M05

Question 1

What are common features of research methods

Answer 1

• empirical
• systematic.
• theoretical.
• public.
• self-reflective.
• open-ended.

Question 2

What did the prefrontal lobotomy teach us

Answer 2

our impressions are often wrong

Question 3

Concepts

Answer 3

Mental grouping of similar objects, people, ideas, or events. Simplify and speed thinking, but can also constrain it

Question 4

prototypes

Answer 4

Mental images or pinnacle examples of a certain thing

Question 4

Heuristics

Answer 4

Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that allow us to solve problems faster
* Reduce the cognitive energy required to solve problems
* Tend to oversimplify reality: error-prone

Question 5

Algorithms

Answer 5

Logical, step-by-step procedure that eventually guarantees a solution but are slower

Question 6

base rate

Answer 6

how common a characteristic or behaviour is in the general population

Question 7

base rate fallacy

Answer 7

Neglecting to consider base rates

Question 8

what are key aspects common heuristics

Answer 8

representativeness, availability

Question 9

hindsight bias

Answer 9

“i knew it all long”
tendency to overestimate how well we could have successfully forecasted known outcomes(e.g., “I knew they were the perfect couple”)

Question 10

overconfidence

Answer 10

tendency to overestimate our ability to make correct predictions

Question 11

what does the scientific method allow

Answer 11

us to test specific hypotheses derived from broader theories of how things work

Question 12

Case study designs

Answer 12

• Depth > generalizability
• Common with rare types of brain damage and other rare occurring cases
• Helpful in providing existence proofs, but can be misleading and anecdotal

Question 13

Naturalistic Observation

Answer 13

watching behaviour in real-world settings

Question 14

external (ecological) validity

Answer 14

extent to which we can generalize our findings to the real world

Question 15

internal validity

Answer 15

extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences

Question 16

what are the advantages of interviews

Answer 16

More in-depth
High response rates
Nonverbals

Question 17

what are the disadvantages of interviews

Answer 17

Cost
Interviewer bias
Interviewer effects

Question 18

Self-report measures

Answer 18

questionnaires assessing a variety of characteristics (e.g., interests, traits)

Question 19

what are the pros of self-report measures

Answer 19

Easy to administer
Direct (self) assessment of person’s state

Question 20

what are the cons of self report measures

Answer 20

Accuracy is skewed for certain groups (narcissists)
Potential for dishonesty

Question 21

what are response sets

Answer 21

tendencies of research subjects to distort their responses

Question 22

random selection

Answer 22

key to generalizability; ensures every person in a population has an equal chance of being chosen to participate

Question 23

what are the key parts of evaluating measures

Answer 23

reliability, validity

Question 24

Test-retest Reliability

Answer 24

Similar scores over time

Question 25

Inter-rater Reliability

Answer 25

Two raters should produce similar scores

Question 26

how can we avoid the cons of self-reports

Answer 26

ask someone who knows the participation well to evaluate them

Question 27

what new problems arises by asking someone who knows the participant well to evaluate them

Answer 27

Halo effect Leniency effect Error of central tendency

Question 28

halo effect

Answer 28

tendency of ratings of one positive characteristic to spill over to influence the ratings of other positive characteristics

Question 29

Leniency effect

Answer 29

tendency of raters to provide ratings that are overly generous

Question 30

Error of central tendency

Answer 30

an unwillingness to provide extreme ratings (low or high)

Question 31

Illusory Correlation

Answer 31

perception of a statistical association where none exists (e.g., crime and the full moon)

Question 32

Confounds

Answer 32

any difference between the experimental and control groups, other than the independent variable; makes independent variable effects uninterpretable

Question 33

Placebo effect

Answer 33

improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement

Question 34

Nocebo effect

Answer 34

- harm resulting from the mere expectation of harm (e.g., voodoo doll phenomenon)

Question 35

Experimenter expectancy effect

Answer 35

phenomenon in which researchers’ hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias a study outcome

Question 36

Double-blind design

Answer 36

neither researchers nor subjects know who is in the experimental or control group

Question 37

Hawthorne effect

Answer 37

phenomenon in which participants’ knowledge that they’re being studied can affect their behaviour

Question 38

Demand characteristics

Answer 38

cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researcher’s hypotheses

Question 39

how to minimize hawthorne effect

Answer 39

* Covert observation * Participant observation

Question 40

Tuskegee Study (1932 - 1972)

Answer 40

* African American men living in rural Alabama diagnosed with syphilis * U.S. Public Health Service never informed, or treated, the men * Merely studied the course of the disease: 28 men died of syphilis, 100 of related complications, 40 wives were infected, 19 children were born with it * In 1997, President Clinton offered a formal apology

Question 41

Institutional Review Board (IRB):

Answer 41

examine proposals in light of ethical guidelines

Question 42

Informed Consent

Answer 42

Agreement to participate in research after receiving adequate information Exposure to harm Confidentiality

Question 43

Inferential statistics

Answer 43

mathematical methods that allow us to determine whether we can generalize findings from our sample to the population

Question 44

sharpening

Answer 44

exaggerating the central message of the study

Question 45

leveling

Answer 45

minimizing the less-central details

Question 46

Pseudosymmetry

Answer 46

appearance of scientific controversy where none exists while purporting to provide “balanced coverage”