PSYS 284 Exam 1

response variable

(or dependent variable) is that variable whose variation depends on other variables the responses or behaviors of individuals

monotonic relationship

a relationship that does one of the following: (1) as the value of one variable increases, so does the value of the other variable; or (2) as the value of one variable increases, the other variable value decreases.

applied research

a scientific study within the field of Psychology that focuses on solving problems, curing illnesses, and innovating new technologies. Its main purpose is to conduct scientific research and apply it to real-world situations

unlike scientific explanations, commonsense explanations are

accepted at face value Ch.1 #7

laboratory experiment

an experiment conducted under highly controlled conditions (not necessarily a laboratory), where accurate measurements are possible PRIMARY ADVANTAGE: IT IS EASIER TO HOLD EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES CONSTANT

by employing randomization, the researcher ensures that

any extraneous is just as likely to affect one group as it is to affect the other

when evaluating a results section, you should determine whether the

appropriate statistics were applied

field experiment

are conducted in a natural setting (e.g. at a sports event or on public transport), as opposed to the artificial environment created in laboratory experiments. Some variables cannot be controlled due to the unpredictability of these real-life settings (e.g. the public interacting with participants), but an independent variable will still be altered for a dependent variable to be measured against.

non-monotonic relationship

as X increases, Y sometimes increases and sometimes decreases.

Dr. King asks student teachers to assign a punishment for misbehavior displayed by an attractive versus unattractive child. The response variable would be

assigned punishment

the most up-to-the-minute information about research can be obtained...

at a professional convention or meeting

the scientific method is an...

attitude

when reading a discussion section, you should determine whether the

author made assertions that went far beyond the data reported findings reported fit with previous research and theory

your primary concern when reading a discussion section is whether

author's conclusions follow from the data reported

(t/f) the final step in the research process is analyzing your data

false

(t/f) the results from basic research are not applicable to solving everyday problems

false

(t/f) the statistical significance of finding is largely irrelevant in the decision to publish a paper

false

(t/f) the steps in the research process are independent of one another

false

a theory

generates new knowledge by guiding our observations

trapping

hunting, zero in on the behavior

experimental designs

independent variable and dependent variable reduces third variable problem

participant variable

individual characteristics of each participant that may impact how he or she respond

participant/subject variable

individual differences

critically reading and analyzing research literature involves a

initial appraisal careful analysis of content

where would you find a description of what was done in the past and why the present study is being conducted in a research article?

introduction

according to the text, hypothesis development is important because

it drives other decisions concerning how variables are to be measured and manipulated in your research poorly conceptualized hypotheses may lead to invalid results

One advantage of using PsychINFO over the Social science Citation Index as a method for obtaining past research is

it will give you abstracts of the research articles

poster presentation

large audience short period of time impersonal but efficient allows the author to present more details of a study allows you to talk directly to the researcher about the researcher

making a photocopy of a published article is

legal but unethical

When a researcher manipulates temperature of a room in order to examine the effect is has on task performance, the different temperature conditions are referred to as the _________ of the variable

levels

In search for causes of behavior, Cialdini's (1994) idea of "scouting" involves...

making systematic observations of naturally occurring behavior ch.1 #2

(graph) independent variable

manipulated x-axis

according to the text, a successfully completed research project

may raise more questions than it answers

(graph) dependent variable

measured y axis

Professor brown found the more alone a person feels, the more time they spend watching television. This finding would be an example of a ______ relationship?

monotonic

when conducting a search for previous literature using PsychINFO, you

must specify the search terms that you want the computer to use should use standard psychological terms can narrow the search to specific sources of publications (e.g. journal articles)

nominal

name/label a series of values

correlational designs

nonexperimental method no casual statements observation direction of cause and effect third variable problem

If the policy of a journal is to not send articles out for review prior to publication, that journal is

nonrefereed

prediction

observable phenomena to make a future projection

Extensive research has been conducted on the subject of "bystander intervention." Interest in this topic was generated following the stabbing of Kitty Genovese in the presence of her neighbors. The source of ideas for this body of research was

observation of the world around us

source of ideas for research projects

observations from the world around us past research theories practical problems

what sets the scientific method apart from other methods of inquiry?

