research methods

Question 1

hindsight bias

Answer 1

“i knew it all along” phenomenon

Question 2

barnum effect

Answer 2

when people identify with and easily accept info that is favourable to them or what they believe

Question 3

4 goals of psychology

Answer 3

1. describe
2. explain
3. predict
4. influence

Question 4

3 types of research

Answer 4

descriptive, correlational, experimental

Question 5

descriptive research

Answer 5

observes and describes behaviours

Question 6

case study

Answer 6

Technique in which one person/group is studied (research) in depth to reveal underlying behavioral principles

Question 7

advantages and disadvantages of case studies

Answer 7

• Advantages: provides insight to specific cases
• Disadvantages: Cannot generalize to all people

Question 8

clinical case study

Answer 8

Form of case study in which the therapist investigates the problems associated with the client. (thru treatment)

Question 9

naturalistic observation

Answer 9

observing animals or people in their natural environment

Question 10

survey

Answer 10

A technique for gathering the attitudes, opinions, or behaviours of people by asking a fixed set of questions.
• Most practical way of gathering data to a large number of people

Question 11

random sample

Answer 11

Sample that Fairly represents a population

Question 12

representative sample

Answer 12

Participants have characteristics that closely match the whole population.

Question 13

population

Answer 13

The whole group you want to study.

Question 14

correlational research

Answer 14

Examines relationship between 2 sets of observation.
- DOES NOT mean cause & effect.
- Does not identify what causes what

Question 15

advantages and disadvantages to correlational research

Answer 15

Advantages: Shows relationship between 2 variables and can predict future behavior
Disadvantages: Doesn’t prove “causation” (no cause and effect)

Question 16

experimental research

Answer 16

explores cause and effect
- investigator controls situation
- decreases possibilities of outside variables influencing results

Question 17

confounding variables

Answer 17

extraneous variable that effects the validity of an experiment

Question 18

random assignment

Answer 18

use of chance to assign subjects to experimental and control groups

Question 19

experimental group

Answer 19

independent variable applied

Question 20

control group

Answer 20

no independent variable applied.
- necessary in all experiments

Question 21

double blind procedure

Answer 21

both the staff and participants are blind to which group the subjects are in

Question 22

placebo

Answer 22

inert substance having no effect on the body

Question 23

placebo effect

Answer 23

when a person believes the pill has an effect and behaves as if it has an effect

Question 24

self fulfilling propechy

Answer 24

prediciton/thought/suggestion that prompts people to act in ways that make it come true

Question 25

ethics / ethical

Answer 25

important in all research on humans and animals - ethical: morally right

Question 26

5 guidelines for human research

Answer 26

1. informed consent 2. coercion: voluntary, fine to withdraw any time 3. anonymity/confidentiality 4. risk: cannot be placed 5. debriefing: told the purpose and results

Question 27

4 guidelines for animal research

Answer 27

1. clear scientific purpose: must answer a specific question 2. human treatment: cared for and housed 3. legal possession 4. minimum suffering

Question 28

why animal research?

Answer 28

- biological and behavioural similarities, can learn things that apply to humans - lifespan shorter, study genetic effects over generations faster - more control over experiments

Question 29

examples of descriptive research

Answer 29

case study, clinical case study, naturalistic observation, survey