Senior Sem: MFT

Statistical significance

A statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.

Rosenthal effect

Problematic effect in which the experimenter subtly influences participants to act in ways that confirm the experimenter's expectations.

operationalization

Process by which we make a theoretical variable one that we can measure

Case Study

Process or record of research in which detailed consideration is given to the development of a particular person, group, or situation over a period of time. A particular instance of something used or analyzed in order to illustrate a thesis or principle.

Qualitative vs. quantitative study

Qualitative- The purpose of this research method is to explore. Quantitative- The purpose of this research method is to describe, compare, and test

Stratified sampling

Reflect the proportions of certain characteristics within a target population

Main effect

Test of the differences between all means for each level of an independent variable in an ANOVA

Test-retest reliability

Test-retest reliability refers to the degree to which test results are consistent over time. In order to measure test-retest reliability, we must first give the same test to the same individuals on two occasions and correlate the scores

Determinism

The assumption that phenomena have identifiable causes

false positive

the incorrect rejection of a null hypothesis

Dependent variable

the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

Response rate

the percentage of people contacted who complete the questionnaire

Assent

to include children in a study you must have the parents consent and the childs ____.

Empirical

Based on something that is gathered by experiences, by the senses. Not durrived by deduction.

Degrees of freedom

Number of scores that can vary in the calculation of a statistic

Confidence Interval

A range of values that is (usually) 95% likely to contain the true population average..

Central limit theorem

Attributed to Pierre-Simon Laplace, this is the idea that averages tend to form a normal distribution.

Manipulation Check

In debriefing, a procedure to determine if subjects were aware of a deception experiment's true purpose; also a procedure that determines if systematic manipulations have the intended effect on participants

Construct Validity

Indicates that a survey measures the behavior it is designed to measure

Descriptive statistics

Measures that help us summarize data sets

Semantic differential

Such a scale that asks to rate a target objective using a numeric scale that is anchored with adjectives ~example. Easiness: Easy 1 2 3 4 5 Hard Helpfulness: Useless 1 2 3 4 5 Very Helpful

Nonparametric tests (e.g., chi square)

When you have violated a distribution parameter, it does not make assumptions about the population, chi square is a nonparametric test, nominal data uses nonparametric tests

Ecological validity

___ refers to the extent to which the findings of a research study are able to be generalized to real-life settings.

Positive Skew

____When a distribution includes extreme scores that are very high. Contain more low scores than high scores; the skew is produced by the unusually high score. Curve at left, tail on right.

Mean median and mode

a. Mean - the calculated average of the scores in a distribution b. Median - the middle score in a distribution, such that half of the scores are above and half are below that value c. Mode - the most common score in a distribution

One-way design

an experiment that has one independent variable

Retrospective study

are where the research methods used collect data about peoples experiences of past events.

nominal vs. ordinal vs. interval vs. ratio scale NOIR

- The meaning of the numbers = a. Ratio (data that has a true zero ex - temp or weight), a scale of data measurement that involves numerical responses, where scores are ratios of each other b. Nominal - (the numbers have no meaning, they are just place holders for names), a scale of data measurement that involves nonordered categorical responses c. Interval - (all the numbers are the same distance apart), a scale of data measurement that involves numerical responses that are equally spaced, but scores are not ratios of each other d. Ordinal - (gaging ranking number like 1st, 2nd, 3rd), a scale of data measurement that involves ordered categorical responses

Face validity

- n the surface, a study or scale appears to be intuitively valid

IRB

A committee of knowledgeable individuals who oversee the ethics of research with human participants conducted at an institution

Discriminant validity

A concept in psychometrics. It is validity obtained when we measure two things that are thought to be dissimilar and our measures can discriminate between them . For instance, to show the discriminant validity of a test of math skills, we might correlate the scores on our test with scores on tests of verbal ability, where low correlations would be evidence of discriminant validity.

Counterbalancing

A control used in within-subjects experiments where equal numbers of participants are randomly assigned to different orders of the conditions

Naturalistic Observation

A data collection technique involving noninvasive observation of individuals in their natural environments

Demand effect

A feature of the experimental design of procedure that increases the chances that participants will detect the true purpose of the study

Focus group

A form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their attitude towards a product, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. In the world of marketing, focus groups are an important tool for acquiring feedback regarding new products, as well as various topics.

Pilot Testing

A pilot test is a small study that a researcher carries out just to make sure that the equipment he/she is going to use actually works, or to make sure that subjects will understand the instructions, or to see if a small group of people will give you the kind of results that you expect to find before you go out and spend all your time (maybe money) asking questions of a large group of people.

