Psychology: Themes and Variations Ch 2

33 flashcards · Other · by Sophia Vona

1. 3 Goals of research

   Measurement + description understanding + prediction application + control

2. rationalism (R)

   reason

3. empiricism (E)

   observation

4. steps of an experiment

   pre 1: get to know topic 1: form hypothesis 2: design study 3: collect data 4: analyze data 5: report findings all R, E except collect data (just E).

5. hypothesis

   tentative statement about relationship between variables

6. operational def

   definition in terms of actions used to measure smth

7. theory

   system of interrelated ideas, explains an observation set

8. 3 ways to test a hypothesis (empirically):

   experiment quasi-experiment Non-experiment

9. quasi experiment

   looks likean experiment, but IV not manipulated by researcher correlational

10. non-experiment

    case study, naturalistic observation, survey correlational

11. naturalistic observation (Pros and cons)

    no intervention +) observe phenomena as it occurs naturally +) good for brand new topics +) good for animal testing -) how to analyze qualitative data -) chaotic experiment = hard to observe -) observation can effect outcome (non-experient)

12. case study: case study research

    singe subject, in depth analysis: amalgamation and analysis of multiple case studies +) in depth perspective +) compelling IRL evidence -) lack of objectivity increased subjectivity -) unusual case/ outlier non-experiment

13. survey/ questionnaires

    interviews about specific aspects of behavior +) get data on hard to observe behavior +) lots of subjects -) sampling bias, low response rates -) self reported issues, wishful thinking, wording of q's -) can participants read/understand? non-experiment

14. experiment

    +) precise control +) casual conclusions!! -) artificial: lack of ecological validity -) ethical/ practical concerns

15. Descriptive stats are about...

    about study central tendency (mean median mode) dispersion of scores (standard deviation, variance) correlation ( r value 0 -> 1, + or = correlation)

16. inferential stats are about...

    about greater population and the ability to make inferences (T test, Chi test, F-test, multiple regression) "universal truths" is it due to chance? p < .05, no, "statistically significant", all or nothing

17. effect size

    magnitude of importance. does this research matter, is it enough of a change in DV to warrant changes

18. how to report findings

    peer review journal publish or perish.

19. experiment

    manipulate variable under controlled conditions determine causality

20. IV:

    special treatment

21. "levels"

    + of ways IV is experienced

22. DV:

    may be caused by IV

23. experimental group:

    subjects receiving special treatment

24. control group

    comparison groups

25. random assignment

    no random assignment = confounding variables = inconclusive results. decreases odds of extra IV's

26. confoduing variable

    influences results, inconclusive

27. extraneous

    even across groups, affects DV but in equitable ways across groups.

28. sampling bias:

    size must be large, don't rely on anecdotes

29. placebo

    participant expectations change results

30. experimenter bias

    experimentors expectations change outcome

31. replication

    science is replicable, metaanalysis is important

32. self reported data potential errors

    distortion, memory, social desirability bias...