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Psychology > 6, Foundations: Methods and Approaches > Flashcards

6, Foundations: Methods and Approaches Flashcards

1
Q

experiment

A
  • investigation looking for cause and effect
  • changes a variable (the cause) and measures how it will affect another variable (the effect)
  • only empirical way to prove causation
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2
Q

independent variable

A

“cause” variable. gets manipulated in an experiment, it affects the dependent variable

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3
Q

dependent variable

A

“effect” variable. Changes based on the value of the independent variable

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4
Q

control variable

A

a constant variable in an experiment, should not change even if the independent does

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5
Q

population

A

group of interest for study

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6
Q

representative sample

A

a sample from a population to represent the population. Used because populations are often too big to study

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7
Q

representativeness

A

degree to which the sample reflects the characteristics of the population it is drawn from

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8
Q

experimental group

A

the group receiving/reacting to the independent variable

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9
Q

control group

A

the group that doesn’t receive the independent variable but is to be kept identical to the experimental group in all other respects

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10
Q

random sampling

A

sampling random people from a population

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11
Q

randomly assigned

A

randomly dividing the representative sample into the experimental and control group

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12
Q

biases

A

factors that skew the representativeness of a given sample

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13
Q

hindsight bias

A

I-knew-it-all-along bias

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14
Q

bias of selection

A

when random sampling is done based on a specific physical space

if you wanted to conduct a survey based on all college students on a campus, you wouldn’t stand in the quad and interview people that walk by because you wouldn’t be representing the students that don’t have classes right now, therefore not random

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15
Q

self-selection bias

A

when people being studied have control over whether or not they participate in the experiment

highly opinionated people will be more likely to fill out a survey, skewing results

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16
Q

pre-screening/advertising bias

A
  • common in medical research

how volunteers are screened or the experiment is advertised may skew the sample

if a researcher is advertising a treatment that helps to quit smoking, they will receive volunteers who may well have quit smoking on their own anyway

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17
Q

healthy user bias

A

when the sample is in better shape than most of the rest of the population of study

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18
Q

single-blind design

A

only subjects do not know whether they are in the control or experimental group

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19
Q

double-blind design

A

neither subject nor researcher knows who is in the experimental or the control group

  • generates more pure results because the researcher cannot inadvertently reveal to the groups which group they are in
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20
Q

placebo

A

seemingly therapeutic object/procedure that causes the control group to believe that they are in the experimental group

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21
Q

correlational research

A

determining degree of association between two or more variables that can occur naturally

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22
Q

confounding/third/extraneous variable

A

an unknown factor playing a role in the experiment

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23
Q

surveys

A

a tool of correlational studies

either interviews or questionnaires, used to accumulate vast amounts of data to study variable relationships

often used for voter characteristics, criminal behavior, teen alcohol and drug use

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24
Q

longitudinal studies

A

study over long period of time with few subjects

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25
Q

cross-sectional studies

A

study to test wide array of subjects from different backgrounds so the study is more general

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26
Q

clinical research

A

medical research on human subjects

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27
Q

case studies

A
  • common form of clinical research
  • intensive psychological studies of single individuals
  • intended to draw a generalized conclusion so that the results can be applied to others in similar situations
28
Q

generalizable

A

applicability to similar circumstances

29
Q

conceptual definition

A

theory/issue being studied

30
Q

operational definition

A

the way the theory/issue of study will be observed or measured in the study

31
Q

internal validity

A

degree of certainty that results from an experiment can be attributed to the manipulation of the independent variable, not from a confounding variable

32
Q

external validity

A

extent to which the results of a study can be applied to the real world

33
Q

reliability

A

whether or not the study generates the same results every time from the same inputs

34
Q

inter-rater ability

A

the degree to which different raters agree on observations of data from the same study

35
Q

naturalistic observation

A

observing and studying real-world behavior outside of the lab

a difficulty is that there are many confounding variables in the real world

36
Q

descriptive statistics

A

statistics that summarize data

37
Q

inferential statistics

A

statistics that allow researchers to test hypotheses about data and determine how confident they will be in inferences about said data

38
Q

central tendency

A

the typical value in a set of data

39
Q

mean

A

mathematical average of a set of numbers

mean average of 15 and 30 is 22.5

40
Q

mode

A

most frequently occurring value in a dataset

(if there are two, the dataset is considered bimodal)

41
Q

median

A

the number that falls exactly in the middle of a distribution of numbers

median of [3, 4, 4, 5, 6] is 4

42
Q

normal curve

A

a graph of the averages of statistics, picture a bell curve

43
Q

range

A

largest number minus the smallest number

44
Q

variability

A

how much the numbers in dataset differ from one another

45
Q

standard deviation

A
  • average distribution of numbers around the mean

the mean average of 10 and 30 is 20; the same is true for 19 and 21. because 10 and 30 are so much farther away than the mean, there is a greater standard deviation

46
Q

percentile

A

how far in a percentage a given number (or statistic) is; if you’re in the 60th percentile of something, you have scored higher than 60 percent of the others

47
Q

positive skew

A

most values are on the lower x end of the curve, the largest y values are there also

48
Q

negative skew

A

most values are on the higher x end of the curve, the largest y values are there also

49
Q

correlation coefficient

A

statistical technique to describe relationships between attributes of study

ranges from 1.00 to -1.00, positive meaning that there is positive correlation and negative indicating negative, higher value of number = higher degree of correlation

50
Q

Pearson correlation coefficient

A

type of correlation coefficient that describes how close to linear the relationship of two attributes is

ranges from 1 to 0 to -1, 1 means as x increases so does y, -1 means as x increases y decreases etc

0 means the attributes aren’t related at all

51
Q

positive correlation

A

as one attribute increases, so does the other

52
Q

negative correlation

A

as one attribute increases, the other decreases

53
Q

sample size

A

number of observations or individuals measured

normally denoted by N

54
Q

null hypothesis

A

statement that a treatment had no effect in an experiment

55
Q

alternative hypothesis

A

statement that the treatment had an effect in the experiment

56
Q

alpha

A

the probability that the result of an experiment can be attributed to chance rather than manipulation of the independent variable

lower alpha = less chance in the experiment

57
Q

Type I error

A

the incorrect conclusion that a difference between hypothesis and result exists when it does not

58
Q

Type II error

A

the incorrect conclusion that there is no difference between hypothesis and result when there is

59
Q

p-value

A

the probability of making a Type I error

0.05 p-value means there is a 5% chance of making a Type I error

60
Q

deception

A

deceiving participants in an experiment, could be justified by saying that it allows for less bias in the experiment

61
Q

Stanley Milgram

A

the guy who made some participants ‘shock’ other participants in the name of teaching, to test the limits of human obedience

62
Q

confederates

A

people who know the true nature of the experiment but pretend to be participants

63
Q

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

A

boards that assess ethics of an experiment before it is allowed to run

64
Q

informed consent

A

agreement to participate in an experiment only after adequate information is given about it

65
Q

debriefing

A

the time after an experiment where participants are told the purpose of the experiment they just partook in, as well as an explanation for any deception

66
Q

confidentiality

A

a requirement that a participants information is not publicized, at least not with their name attached

Psychology (8 decks)

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