Research Methods

Question 1

What is the hindsight bias

Answer 1

after learning an outcome, you think you would’ve foreseen it (ex. given an outcome before the question, and thinking the answer was obvious when it really wasn’t)

Question 2

What phenomenon is the hindsight bias related to

Answer 2

I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon

Question 3

We become __________ in our power of deduction based on the hindsight bias

Answer 3

overconfident

Question 4

What is the order of the scientific method

Answer 4

observations, development of theory, generate a hypothesis, collect evidence/test, draw conclusions, revise findings, and regenerate new hypotheses (now a cycle)

Question 5

What makes up a theory

Answer 5

set of principles that explain, organize, and predict events

Question 6

What is the theory of catharsis

Answer 6

• negative feelings build up and create pressure if not vented
• if this tension Is not broken, people will ‘explode’
• releasing emotions decreases the pressure

Question 7

What is an example of a hypothesis for the theory of catharsis

Answer 7

people who express their anger will behave less aggressively than those who do not express their anger

Question 8

What are operational definitions

Answer 8

a clear statement of procedures used to define research variables

Question 9

What is an example of operational variables used in relation to the theory of catharsis

Answer 9

variable: expressing anger
operational definition: punching a punching bag

variable: aggression
operational definition: intensity of noise blasts given to people they hate

Question 10

What is correlational research

Answer 10

studying how 2 variables correlate to one another or predict one another

Question 11

Correlation is not causation, why?

Answer 11

two things predicting one another does not necessarily mean one CAUSED the other

Question 12

What does the correlation coefficient tell us

Answer 12

strength of relationship and direction of relationship (range between +1 and -1)

Question 13

What are the three possibilities in correlative research

Answer 13

x causes y
y causes x
an external variable, like z, causes both x and y

Question 14

What is experimental research

Answer 14

variable suspected to cause an event is manipulated to see if the variable is in fact the causal factor

Question 15

What is an independent variable

Answer 15

factor we think causes an event, that is manipulated in experiment

Question 16

What is a dependant variable

Answer 16

an outcome that we think depends on the level of the independent variable, that is measured

Question 17

Which type of research is the gold standard for determining information

Answer 17

experimental research

Question 18

Why might experimental research not be possible

Answer 18

it’s not possible to assign certain things (like race or gender), and it’s ethically not right to manipulate certain things (like asking someone to smoke and see if they get cancer)

Question 19

What are the 5 components of “good” research

Answer 19

objective measurement, generalizable, unbiased, made public, & replicated

Question 20

What is test-retest reliability

Answer 20

when something is tested, time passes, and it is tested again to determine the reliability

Question 21

What is interrater reliability

Answer 21

two different subjects tested using the same coding system
- results should align if the coding system is reliable

Question 22

What are the two components of objective measurement

Answer 22

reliability and validity

Question 23

What are the two components of generalizable research

Answer 23

relates to the population and research is relevant outside of the study

Question 24

What are the two components of unbiased research

Answer 24

researchers and participants respectively, don’t influence the results of the study

Question 25

What are the components of made-public research

Answer 25

methods and results are disseminated and peer reviewed

Question 26

What are the two components of replicable research

Answer 26

studies are repeated and results are consistent