Chapter 2 - Research methods

Question 1

A theory sits on a mountain of what?

Answer 1

Evidence

Question 2

To be testable means it uses what type of techniques?

Answer 2

available research techniques

Question 3

For something to be falsifiable, it must be possible for it to be:

Answer 3

Disproved

Question 4

What does parsimonious refer to?

Answer 4

Using the simplest or most efficient explanation, theory, or model that accounts for observed data

Question 5

Scientific theories explain the relationship between two or more of what?

Answer 5

variables

Question 6

Can scientific theories contradict other theories?

Answer 6

No

Question 7

What is the intergroup theory?

Answer 7

if people from different groups have meaningful and positive contact, they are less likely to have prejudiced views about each other

Question 8

What is the social comparison theory?

Answer 8

When objective evaluations are not available, people will compare themselves to others who are similar to them to evaluate their own abilities and opinions.

Question 9

What is the social learning theory?

Answer 9

People can learn behaviours by observing others, even without directly experiencing rewards or punishments yourself.

Question 10

Is this sample hypothesis falsifiable? Why?

Students who join a study group that includes students from a different racial group will show how reduced prejudice towards that racial outgroup, compared with students who join a study group that only includes people from the same racial group.

Answer 10

Yes it is falsifiable because there can be no differences in prejudice or increased prejudice.

Question 11

What is a variable?

Answer 11

A variable is a characteristic or condition that changes or has different values for different individuals

Question 12

What is an independent variable?

Answer 12

A variable that is manipulated, in order to see its impact on the dependent variable

Question 13

What is a dependent variable?

Answer 13

A variable that is measured, in order to see how it is affected by the independent variable.

Question 14

In a study where prejudice is being measured to see how it affects students from racial outgroups, which is the independent variable?

Answer 14

The racial outgroup of students

Question 15

In a study where prejudice is being measured to see how it affects students from racial outgroups, which is the dependent variable?

Answer 15

The prejudice

Question 16

What is a construct

Answer 16

Something that cannot be numerically measured

Question 17

What is an example of a construct

Answer 17

Anxiety

Question 18

What are three ways anxiety can be studied

Answer 18

Behavioural measure, physiological measure and self reported measure.

Question 19

How can anxiety have a physiological measure? (What could it be referring to)

Answer 19

Heart rate and sweat glands

Question 20

How can anxiety have a behavioural measure? (What could it be referring to)

Answer 20

Squirming, stammering, fidgeting

Question 21

What are the three big categories of research?

Answer 21

Descriptive, Correlational, and experimental

Question 22

How many variables do descriptive methods study?

Answer 22

1

Question 23

Which type of research method do surveys fall under?

Answer 23

Descriptive

Question 24

Which type of research method do focus groups fall under?

Answer 24

Descriptive

Question 25

Which type of research method do case studies fall under?

Answer 25

Descriptive

Question 26

Which type of research does observational research fall under?

Answer 26

Descriptive

Question 27

What are the three types of observation?

Answer 27

Naturalistic, participant, and laboratory

Question 28

What type of observation counts as passive?

Answer 28

Naturalistic observation

Question 29

What counts as active observation?

Answer 29

Participant observation

Question 30

What counts as systematic observation?

Answer 30

Laboratory observation

Question 31

What is naturalistic observation?

Answer 31

An observation set in the real world, with no manipulations or interferences with the scenario

Question 32

Scenario: Social psychologists embedded themselves in a cult who believed the world was ending on a certain date. They did this to analyze the cognitive processes of the cult members. What type of observation is this?

Answer 32

Participant observation

Question 33

Scenario: The interaction between caregiver and child is studied and the behaviour of the child is taken under certain circumstances. What type of observation is this?

Answer 33

Laboratory observation

Question 34

Which 2 descriptive approaches are known for providing important insights and stimulate further research to test specific hypotheses?

Answer 34

Case studies and observational research

Question 35

Which type of descriptive approach allows us to gather large amounts of information quickly and easily

Answer 35

Surveys

Question 36

Which type of descriptive approach can provide rich, detailed information that may be lacking from a survey

Answer 36

Focus groups

Question 37

Which study is this? When people are aware that they are being observed, their behaviour changes because they know they are being watched

Answer 37

Hawthorne study

Question 38

What is it called when participants guess the experiment hypothesis and purposely try to fit or ruin the experiment/act accordingly?

Answer 38

Reactivity

Question 39

What is it called when a researcher may treat you differently to encourage you to behave a certain way

Answer 39

Observer/experimental bias

Question 40

When someone tries to conform to social norms, they are showing what type of bias?

Answer 40

Self support bias

Question 41

Which research method studies how two or more variables are associated with each other.

Answer 41

Correlational methods

Question 42

Which method studies how variables are related without manipulating any of the variables?

Answer 42

Correlational method

Question 43

Which method allows researchers to make claims about associations between variables?

Answer 43

Correlational method

Question 44

When it comes to laptop multitasking, its been discovered that school unrelated laptop use during class has been associated with lower academic association and lower GPA's. What type of method was used to study this?

Answer 44

Correlational method

Question 45

In a correlational study, the number 0 corresponds to what type of relationship?

Answer 45

No relationship

Question 46

In a correlational study, a positive relationship means that as one variable increases, the other one:

Answer 46

increases

Question 47

In a correlational study, a negative relationship means that as one variable increases, the other:

Answer 47

decreases

Question 48

In a correlational study, a correlation coefficient of -1 to 1 is a:

Answer 48

Strong correlation

Question 49

In a correlational study, a correlation coefficient of 0 is a:

Answer 49

Weak correlation

Question 50

What kind of problem occurs when you cannot tell which variable impacted the other

Answer 50

Directionality problem

Question 51

What kind of problem occurs when another variable that has not been considered/measured could be causing differences in variables A and B

Answer 51

Third variable problem

Question 52

True or false: Correlational studies allow us to make cause and effect claims

Answer 52

False