PSYCH: Methods

Question 1

What is psychology?

Answer 1

Psychology is the scientific study of how mental and behavioural process.

Question 2

What are the three main reasons we need scientific method?

Answer 2

Intuition, common sense, and overconfidence may be misleading.

Question 3

What does Kant state?

Answer 3

Kant states that for scientific method to be viable, we need to apply both rationalism and empiricism. Rationalism is the use of critical thinking, logic, and measurements. Empiricism on the other hand, is the learning of the world through observations and experience.

Question 4

What are the 6 steps to scientific method?

Answer 4

1. Identify the problem
2. Gather information
3. Generate a hypothesis
4. Generate and conduct a procedure
5. Analyze the data and draw a conclusion
6. Repeat

Question 5

True or false: replication is not always essential in sciene.

Answer 5

FALSE. Replicating a study ensures confidence in a certain study.

Question 6

Science is in a constant state of ___________.

Answer 6

evolution

Question 7

What are descriptive methods?

Answer 7

Descriptive methods are methods used to describe a certain group. The four methods used in descriptive research are: naturalistic observation, participant observation, case studies and surveys.

Question 8

Define the Hawthorne effect

Answer 8

The Hawthorne effect is when a study group of participants acts differently when they realise that they are being observed. (For example, quantum particles behave differently when they are being observed)

Question 9

Give an example of the Hawthorne effect.

Answer 9

In a factory setting, the workers worked harder when they realised that theyre being observed.

Question 10

What is a case study?

Answer 10

A case study is the in-depth analysis of a unique circumstance or individual.

Question 11

What is correlational research?

Answer 11

Correlational research seeks to identify the strength of correlation between two variables, whether they covary or not, and in what direction? (positive/negative)

Question 12

Positive correlation

Answer 12

When two variables move in the same direction. As one increases, the other increases as well. r>0

Question 13

Negative correlation

Answer 13

When two variables move in opposite directions. As one increases, the other decreases. r<0

Question 14

Which correlation is stronger: -0.95 or 0.5?

Answer 14

-0.95

Question 15

Independent variables

Answer 15

The independent variables is the variable that influences the other variable and is not being studied by the researcher. It can be controlled for.

Question 16

Confounding variables

Answer 16

Independent variables that researchers are not studying for but can affect the dependent variable.

Question 17

What is a measure of central tendency?

Answer 17

A single point to describe the center of data.

Question 18

Which measure represents the highest frequently observed score in a data set?

Answer 18

The mode.

Question 19

What is variance?

Answer 19

The average sum of squared deviations