psych 303 final exam

operational deifnition

a description of an experimental variable in such a way that the variable can be measured and the procedure can be replicated

measured variable

a factor/variable affecting the outcome of an experiment that is measured

reliability

the consistency in its measures of a research study or measuring test -refers to the repeatability of findings

observer (rater) bias

the cultural assumptions which all researchers bring to their work and which help determine their method of research and their observations.

compliance effects

the effect that the words, actions, or presence of other people have on our thoughts, feelings, attitudes, or behavior -social influence is driving force

strength of association

the extent to which one variable is related to the other

treatment group

the group in the experiment that receives the experimental manipulation, also called the experimental group

conceptual variable

the independent variable that the researcher personally invents and defines, such as "taste in music," or one that exists in scientific literature, such as "Gratitude."

WEIRD sample

the participants of a study are overwhelmingly Western Educated from Industrialized Rich and Democratic countries

manipulated variable

the thing that is changed on purpose in an experiment to see if the change will cause an effect in something they observe. also called the independent variable

forced-choice

type of measure in which respondents compare two or more desirable options and pick the one that is most preferred -requires test-taker to identify or recognize a previously-prevented stimulus by choosing between multiple options

independent variable (IV)

type of variable manipulated by the experimenter

quantitative variable

variable that provides some form of numerical 'measurement' of what is being studied - i.e., the measure can be quantified.

zero association

variables have no relationship whatsoever

null hypothesis

what the researcher has to disprove, reject, or nullify -proposes that there is no statistical significance in a certain set of given observations

biased sample

where a sample is collected in such a way that some members of the intended population are less likely to be included than others

spurious association

where two or more variables/events have no direct causal (logical) connection, yet it is wrongly inferred that they do because of the presence of a third, unseen variable

restriction of range

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

curvilinear association

The level of one variable changes its pattern as the other variable increases.

association claims

It suggests that the two variables are related, but they do not cause one another -It helps us make predictions by reducing the size of our prediction errors. The stronger it is, the more accurate our predictions are.

sequence (carryover) effects

Last variable might carry over into next variable, causing skewed results

one group pre-post design

Minimal Control. There is somewhat more structure, there is a single selected group under observation, with a careful measurement being done before applying the experimental treatment and then measuring after. This design has minimal internal validity, controlling only for selection of subject and experimental mortality. It has no external validity.

third variable

When two variables appear to be related to each other but there is another unknown variable (the third variable) that is the real source of the link between the other two variables. For example, you're getting less sleep because of more stress, but could that be caused by your new job?

repeated-measures

Where the same group does all levels of the IV -research design in which participants are exposed to both the experimental and control conditions (also known as within-subjects design)

interrater reliability

consistency in the results of study

type I error

incorrect rejection of a true null hypothesis, a "false positive" -Saying there is a relationship when there is not.

type II error

incorrectly retaining a false null hypothesis, a "false negative" -Saying there is not a relationship when there is.

convenience sample

non-probability sampling technique where subjects are selected because of their convenient accessibility and proximity to the reseacher

correlational study

research method in which variables are related, but does not indicate causation

reactivity effects

Participants might react more in a study than usual

demand characteristics

Participants might try to act according to how they think the researcher wants them to act

frequency claims

How often or the percentage of something that happens.

measurement scales

- Psychophysical Scaling: Concepts such as brightness ex: less bright, more bright, no difference - Psychometric Scaling: Concepts of emotions: relies on behavior or what is said ex: less happy, more happy - Likert Scales: Rating scale ex: 1 - 10

logic of hypothesis testing

1) state the hypothesis 2) define the decision method (using sample data) 3) obtain data 4) make a decision-compare value of a statistic computed from the sample data with the hypothesized value of the population parameter -if data consistent w hypothesis, we reject the null hypothesis -if there is a big discrepancy between the data and the hypothesis, we conclude that hypothesis is wrong

three fundamental principles of ethics in research

1- principle of beneficence 2- principle of justice 3- principle of respect for persons

comparison group

A group in an experiment whose levels on the independent variable differ from those of the treatment group in some intended and meaningful way. -It allows a person to compare what would happen both with and without the thing you are interested in.

experiments

A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the investigator aims to control other relevant factors.

random sample

A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

theory

A statement or a set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another.

correlation coefficient

A statistical index of the relationship between two things (from -1 to +1).

control variables

Always consistent

confederate

An actor playing a specific role for the experimenter.

principle of justice

An ethical principle from the Belmont Report calling for a fair balance between kinds of people who participate in research and the kinds of people who benefit from it.

principle of respect for persons

An ethical principle from the Belmont Report stating that research participants should be treated as autonomous agents and that certain groups deserve special protections.

floor effect

At the bottom of the scale/ 0%

ceiling effect

At the top of the scale/ 100%

dependent variable (DV)

