Test 1 Study Guide

Test 1 Study Guide

Below is a list of key concepts and terms we’ve covered in class and in the textbook. While this list is not exhaustive, it will help guide your review. As you study, refer back to your class notes and textbook to clarify and solidify your own understanding of each term—especially how it is used within experimental psychology. Rather than relying on memorized definitions, focus on how these concepts connect to one another and shed light on human behavior.

Constructing your own explanations and identifying relationships between ideas will reinforce a deeper comprehension and better prepare you for the exam. If you’re unsure about any of the terms or their applications, consult the readings, your notes, or come talk to me. A great opportunity to do this is at our review session during class time on Monday, March 10, so feel free to bring any questions you have then.

Basics of explaining behavior

Chapter 1, Sessions 1 and 2

Confirmation bias

Basic research

Applied research

commonsense explanation

scientific explanation

science

scientific method

natural world

Empirical questions

What do scientists do

Systematic observation

Quantitative data

Belief-based explanation

Parsimonious explanation

Provisional findings

Protoscience

Nonscience

Pseudoscience

Confirmational strategy

Scientific explanations

Characteristics of scientific explanations

Circular explanation

tautology

Method of authority

Rational method

Scientific Inquiry

Ch 2, Sessions 3, 4, 5

Theory

Characteristics of theories

laws

Hypothesis

Model

Constructs

Mechanistic explanation

Functional explanation

Quantitative theory

Qualitative theory

Domain of a theory

Scope of a theory

What do theories do?

Testability

Prediction of novel events

parsimony

Logically valid argument

Deduction

Modus ponens

Modus tollens

Affirming the consequent

Auxiliary assumptions

Induction

Inductively strong

Falsifiability

Positive analogy

Negative analogy

Neutral analogy

Confirmational strategy

Disconfirmational strategy

Strong inference

Ethics in Research

Ch 3, Sessions 6, 7

Nuremberg code

Declaration of Helsinki

Belmont Report

Respect for persons

Beneficence

justice

APA ethical guidelines

Beneficence and nonmalfeasance

Fidelity and Responsibility

Integrity

Justice

Respect for people’s rights and dignity

Institutional review board

risk/ratio benefit

Informed consent

Deception

Animal research

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

Researcher misconduct

Data fabrication

Falsification

Plagiarism

How to stand on the shoulders of giants

Ch 4, Sessions 8, 9

Research question

Unsystematic observation

Systematic observation

Empirical question

Operational definition

Sources of information

Scholarly journals

Popular publications

Periodicals

Primary source

Secondary source

Refereed journal

Nonrefereed journal

File drawer phenomenon

Peer review

Parts of an article

title/title page

Abstract

Introduction

Method

Results

Discussion

References

Research Designs

Ch 5, Sessions 11, 12, 13

Experiments

Causation

Joint method of agreement and difference

Ceiling effect

Floor effect

Control variable

confound

Third-variable problem

Directionality problem

Independent variable

Dependent variable

Internal validity

Testing intact groups

History

Maturation

Regression to the mean

External validity

Demonstrations

Correlational research

Simpson’s paradox

Making systematic observations

Ch 6, Sessions 14, 15

Pearson R

covariance

Measurement

Physical measure

Psychological measure

Reliability

Measurement error

Inter-rater reliability

Proportion of agreement

Test-retest reliability

Split-half reliability

Chronbach Alpha

Validity

Face validity

Content validity

Construct validity

Convergent validity

Discriminant validity

Criterion validity

Predictive validity

Concurrent validity

Scales of measurement

Nominal scale

Ordinal scale

Interval scale

Ratio scale

Meaningfulness

Demand characteristics

Single-blind technique

Double-blind technique

Pilot study

Manipulation check