Likert Scale

A scale of responses that measures a participant's agreement or disagreement with different types of statements, often with a rating from 1 to 5 or 1 to 7

Hawthorne effect

A source of bias that can occur in a study due to participants changing their behavior because they are aware that they are being observed

Standard deviation

A statistical measurement of dispersion, indicating the degree to which a set of values typically deviates from the mean value for the set. Most commonly used descriptive statistic.

Validity vs. reliability

A test is valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure. If theresults of the personality test claimed that a very shy person was in factoutgoing, the test would be invalid. Reliability and validity are independent of each other. A measurement maybe valid but not reliable, or reliable but not valid

Robust

A test merits this adjective if it is relatively impervious to having its assumptions violated

Experiment

A type of research design that involves manipulation of an independent variable, allowing control of extraneous variables that could affect the results

Content Analysis

An archival data collection technique that involves analysis of the content of an individual's spoken or written record

Factorial design

An experiment or quasi-experiment that includes more than one independent variable are tested independently and for their interactive effects.

Between subjects design

An experimental design in which different groups of participants serve in the different conditions of the study

Confound

An extraneous factor present in a study that may affect the results

Blind procedures (single vs. double)

Blind Procedures (Single vs. Double) a. A double-blind study is one in which neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a particular treatment. This procedure is utilized to prevent bias in research results. Double-blind studies are particularly useful for preventing bias due to demand characteristics or the placebo effect. b. Single-blind: of, relating to, or being an experimental procedure in which the experimenters but not the subjects know the makeup of the test and control groups during the actual course of the experiments — compare double-blind, open-label

Correlationals and casuality

Causation at its simplest definition refers to determining the cause or reason for some sort of phenomenon. However, many people hear reports on the news and the Internet that contain correlations rather than causation. A correlation is simply a recognized relationship between two things or events, but it does not imply causation

Standardization

Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group. The consistency of testing conditions, operationalizations, instructions, etc.

Placebo Effect

Experimental results caused by expectations alone; any effect on behavior caused by the administration of an inert substance or condition, which is assumed to be an active agent.

Criterion validity

External outcome, what the measure predict what it is supposed it. How accurate predictions are from the measure.

Outlier

Extreme high or low scores in a distribution

Normal curve

Frequency distribution in which most measurements are centered around the mean and the two sides of the distribution are symmetrical. Theoretical bell-shaped curve for which the area under the curve lying between any two z-scores has been predetermined. 68% of scores fall within one standard deviation, 95% within two standard deviations. and 99% within three.

Random Selection

Gives the population an equal chance of being included in the sample, rarely used, most of the time used convenient sample

Sociometry

Graphing interpersonal relations, examine interpersonal collections

Parametric statistics

If the data assumes something about the population. Ex - the sample is normal.

Mixed Factorial

Image result for mixed factorial design psychology It is a factorial design that includes both between and within subjects variables. ... This design would consist of one within subject variable (test), with two levels (pre and post), and one between subjects variable (therapy), with two levels (traditional and cognitive) (Figure 1).

Mediator vs. moderator

Mediator variable helps explain WHY the effect occurs Moderator variable is one that helps identify WHEN an effect will occur

Meta analysis

Meta Analysis refers to a research strategy where instead of conducting new research with participants, the researchers examine the results of several previous studies. This is done with the purpose of gaining greater confidence in the results because of the larger pool of participants, as long as steps are taken to avoid errors that may have existed in the original studies.

Cronbach's alpha

Method of testing scores' internal consistency that indicates the average correlation between scores on all pairs of items on a survey

Incremental Validity

More with a measure, increases the predicated validity. Add item or measure does it boost the level of predicted power that you have.

Inferential statistics

Numerical methods used to determine whether research data support a hypothesis or whether results were due to chance. Hold a reliance on probabltly and samples of the population. EX: ANOVA, t-test, ANCOVA

order effect

Occur when the order in which the participants experience conditions in an experiment affects the results of the study

Random assignment

One of the key features of an experiment, no bias on what condition they are put into. Allows for control to preexisting differences in groups. All data points are completely independent.

Informed consent

Onset obtained from participants for participation in research after the participants have been informed about the purpose, procedure, and risks of the research

Repeated measures design

Or within subjects design. all participants are in both experimental and control condition

Sample vs. population

Population- all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study.

P-Value

Probability value associated with an inferential test that indicates the likelihood of obtaining the data in a study when the null hypothesis is true

Systematic replication

Reproducing experiments with variations designed to make conclusions about behavior more general

Longitudinal study

Research in which the same people are re-studied and re-tested over a long period

Quasi-experiment

Similar to a traditional experimental design, but lacks the element of random assignment to treatment or control.