Depends on / Result of the independent variable

between-groups designs

Each group only gets 1 IV

blind design

Experiment where the subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or control group

self-report measures

Person is reporting on their own personal state

matching sample

Pretest and similar participants would go together

likert scale

Rating scale ex: 1 - 10

informed consent

Research participants' rights to learn about a research project, know its risks and benefits, and decide whether to participate

causal claims

The verb or action suggests that one variable brings about another reaction in another.

scatterplot

The visual representation on the variables and how they correlate with each other.

deception

The withholding of some details of a study from participants or the act of actively lying to them.

debrief

To inform participants afterward about a study's true nature, details, and hypotheses.

control group

Untreated participants

counterbalancing

a method of controlling potential order effects whereby half the research participants experience the experimental condition first, followed by the control condition, and the other half experience the control condition first, followed by the experimental condition

stratified random sample

a sample that is divided into various strata, or sub-groups, and then a random sample technique is used to select the sample members for each stratum

population

all of the individuals from which subjects for an experiment may be drawn

participant variables

also called subject variables -the differing individual characteristics of participants in an experiment

self-selection

any situation in which individuals select themselves into a group, causing a biased sample with non-probability sampling.

negative association

both variables move in opposite directions

positive association

both variables move in the same direction

bivariate correlation

describes the effect that two or more phenomena occur together and therefore they are linked

open-ended question

designed to encourage a full meaningful answer using the subject's own knowledge and/or feelings

outlier

distribution point that is much further away from the other points -can skew measurements so that the results are not representative of the actual numbers

placebo effect

due to a belief that something will happen, it does happen

random selection

each member of a group stands an equal chance of being chosen as a participant in the study

selection bias

error in choosing the individuals/groups to take part in the study -selection of individuals/groups/data for analysis in such a way that proper randomization is not achieve, which makes the sample obtained not representative of the population intended to be analyzed. "selection effect"

measurement error

errors when collecting and calculating data

institutional review board

ethical review board- approves, modifies, and disapproves research -protects rights and welfare of human research subjects

quasi-experimental designs

experiment where participants are not randomly assigned.

factorial designs

experiment whose design consists of two or more factors, each with levels -allow researchers to look at how multiple factors and their separate and conjoined influence on the subject of interest in the experiment -factor is an independent variable in the experiment and a level is a subdivision of a factor

order (practice/fatigue) effects

extraneous variable whereby a participant's performance on particular tasks may be affected by the order in which they are required to complete those tasks

response set bias

general term for any kind of cognitive bias that influences the responses of the participants away from an accurate or truthful response

test-retest reliability

giving the same test twice in succession over a short time interval

representative sample

group of participants selected from a larger population that closely matches the characteristics of the population as a whole -sample is fairly accurate reflection of the population from which the sample is drawn

sample

group of people who take part in the study/experiment. referred to as participants

subject attrition

happens when a group gets smaller in number bc members quit the study. -the reliability of a study can be threatened bc the people can drop out for a variety of reasons

matched groups

matching similar subjects or groups with each other to allow for different experimental conditions to be observed while being able to control for individual difference by matching similar subjects or groups with each other.

falsifiability of a theory

possibility or fact that a theory can be proven false

experimental condition/condition

presenting the IV to members of the experimental condition to determine what effect an IV has on some measure

process debriefing

procedure conducted after an experiment/study has been concluded -structured or semi structured interview btwn researchers and subjects where all elements of study are discussed in detail

hypothesis

proposes a tentative explanation about a phenomena observed in the natural world

pretest/posttest designs

quasi-experiment where participants are studied before and after the experimental manipulation. Remember, quasi-experimental simply means participants are not randomly assigned. -design means that you are able to see the effects of some type of treatment on a group.

surveys

questioning of a large group of people

leading questions

questions that encourage a particular desired answer, often because of the way the question is phrased

observer (expectancy) effects

refers to changes that the act of observation will make on a phenomenon being observed.

confidentiality

requirement that the participants privacy is protected

within-groups designs

research design in which participants are exposed to both the experimental and control condition, also called repeated-measures

principle of beneficence

researchers should have the welfare of the research participant as a goal of any clinical trial or other research study

social desirability

response bias where there is the tendency of survey respondents to answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorable by others -trying to present themselves in the best possible light

selection effect

same as selection bias

alpha level/significance level

significance level that is the probability of making the wrong decision when the null hypothesis is true -called a significance level/significance test

research hypothesis

statement created by researchers when they speculate upon the outcome of research or experiment

cultural psychology

study of how psychological and cultural behavioral tendencies are rooted in and embodied in culture -mind and culture are inseparable and mutually constitutive, meaning that people are shaped by their culture and their culture shaped by them

levels

subdivision of a factor in an experiment