observing and experimenting ch.1 #19

Peters and Ceci (1982) found that, when previously published articles were retyped as manuscripts and resubmitted to the journal that originally published them

only 3 of 12 papers were identified as resubmissions and rejected for that reason

negative relationship

opposite direction increase & decrease

interval

order of values and also about the ability to quantify the difference between each one

The index that is similar to the Psychological abstracts is the

permuterm subject index

you are looking at a periodical that has a slick, attractive appearance with many photographs. Sources are rarely, if ever, cited, and the relatively short articles are written in simple language. You are looking at a ________ periodical.

popular

ordinal

provide a sufficiently good amount of information about the order of choices

mediating variable

psychological processes that mediate the effects of a situation variable on a particular response

the "file drawer phenomenon" related to the problem of

published research appearing more reliable than it actually is

annual review of psychology

publishes articles that summarize recent developments in various areas of psychology

belief-based explnations

require no evidence to support them and are accepted because they come from a trusted source ch.1 #10

in which section of a research article would a reader find a description of the findings using statistical language?

results

positive relationship

same direction increase & increase decrease & decrease

the most up-to-date published information about research in a given area can be found in a(n)

scientific journal

The two steps suggested by Cialdini (1994) for exploring the causes of behavior, and how they relate to each other are

scouting and trapping

abstract

section of the research article that summarizes the hypothesis, the procedure and results, usually in 150 words or less

the method of authority is not relied on for developing scientific explanation because

some sources of information are not authoritative and a source of information may be biased by a particular theoretical orientation Ch.1 #16

Empiricism

states that the only source of knowledge comes through our senses

if you wanted to look up research on a particular topic in the Psychological Abstracts, you would use the

subject index

once a disconfirmed hypothesis has been revised it is

subjected to rigorous testing ch.1 #20

in the method section of a paper, you will find a description of the

subjects used in the study reported equipment used to conduct the study reported procedures followed to conduct the study reported

scouting

takes in their surroundings, getting an idea of what is out there. This helps the researcher observe and be aware of the natural behavior that takes place

a hypothesis is a

tentative statement that something may be true

we can usually have more confidence in scientific explanations than commonsense explanation because

testing a scientific explanation rules out alternative explanations for observed behavior ch.1 #8

internal validity

the ability to draw conclusions about casual relationships

construct validity

the adequacy of the operational definitions

causality

the demonstration of how one variable influences (or the effect of a variable) another variable or other variables.

ratio

true zero/absolute zero helps to understand the ultimate order has orders + equally distanced value between units

according to the text, you can narrow you PsycINFO search by

using the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms

operational definition of variables

variable is an abstract concept that must be translated into concrete forms of observation or manipulation a variable must be defined in terms of the specific method used to measure of manipulate it

you detect some research fraud in your laboratory. you decide to blow the whistle and turn the offender in. According to the text, you will probably be

vilified and your own credibility called into question

curvilinear relationship

when increases in the values of one variable are associated with both increases and decreases in the values of a second variable

A disadvantage of using PsycARTICLES exclusively when doing a literature search is that

you can only obtain journal articles that were published since 1988 you can only obtain articles from journals published by the American Psychological Association

the scientific method

1. state problem 2. formulate a hypothesis 3. select participants 4. assign participants to groups 5. present the variable 6. determine the influence of the effect

paper presentation

12-15 minutes long handouts

A researcher finds that the more a song is played on the radio, the greater the liking for the song. However, she also finds that if the song is played too much, people start to dislike the song. What type of relationship does this represent?

Curvilinear

(T/F) Because scientific explanations cannot be applied to all questions, explanations based on belief are superior

False

(T/F) Science and pseudoscience both use basically the same methods to derive explanations for phenomena.

False

(T/F) The method of authority has no place in science

False

According to the text, using PsycINFO to perform a literature search has which of the following advantages?

PsycINFO indexes over 1,800 scientific journals and book chapters Using PsycINFO makes previously tedious, time-consuming work easier and faster

pseudo-explanation

The term 'pseudo' means 'false' or 'pretend. ' Pseudo-psychology, therefore, refers to a psychological practice that is false or unfounded. The science of psychology is built on rigorous principles such as research, evidence and testable ideas.

