PSYC332CH1&2vocab

Question 1

Methods of acquiring knowledge

Answer 1

are ways in which a person can know things or discover answers to questions

Question 2

method of tenacity

Answer 2

information is accepted as true because it has always been believed or because superstition supports it.

Question 3

method of intuition

Answer 3

information is accepted on the basis of a hunch or gut feeling.

Question 4

method of authority

Answer 4

a person relies on information or answers from an expert in the subject area

Question 5

method of faith

Answer 5

is a variant of the method of authority in which people have unquestioning trust in the authority figure and, therefore accept information from the authority without doubt or challenge.

Question 6

rational method or rationalism

Answer 6

seeks answers by the use of logical reasoning

Question 7

premise statements

Answer 7

describe facts or assumptions that are presumed to be true.

Question 8

argument

Answer 8

is a set of premise statements that are logically combined to yield a conclusion

Question 9

empirical method or empiricism

Answer 9

uses observations or direct sensory experience to obtain knowledge.

Question 10

induction or inductive reasoning

Answer 10

involves using a relatively small set of specific observations as the basis for forming a general statement about a larger set of possible observations. ** Small to large.**

Question 11

variables

Answer 11

are characteristics or conditions that change or have different values for different individuals.

Question 12

hypothesis

Answer 12

a statement that describes or explains a relationship between or among variables.

Question 13

deduction or deductive reasoning

Answer 13

uses a general statement as the basis for reaching a conclusion about specific examples. Large to small.

Question 14

scientific method

Answer 14

is a method of acquiring knowledge that uses observations to develop a hypothesis then uses the hypothesis to make logical predictions that can be empirically tested by making additional, systematic observations.

Question 15

testable hypothesis

Answer 15

is one for which all the variables, events and individuals are real and can be defined and observed.

Question 16

a refutable hypothesis

Answer 16

is one that can be demonstrated to be false.

Question 17

participants

Answer 17

individuals who take part in research studies

Question 18

subjects

Answer 18

nonhuman participants

Question 19

applied research

Answer 19

is intended to answer practical quesitons or solve practical problems.

Question 20

primary source

Answer 20

is a firsthand report of observations or research results written by the individual who actually conducted the research and made the observations.

Question 21

secondary source

Answer 21

is a description or summary of another person’s work.