PSY309 Chapter 2

Which are the sections of an empirical journal article in the correct order?

Abstract, Method, Results, Discussion, References

Hannah just finished reading an empirical journal article for a class project. Where should she go if she wants to look for a list of the study's hypotheses or research questions?

First page of the Method section

Which of the following is a limitation of Google Scholar compared to PsycINFO?

Google Scholar is not limited to just psychology and related fields.

Which of the following is a benefit to using a wiki to conduct psychological research?

It can be corrected quickly.

Compared with doing a generic Internet search, why is PsycINFO a superior way to find scientific sources?

It searches only sources in psychology and related fields.

What are some differences between scientific journals and magazines

Scientific journal articles are peer-reviewed; popular magazine articles are not.

Rather than read the entire article, which two parts of the paper could one read to get a summary of the article?

The abstract and the first paragraph of the discussion

Looking for which of the following in a trade book will give you a hint as to its scientific rigor?

The number of references

What are some examples of cognitive biases

accepting a conclusion because it makes senses- example- Initially thought Ulcers caused by stress and stomach acid so treated with antacids when actually caused by H-pylori bacteria and can be treated with antibiotics availability heuristic- thinking guided by things that come to mind easily. example, memories, experiences etc. example- which more frequent? death by falling or fire due to availability heuristic more likely to say fire b/c fires get more press, comes to mind easily

Who is a confederate

an actor playing a specific role for the experimenter in a study. Participants believe them to be participants like themselves.

What is confirmatory hypothesis testing

asking questions that would confirm hypothesis example- if testing the hypothesis that their target is an extravert would ask questions that would confirm hypothesis

What is the bias blind spot?

belief we are unlikely to fall prey to cognitive biases

what are examples of intuition being biased by motivation

cherry-picking information confirmatory hypothesis testing

What are the two biases associated with intuition

cognitive biases motivational biases

What is a meta-analysis

combines the results of many studies and gives a number that summarizes the magnitude of the relationship

What are the two types of journal articles

empirical articles review articles

Why is not a good idea to base beliefs sole on personal experience?

experience has no comparison group there is nothing to compare experience to

Why is not a good idea to base beliefs sole on personal experience? -2

experience is confounded

What does it mean that research is probabilistic

findings do not explain all cases but a high proportion of possible cases scientific conclusions based on patterns when comparison groups are used and many people are tested

What is a comparison group?

group that allows us to compare what would happen with and without the variable we are interested in

What type of validity does a confounding variable affect

internal validity

What three sources may psychological scientists use to publish results

journal articles chapters in edited books full-length books

What are some disadvantages of the science blind spot

make us trust our faulty reasoning difficult for us to initiate the scientific theory- data cycle- may think- I don't need to test this conclusion, I already know it is correct

What does it mean that experience is confounded

many things happening in everyday life, if a change occurs, can't be sure what caused it

What must be taken intro account as it relates to trusting authorities on a specific subject

must consider source of ideas is advice based on personal experience/opinion/intuition are conclusions based on empirical/research evidence

What is the present/present bias

rely only on what is present and ignore what is absent when evaluating the evidence for a conclusion. example- The best way to study is by making flash cards. He easily thinks of all the times he used flash cards and he made As. However, he fails to take into consideration all the times he made As and did not use flash cards and the times he used flash cards and did not do well.

What are empirical journal articles

report for the first time the results of an empirical research study empirical articles contain details about the study's method, statistical tests used etc.

What is cherry picking information

selecting /accepting evidence that supports our ideas/experiments and not what goes against it

What are review journal articles

summary of studies that have been done on a research area

What is the availability heuristic

thinking guided by things that come to mind easily. example, memories, experiences etc.

How can confounds be accounted for in science

use controls so one factor is changed at a time

What is a confounding variable in research, What type of validity does it affect?

variable that is unaccounted for/controlled for that affects the results and internal validity

What are some disadvantages of using the availability heuristic

wrong estimates of how often or the number of something -overestimate the number of muslim women at school b/c they tend to stand out given their attire overestime frequencies - example prof says everyone is using a cell phone during class when 2/3 students