week 2 Flashcards
(20 cards)
How do psychologists study behavior?
using the scientific method
What are ways psychologists get fooled to believing what is not true?
- they are skeptical
- they are open-minded
What are the goals of the scientific study of behavior?
- Describe
- Predict
- Identify causes (control/change) of
- explain
BEHAVIOR
What are the characteristics of the scientific method?
- empiricism: objective observation of world
-replication: demonstrating & observing a phenomenon more than once
- publication: making observations available to everyone so others can evaluate the claim
What is scientific theory?
Ideas that organizes what is known about a topic from observations and makes predictions about future observations
What is a hypothesis?
A prediction of an outcome
What is peer review?
Research is evaluated by other researchers in the field
Research is evaluated by other researchers in the field
a quality/characteristic that can take on diff values for diff observations
What are the diff b/t measured and manipulated variables?
(MEASURED): height, lvl of happiness, shoe color, yr in school
(MANIPULATED): exam color, puzzle difficulty, number of ppl present
What are operational definitions?
define variables in terms of the operations performed to measure them
when all members have an equal change of being selected for a sample
How do naturalistic observational studies work?
researcher makes observations of people in their normal environments
researchers might conceal themselves or remain visible
What is a case study?
a detailed observation on one individual
What are correlation coefficients?
Tells you how strong 2 variables are related and the form of that relationship
- if r=1, is perfect linear
- if r=-1, is perfect negative linear
- if r=0, no relationship
- the sign of r ( + or -) tells us if it is a + (direct) or - (inverse) relationship
- r^2 tells us the strength of that relationship
What does “correlation is not causation” mean?
if 2 variables are related:
- changes in A can cause changes in B
- changes in B can cause changes in A
- changes in a 3rd variable (c) may cause changes in A/B
What is spurious correlation?
when two variables are correlated, BUT by coincidence
What does experimental researchers allow researchers to do?
identify causal relationship between variables
utilizes two measured variables
What is experimental research?
manipulate one variable, measure another
