ch 2

Question 1

2 core beliefs of science

Answer 1

1. the universe operates according to natural laws
2. those laws can be discovered and tested

Question 2

deductive reasoning

Answer 2

apply big general ideas to specific scenarios
ex. deduce that the home team will win because they have an advantage

Question 3

first philosopher to question deductive reasoning? what idea did it lead to

Answer 3

Francis Bacon, led to the idea of bias

Question 4

bias

Answer 4

distorted belief based on a person’s subjective view

Question 5

What did Bacon propose to avoid bias

Answer 5

inductive reasoning

Question 6

inductive reasoning

Answer 6

use controlled, direct/”small” observations to create a broad conclusion
ex. make careful observations of how a number of teams do at home and away over the course of several seasons, and then use the total of home and away wins to decide if there is a home arena effect

Question 7

empirical observations/ideas

Answer 7

able to be tested in objective ways

Question 8

hypothetico-deductive reasoning

Answer 8

scientists begin with an educated guess, perhaps based on previous research, about how the world works, and then set about designing small controlled observations to support or invalidate that hypothesis (uses both deductive and inductive reasoning)

Question 9

hypothesis

Answer 9

specific statements that are objectively falsifiable (can be disproven)

Question 10

A proven hypothesis

Answer 10

Theory

Question 11

difference between psychology and chemistry/physics/biology

Answer 11

-not every part of psychology is observable (compared to a cell of DNA)
-thoughts are not observable, but behaviours are

Question 12

What are the four goals of psychology?

Question 13

What is the main difference between psychology and pseudo-psychology?

Answer 13

pseudo-psychology does not use the scientific method

Question 14

independent variable

Answer 14

though to be a factor in changing another variable

Question 15

dependent variable

Answer 15

a variable that you expect to be affected the the independent variable (“depends” on IV)

Question 16

operationalize

Answer 16

to develop a working definition of a variable that allows you to test it.

Question 17

sample

Answer 17

the group of people being studied, representing the demographic

Question 18

random selection

Answer 18

identifying a sample in such a way that everyone in the population of interest has an equal chance of being involved in the study.

Question 19

descriptive research methods

Answer 19

studies that allow researchers to demonstrate a relationship between the variables of interest, without specifying a cause
ex. surveys, naturalistic observation, case studies

Question 20

case study

Answer 20

focuses on a single person. researcher may be biased

Question 21

naturalistic observation

Answer 21

observing people as they normally behave; children in a daycare for example. researcher may be biased

Question 22

Hawthorne effect

Answer 22

people behave differently when they are aware that they are being observed

Question 23

experiment

Answer 23

controlled observation in which researchers manipulate the presence or amount of the independent variable to see what effect it has on the dependent variable.

Question 24

experimental group vs. control group

Answer 24

experimental group is given the independent variable
control group is not given the independent variable

Question 25

random assignment

Answer 25

assigning individual research volunteers to experimental and control groups using a random process so that uncontrolled variables are randomly or evenly distributed across all groups.

Question 26

double-blind study

Answer 26

study in which neither the participant nor the researcher knows what treatment or procedure the participant is receiving.

Question 27

correlation

Answer 27

relationship between two+ variables

Question 28

correlation coefficient

Answer 28

statistic expressing the strength and nature of a relationship between two variable

Question 29

positive correlation

Answer 29

two variable scores increase together on avg

Question 30

negative correlation

Answer 30

one variable increases and the other decreases on avg

Question 31

perfect correlation

Answer 31

one in which two variables are exactly related, such that low, medium, and high scores on both variables are always exactly related. (+1.00 or -1.00)

Question 32

how to read correlation coefficient

Answer 32

-magnitude tells us strength of relationship -sign tells us positive or negative correlation -0.3 and above= they have some kind of predictable relationship -0 = no correlation

Question 33

correlation does not equal

Answer 33

causation!!!

Question 34

mean

Answer 34

average of scores

Question 35

standard deviation

Answer 35

statistical index of how much scores vary within a group.

Question 36

replication

Answer 36

repeating experiment to ensure that results were not by chance

Question 37

ethical psychology research must include (6 things)

Answer 37

1. informed consent 2. protect from harm/discomfort 3. protect confidentiality 4. participation is voluntary 5. do not use deception 6. provide complete debreifing

Question 38

research ethics board (REB)

Answer 38

protect human rights

Question 39

Canadian council on animal care (CCAC)

Answer 39

protect animal rights in experiments

Question 40

observational methods

Answer 40

-naturalistic -time-sampling: frequency of behaviour is recorded -structured observation: lab situation

Question 41

ethnography

Answer 41

anthropology; researchers live in a community to understand the effect of culture

Question 42

Psychophysiological methods

Answer 42

biological processes involved in perception (HR, eye tracking etc.)

Question 43

cross-sectional research design

Answer 43

People of different ages studied at the same point in time – One task; multiple age groups participate

Question 44

longitudinal research design

Answer 44

– Same participants observed repeatedly over time – Time period may be brief (6 months–1 year)

Question 45

sequential research design

Answer 45

– Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal * Participants of different ages selected at outset (like cross-sectional) * All participants observed repeatedly for a period of time (like longitudinal)

Question 46

multiple regression analysis

Answer 46

predict the scores of a single variable using multiple variable predictors

Question 47

ecological validity

Answer 47

assesses whether conclusions drawn from laboratory studies apply to the real world

Question 48

natural (quasi) experiment

Answer 48

naturally occurring. don't know causation

Question 49

Inferential statistics

Answer 49

help to draw conclusions about the data * Are the groups in the sample different, and are the differences statistically significant (not due to chance)? * Using t-tests or ANOVAs, determine a p-value (the probability that the results of your experiment are not due to chance) o If the p-value is lower than .05, there is only a 5% likelihood that your results occurred by chance