability because the sample only included older adults (65-80) from one geographic location. The results cannot be generalized to younger populations or people from different cultural backgrounds."

Weak answer: "The study is generalizable." (doesn't explain why or to whom)

How to "Explain how a research finding supports or refutes the researchers' hypothesis."

For 2 points:
Accurately identify specific research results (statistics, data points)

• Correctly interpret what these results mean

• Clearly explain how these results support or refute the hypothesis

• Connect the evidence directly to the psychological concept being studied

For 1 point:

• Either use study results without proper explanation

• OR explain support/refutation without citing specific results

• OR misinterpret the results while attempting to explain

For 0 points:

• Fail to address how findings relate to the hypothesis

• Completely misinterpret the results

• Make claims unrelated to the study findings

"Researchers conducted a study on the effects of multivitamins on memory in older adults. 120 participants aged 65-80 were randomly assigned to take either a multivitamin or a placebo daily for three years. Memory was tested annually using word recall tests. After three years, the multivitamin group remembered more words (mean=7.3) than the placebo group (mean=6.1). All participants provided informed consent and were told they could withdraw at any time."

Supporting/refuting hypothesis:

"The finding that the multivitamin group remembered more words (mean=7.3) than the placebo group (mean=6.1) supports the researchers' hypothesis that multivitamins slow cognitive decline in later life. Since memory performance is a key component of cognitive function, this higher recall score suggests that multivitamins helped preserve cognitive abilities over the three-year period compared to the placebo." (Uses specific results to explain support for the hypothesis about cognitive decline)