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Psychology Exam 2 > Research Methods And Statistics > Flashcards

Research Methods And Statistics Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the basic assumption behind psychological research

A

Things aren’t random. Events are governed by some lawful order

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2
Q

What is a theory

A

Must be proven wrong if not true. Ex. gravity is a scientific theory.

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3
Q

What is a hypothesis

A

Statement about specific relationships between variables. “If, then, because”

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4
Q

What does it mean to be “falsifiable”

A

It is the principle that in hypothesis testing a proposition or theory cannot be considered scientific if it does not admit the possibility of being shown to be false.

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5
Q

What process must research go through to be published

A

Must go through peer review process. Send to 34 ppl in same field to read journals & find problems & reject it or tell them to revise it

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6
Q

What is naturalistic observation

A

Observation of behavior without interference

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7
Q

What is a case study

A

In depth observation of one person (or case)

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8
Q

What is a survey

A

Questionnaires given to a large group

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9
Q

What if an experiment

A

Manipulation of variable. Effect on another variable measured, everything else controlled. Ex: Tylenol vs placebo

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10
Q

What is an independent variable

A

It is a variable that stands alone and isn’t changed by the other variables you are trying to measure. Causes a change in DV.

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11
Q

Dependent variable

A

Depends on other factors. Can’t cause a change in IV.

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12
Q

What is necessary for a study to be called an experiment

A

Manipulated experimental treatment group(s) and (ideally) a control group.

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13
Q

What is random assignment

A

Helps control irrelevant variables

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14
Q

Confound

A

Outside influence that changes the effect of a dependent and independent variable.

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15
Q

Experimenter bias

A

Researchers desires/expectations affect DV. Can be very subtle. Ex: ‘smart’ vs. ‘dumb’ rats in maze. Double blind experiment can remedy

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16
Q

Which method is the only one that can determine causality (cause-and-effect) through its design

A

?

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17
Q

What sort of things do descriptive statistics measure?

A

Organize and summarize data

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18
Q

What does a correlation (r) measure?

A

Measures the degree to which 2 variables change together.

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19
Q

What is the range of r

A

Varies from -1 to 1.

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20
Q

Positive correlation

A

Positive means change together. Ex: height and shoe size

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21
Q

Zero correlation

A

Zero means no association. Ex: height and age of students in room

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22
Q

Negative correlation

A

Negative means change in opposite ways. Ex: height and time you can ride in a small car.

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23
Q

Reasons why a correlation cannot determine causation

A

Correlation does not imply causation. Experiments can determine cause and effect

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24
Q

What do inferential statistics measure

A

Used to interpret data and draw conclusions. Check for statistical significance.

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25
What does p (the measure of statistical significance) measure
Measures percent chance. Want it to be less than p=.05
26
In general, what ethical considerations must researchers take into account when conducting studies
IRB has to approve. Looks for unnecessary costs, participants are informed consent and allowed to quit
27
Difference between sensation and perception
Sensation is the stimulation of sense organs while perception is the brain putting it all together (selection, organization, and interpretation of sensations)
28
Absolute threshold
Detected 50% if the time.
29
Just Noticeable difference
Smallest difference detectable. The size of JND is proportional to size of initial stimulus
30
Sensory adaptation
Decline in sensitivity like smells and afterimages
31
Contrast affects
Detected differences are exaggerated: water(hot tub and pool), good & bad news
32
Receptor cells
Cones and rods
33
Cones
Color & daylight vision. Concentrated in fovea
34
Rods
Black and white/low light vision.
35
Optic disk
Blind spot/optic nerve connection
36
Feature detectors
Respond selectively to lines, edges, etc.
37
Special feature detector that monkeys and humans have
Detect faces in inanimate objects
38
How do limited attention and perceptual set affect perception
See what you are prepared to see or see what motivated to see. Ex. B or 13 and police officers dilemma (shoot or not shoot)
39
Bottom up processing
Start w/ stimulus, work up to brain. Detect features, combine them, recognize in brain.
40
Top down processing
Start w/ brain, work down to Stimulus. Form hypothesis, check stimulus to see if correct.
41
Which change (light or dark) is faster
Light adaption
42
Binocular cues
Clues from both eyes together. Convergence, retinal disparity, different between images on each eye
43
Convergence
Feeling of how eyes positioned
44
Retinal disparity
Different between images in each eye.
45
Relative motion/ motion parallax
Part of monocular cues. S
46
Perceptual constancy
Stable perceptions amid changing stimuli. Size (growing vs coming closer), shape (door changing shape vs opening), hue (car changing color vs sun blocked by cloud)
47
Stimulus for hearing
Sound waves (vibrations of molecules traveling in air)
48
What cues do we use to locate sound
Loudness (intensity) and timing of sounds arriving at each ear
49
Stimulus for taste
Soluble chemical substances
50
What picks up taste stimulus
Receptor cells found in taste buds
51
What determines if we like the taste of something
Innate (ex: salt and sugar) vs learned (ex: learn to like beer)
52
Stimulus for smell
Substances carried in the air
53
Why do people sometimes plug their noses when drinking gross medicine
Taste and smell work closely together
54
Why do we hear something different said by a long haired unshaven man depending on whether our eyes are open or closed?
Our senses work together
55
Stimulus for touch
Mechanical, thermal, and chemical energy on the skin
56
What picks up temperature on the skin
Free nerve endings in the skin
57
What determines how much pain we feel
Pain receptors. Two pain pathways: fast vs slow
58
Kinesthesis
Knowing the position of various parts of the body, receptors in joints/muscles
59
Vestibular sense
Equilibrium/balance
60
Algorithms
Systematic trial and error, guaranteed solution
61
Insight
Sudden solution with no feeling of getting warmer. Ex: pine, crab, sauce (apple)
62
Heuristics
Mental shortcuts. No guaranteed solution but much faster than algorithms. Working backward and mental set
63
Mental set
Using past solutions. If old strategy won’t work, mental set can hinder problem solving.
64
Barriers to problem solving
Heuristics Can cause barriers. Mental set & fixation (getting stuck thinking about a problem from a single perspective ex: dot problem)
65
Are people completely rational
We aren’t or sometimes can’t be always thoroughly rational
66
Bounded rationality
People use simple strategies eg. heuristics because cant track all alternatives. Biased to make some decisions over others
67
Availability heuristic
How many people do sharks kill yearly vs coconuts
68
Overconfidence effect
People have too much confidence in own estimations. Ex: say 75% certain, actually correct about 60% of the time
69
Confirmation bias
Selectively seek out and remember information that meets expectations. Ex: Britney Spears song
70
Framing
Gain/loss framing. People are more conservative about losses than gains. Positive/ negative wording (ex: aid to needy vs welfare)
71
Belief perseverance
People tend to still believe something they believed in the past, even after learning its untrue
72
In what types of situations do heuristics work well
Less than perfect but adaptive. People are better at real world problems
73
Types of questions on IQ tests
Block design and digit symbol
74
What do scores on IQ tests mean
Originally for school children but now represents score compared to others on a bell curve
75
Is intelligence inherited or determined by environment or both
Both. About 50% inheritable. Environment affects inherited potential
76
What does IQ predict
Correlations

Psychology Exam 2 (1 decks)

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