Z-scores

Standardized score, allows us to make comparisons between two different variables that have very different scales or overall distributions. Puts everyone on the same page. All the numbers are going to have a mean of zero and a SD of 1. Statistically adjust by dividing each scores difference from the mean by the SD = Z score. 34 and 14 (% of score between 1 and 2 SD), 2 (% that is higher then 2 SD above), 68% (within 1 SD of the mean)

Interaction effect

Tests the effect of one independent variable at each level of another independent variable in an ANOVA. EX: if the effects of TV viewing on violence depend on the viewer's age.

Parsimony

The assumption that the simplest explanation of a phenomenon is most likely to be correct

Ceiling Effect

The ceiling effect is the level at which an independent variable no longer has an effect on a dependent variable, or the level above which variance in an independent variable is no longer measured or estimated.

Variance

The degree to which a set of values varies from the mean of the set of values.

Internal validity

The degree to which a study provides causal information about behavior

Convergent Validity

The degree to which scores on a test correlate with (or are related to) scores on other tests that are designed to assess the same construct

External validity

The degree to which the results of a study apply to individuals and realistic behaviors outside the study

Sampling error

The extent to which the sample differs from the population

Control Group

The group of participants in an experiment who do not experience the treatment level of the independent variable

Null Hypothesis

The hypothesis that an effect or relationship does not exist (or exists in the opposite direction of the alternative hypothesis) in the population

Power

The odds of rejecting the null in a study; mathematically, it is equal to one minus beta.

Falsifiability

The principle that a scientific theory must make predictions that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation; that is, the theory must predict not only what will happen, but also what will not happen

Alpha

The probability of incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis that is used by a researcher to decide whether an outcome of a study is statistically significant (most commonly, researchers use a probability of .05)

ANOVA

The statistical test most commonly used for designs that incorporate more than one independent variable.

Unstructured Interview (Open)

These are sometimes referred to as 'discovery interviews' & are more like a 'guided conservation' than a strict structured interview. They are sometimes called informal interviews. An interview schedule might not be used, and even if one is used, they will contain open-ended questions that can be asked in any order. Some questions might be added / missed as the Interview progresses.

Structured Interview (Closed)

This is also known as a formal interview (like a job interview). The questions are asked in a set / standardized order and the interviewer will not deviate from the interview schedule or probe beyond the answers received (so they are not flexible). These are based on structured, closed-ended questions.

Independent variable

Variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the researcher such that the levels of the variable change across or within subjects in the experiment

Cohort Effect

Variations in the characteristics of an area of study (such as the incidence of a characteristic or the age at onset) over time among individuals who are defined by some shared temporal experience or common life experience, such as year of birth, or year of exposure to radiation.

Negative Skew

When a distribution includes extreme scores that are unusually low and the low scores skew the distribution. Contain a higher number of high scores than low scores. Curve at right, tail on left.

Negative correlation

When two variables have a negative correlation, they have an inverse relationship. This means that as one variable increases, the other decreases, and vice versa. examples: -The weight of a car & miles per gallon: cars that are heavier tend to get less miles per gallon of gas. -School achievement & days absent from school: people who miss more days of school tend to have lower GPAs. -Vaccinations & illness: The more that people are vaccinated for a specific illness, the less that illness occurs.

Reverse cause

a persuasion technique involving the false advocacy of a belief or behavior contrary to the belief or behavior which is actually being advocated. This technique relies on the psychological phenomenon of reactance, in which a person has a negative emotional response in reaction to being persuaded, and thus chooses the option which is being advocated against.

Type I error/Type II error

a type I error is the incorrect rejection of a true null hypothesis (a "false positive"), while a type II error is incorrectly retaining a false null hypothesis (a "false negative").

Basic vs. applied research

a._______refers to study and research that is meant to increase our scientific knowledge base. This type of research is often purely theoretical with the intent of increasing our understanding of certain phenomena or behavior but does not seek to solve or treat these problems. b _______ refers to scientific study and research that seeks to solve practical problems. Applied research is used to find solutions to everyday problems, cure illness, and develop innovative technologies. Psychologists working in human factors or industrial/organizational fields often do this type of research, between subjects design

Statistical validity

the ability to statistically determine whether manipulation of the IV cause changes in the DV.

Regression to the mean

the tendency for extremes of unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.

Cover story

which falsely describes the purpose of the study, but provides a feasible account of the researcher's objective.