(t/f) the scientific method is the most powerful method for acquiring scientific information

True

(t/f) despite all its problems, peer review is a highly reliable process

false

scientific explanations are superior to those based for questions that

can be addressed with objective observation ch.1 #12

Unfounded but commonly accepted explanations for behavior...

can have widespread consequences when they become the basis for social policy ch.1 #1

what would not be found when you search the PsycINFO abstracting system?

complete article

problem-oriented research

conducted to understand the exact nature of a problem to find out relevant solutions. ... It helps create in-depth understanding of problems or issues in their natural settings. This is a non-statistical method.

A psychologist studied dependency by measuring how many times children in school asked an adult for help. A critic argued that asking for help is not a good measure of dependency. In fact, the critic said, asking for help shows resourcefulness and initiative. The critic in this situation was disputing the ________ of the dependency measure.

construct validity

steps of the research process

construct validity, internal validity, external validity

you should adopt a ____________ point of view when reading research literature

consumer's

Two designs that you can choose in your research are

correlational and experimental designs

issues such as equipment needs and preparing materials are most relevant when you are

deciding on a research design

in which section of a research article would a reader find an explanation for the findings?

discussion

a critical question you should ask yourself when evaluating a method section is

does the method used allow for an unambiguous test of the stated hypotheses?

Random assignment is a critical element of the experimental method because it

eliminates consistent effects of extraneous variables

empirical

experiment

in the experimental method, the researcher makes sure that the influence of all extraneous variables are kept constant. This process is referred to as

experimental control

Which method allows you to say that one variable caused a change in another variable?

experimental method

A pseudo-explanation is an

explanation that is nothing more than a new name for a behavior ch.1 #14

When the results of a study can be generalized to other populations and settings, the study is said to have _______ validity.

external

situational variable

factors in the environment that can unintentionally affect the results of a study

(T/F) Only novice scientists must worry about falling into the trap of pseudoexplanation.

false

(t/f) A list of the equipment used in an experiment is usually found in the introduction to a research report.

false

(t/f) A secondary source is as good as a primary source for obtaining information about research.

false

(t/f) Generally, research that has received funding from a granting agency is better than research that has not.

false

(t/f) If you are not sure about which keyword to look up in the Psychological Abstracts, you should use the Social Science Citations Index.

false

Two researchers tested the hypothesis that college students' grades and happiness are related. One researcher operationally defined happiness as the number of hours spent at leisure activities. The other researcher defined happiness as the amount of achievement one feels as measured on a 10-point scale. Which of the following statements is accurate?

the difference in operational definitions of happiness could lead to quite different results

validity

the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

external validity

the extent to which the results can be generalized to other populations and setting

According to the text, the most serious form of fraud in research is

the outright fabrication of data

parsimonious

the principle that the simplest explanation of an event or observation is the preferred explanation

according to the text, values in science can affect

the questions that are addresses or ignored how data are interpreted the actual practice of science

Which of the following would you find to be part of a full PsycINFO citation?

the title of an article a list of key phrases and a descriptor list bibliographic information

Social Science Citation Index

to find out how many authors have cited a particular article in the years since it was published

basic research

to study and research 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 without seeking to solve or treat these problems.

(t/f) An editor of a journal can significantly affect the character of a research field by publishing a new editorial policy.

true

(t/f) Further observing and experimenting set the scientific method apart from other methods of inquiry

true

(t/f) PsycARTICLES allows you to obtain full copies of articles published in the journals of the American Psychological Association since 1988.

true

(t/f) The "file drawer phenomenon" refers to the fact that many studies that fail to obtain significant results are never published, making published findings less reliable than they seem.

true

(t/f) because research usually raises more questions than it answers, reporting your results is usually not the final step in the research process

true

(t/f) primary sources provide the best source of full reports of research

true

(t/f) research fraud can arise from scientific elitism

true

(t/f) the review process that books undergo may not be as rigorous as the review process that journal articles undergo

true

(t/f) when an allegation of research fraud is made, it should be based on hard evidence and investigated by an independent fact-finding body

true