Keywords - Intro to Psychological Science
What is the criteria for causal claims?
1. It must establish that the two variables (the causal variable and the outcome variable) are correlated; the relationship cannot be zero. (Covariance) 2. It must show that the causal variable came first and the outcome variable came later. (Temporal precedence) 3. It must establish that no other explanations exist for the relationship. (Internal validity)
What are Merton's four scientific norms?
1. Universalism 2. Communality 3. Disinterestedness 4. Organized skepticism
What is a causal claim?
A causal claim argues that one of the variable is responsible for changing the other. Advice is also a causal claim; it implies that if you do X, then Y will happen. For example: "Best way to deal with jerks? Give them the cold shoulder." "Boost your salary by hitting the gym."
What is a constant?
A constant is something that could potentially vary but that has only one level in the study question
What is a hypothesis?
A hypothesis, or prediction, is stated in terms of the study design. It's the specific outcome the researcher will observe in a study if the theory is accurate
What is a manipulated or independent variable?
A manipulated/independent variable is a variable a research controls, usually by assigning study participants to the different levels of that variable
What is a measured or dependent variable?
A measured/dependent variable is one whose levels are simply observed and recorded
What is a theory?
A theory is a simple set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another. Strong scientific theories setup gambles, a theory should lead to a hypothesis that, when tested, could fail to support the theory. Falsifiability is a characteristic of good theories.
What is a variable?
A variable is something that varies, so it must have at least two levels or values
What is a confound?
Alternative explanations are called confounds which can also mean confused. Essentially, a confound occurs when you think one thing caused an outcome but in fact other things changed, too, so you are confused about what the cause really was.
What is meta-analysis?
Combines the results of many studies and gives a number that summarizes the magnitude, or the effect size, or a relationship Meta-analysis is valued by psychologists because it weighs each study proportionately and does not allow cherry-picking particular studies
What is construct validity?
Construct validity refers to how well a conceptual variable is operationalized. When you ask how well a study measured or manipulated a variable, you are interrogating the construct validity—be it smiling, smoking, texting, gender identity, food insecurity, or knowing when news is fake. To ensure construct validity, researchers must establish that each variable has been measured reliably (meaning the measure yields similar scores on repeated testings) and that different levels of a variable accurately correspond to true differences in, say, texting or happiness.
How can you find high quality sources in order to base your beliefs on?
Consult Scientific Sources like academic journals Read a scholarly book or an edited book (An edited book is a collection of chapters on a common topic, each chapter of which is written by a different contributor) Working on your own, you can also use tools such as PsycINFO and Google Scholar to conduct searches.
What is empiricism?
Empiricism involves using evidence from the senses or from instruments that assist the senses (thermometers, timers, photographs, scales, and questionnaires) as the basis for conclusions
Why is empiricism important?
Empiricists do not base conclusions on intuition, casual observations of their own experience, or what other people say. Empiricists aim to be systematic and rigorous to make their work independently verifiable by other observers Researchers never say they have proved their theories. They instead say that the research data supports or is consistent with their theory. Why? It is not possible to observe every black crow in the world. Researchers also don't scrap their data if it does not support their theory. They will revise their study or say it is inconsistent with their theory.
What is external validity?
External validity measures how well the results of a study generalize to, or represent, people or contexts besides those in the original study. Generalizability: how well do the participants represent the intended population?
What is the confidence interval?
For a frequency claim, precision is captured by the confidence interval, or margin of error of the estimate An analogy for the confidence interval is a contractor who estimates your home repair will cost "between $1,000 and $1,500." The repair will probably cost something in that range (but might cost less or cost more).
What is a frequency claim?
Frequency claims describe a particular rate or degree of a single variable. Claims that mention the percentage of a variable, the number of people, or a certain group's level on a variable can all be called frequency claims.
What is generalizability?
How well do the participants represent the intended population?
What is internal validity?
In a relationship between one variable (A) and another (B), the extent to which A =, rather than some other variable (C), is responsible for changes in B Refers to a study's ability to eliminate alternative explanations for the association
What is the difference between producers and consumers of research?
Producers of research develop the ability to work in research labs and make new discoveries whereas consumers of research need to be able to find, read, and evaluate research behind important policies, therapies, and workplace decisions.
What is the present/present bias?
Reflects our failure to consider appropriate comparison groups E.g.: When surgeons were observing the effects of radical mastectomies on patients, they focused on patients who received the surgery (treatment was "present") and recovered (recovery was "present") but did not fully account for those who did not recover (treatment was "present" but recovery was "absent") or consider other treatments (treatment was "absent"
What is universalism?
Scientific claims are evaluated according to their merit, independent of the researcher's credentials or reputation. Even a student can do science - you don't need an advanced degree or research position
What is communality?
Scientific knowledge is created by a community and its findings belong to the community Scientists should transparently and freely share the results of their work with other scientists and the public
What is the availability heuristic?
States that things that pop up easily in our mind tend to guide our thinking. When events or memories are vivid, recent, or memorable, they come to mind more easily, leading us to overestimate how often things happen
What is a bias blind spot?
The belief that we are unlikely to fall prey to the other biases
What is the purpose of basic research?
The goal of basic research is to enhance the general body of knowledge rather than to address a specific, practical problem.
What is an example of a positive association, or positive correlation?
The headline "New study links exercise to higher pay" is an association in which high goes with high and low goes with low
What is an example of a negative association, or negative correlation?
The study behind the claim "Coffee drinking linked to less depression in women" is an association in which high goes with low and low goes with high.
What is an example of a zero/no association, or zero correlation?
The study behind the headline "A late dinner is not linked to childhood obesity, study shows"
What is confirmation bias?
The tendency to only look at information that agrees with what we want to believe We "cherry-pick" the information we take in—seeking and accepting only the evidence that supports what we already think.
What is the purpose of translational research?
Translational research is the use of lessons from basic research to develop and test applications to health care, psychotherapy, or other forms of treatment and intervention. It represents a dynamic bridge between basic to applied research.
What is developmental contextualism?
Understanding that the real world environment matters with people and development and experiments should not always be done in labs
What does validity mean?
Validity refers to the appropriateness of a conclusion or decision, and in general, a valid claim is reasonable, accurate, and justifiable. In psychological research, however, we do not say a claim is simply "valid." Instead, psychologists specify which of the validities they are applying.
What are the four validities?
1. Construct validity 2. External validity 3. Internal validity 4. Statistical validity
What are the three claims?
1. Frequency claim 2. Association claim 3. Causal claim
What are the four sources of knowledge, and which is the most accurate?
1. Their own experience 2. Their intuition 3. Authorities 4. Controlled research Of these, research information is the most accurate source of knowledge
What is an association claim?
An association claim argues that one level of a variable is likely to be associated with a particular level of another variable. These variables are said to correlate, or said to be related.
What is the purpose of applied research?
Applied research is done with a practical problem in mind and researchers conduct their work in a local, real-world context.
What is outreach research?
Conducting experiments and studies in real-life environments
What is organized skepticism?
Scientists question everything, including their own theories, widely accepted ideas, and "ancient wisdom" Scientists accept almost nothing at face value. Nothing is sacred, they always ask to see the evidence
What is disinterestedness?
Scientists strive to discover the truth, whatever it is; they are not swayed by conviction, idealism, politics, or profit. Scientists should not be personally invested in whether their hypotheses are supported by the data. They don't spin the story, they accept what the data tells them.
What is statistical validity?
Statistical validity is the extend to which a study's statistical conclusions are precise, reasonable, and replicable. How well do the numbers support the claim?