chapter 2 psych

relation of two variables to each other

correlation

numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables

correlation coefficient

Your friend, who hasn't taken this course, says, "The whole replication problem is a perfect example to show that psychology isn't a legitimate science. Truly scientific studies should show the same results when they're replicated." Which of the following statements is the best and most accurate response?

"I think psychology is a science. Science is a process - it's a way of asking questions and systematically searching for evidence to answer them."

A correlation of would represent the strongest association between variables.

-0.79

What is a correlation coefficieant?

A numerical index of the degrea to which two variables are related to each other.

What is the difference between a positive and negative correlation?

A positive correlation occurs when two variables change together in the same direction, while a negative correlation occurs when two variables change in the opposite direction.

Replication is best defined as:

An attempt to reproduce research findings using a new sample.

What is the difference between correlation and causation?

Correlation indicates one variable is related to another variable, whereas causation means one variable has an effect on another variable.

Should we accept Gervais and Norenzayan's (2012) conclusion that thinking about thinking lowers a person's belief in God? Select the best answer.

Not a chance - it's simply ridiculous to believe that looking at pictures of a statue can affect a person's belief in God.

Dr. Smock is interested in whether client-centered therapy delivered via the internet can reduce symptoms of depression as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory in adolescents struggling with weight problems. What would be the dependent variable in this study

Participants' level of depression as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory

In an experiment, which of the following is the correct sequence of events?

Random assignment>manipulate independent variable>measure dependent variable

If X and Y are highly correlated, what can we conclude?

Scores on X can be used to predict scores on Y.

Which of the following relationships would probably yield a negative correlation?

The amount of precipitation on election day and voter turnout

What is the difference between the experimental group and the control group?

The experimental group consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable, while the control group consists of similar subjects who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group.

Eighty individuals suffering from mild to moderate depression are randomly assigned to two groups. One group is given a new antidepressant medication for six weeks. The other group is put on a wait list to get treatment at a later date. Which group is the control group?

The group that is put on the wait list

Which of the following relationships would probably yield a positive correlation?

The physical size of animals and the amount of food they require each day

Here's an example to get you started. Consider the statement, More than a million high school students take a psych class each year. That's an incorrect summary of the data from the American Psychological Association. More than a million high-school students graduated in 2009 with credits from a psychology course, but we don't know how many high school students take psychology each year. Every graduate had four years to take the class. It's unlikely that each one of them took the class in 2009, but you can't tell that from the data presented. Review the data showing who studies psychology, and decide if each of the following statements is a correct or incorrect summary of the data presented. These aren't easy, but they aren't tricks. The purpose of this activity is to focus on what the numbers actually mean. This level of precision is an important component of a scientific approach to psychology. More than 300,000 high school students were enrolled in an AP psychology class in 2018.

This is not a correct summary of the data.

More students take the AP exam than the IB exam in psychology every year.

This is not a correct summary of the data.

The data presented here are accurate.

This is not a correct summary of the data.

Very few people earned a PhD in psychology in 2015.

This is not a correct summary of the data.

In an experiment, the independent variable is

the variable that the experimenter deliberately manipulates or varies.

Two researchers, David and John, are interviewing college students about whether they believe the school's dorms should be renovated. David strongly believes the dorms are in dire need of being renovated, and John believes the dorms are fine as is. All of the students interviewed by David indicated that the dorms should be renovated, but John received a mixture of yes and no responses. The differences in John and David's findings are most likely due to

an experimenter bias.

in-depth investigation of an individual subject

case study

difficulty in sorting out the specific effects of two variables that are somehow linked

confounding of variables

similar subjects who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group

control group

procedure for making empirical observations and measurements

data collection technique

variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable

dependent variable

research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in which group

double blind procedure

manipulation of a variable under controlled conditions while observing a second variable for any changes

experiment

in a study of the effects of meditation, a group of subjects randomly assigned to practice transcendental meditation for eight weeks is compared to a similar group of subjects who do not receive any meditation training. The group that is assigned to the practice of meditation is called the

experimental group

subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable

experimental group

error that occurs when a researcher's expectations about a study's outcome influence the results

experimenter bias

variable other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable

extraneous variable

tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables

hypothesis

When you think of an experiment as an inquiry about how X affects Y, X is the

independent variable

condition that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable

independent variable

The likelihood that there is a causal relationship between two variables as the correlation between the variables goes up. Assessment question

is unaffected

combination of the statistical results of many studies of the same question

meta-analysis

careful observation of behavior without direct intervention with the subjects

naturalistic observation

actions or operations that will be used to measure or control a variable

operational definition

person or animal whose behavior is systematically observed in a study

participant

change experienced by participants due to their expectations despite receiving empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment

placebo effect

A researcher aims to study changes in the behavior of college students who drink alcohol. One group of participants is given alcoholic beverages, while the other group of participants is given fake cocktails that do not contain alcohol. Neither group is told which they received. This research design is intended to prevent problems with

placebo effects.

much larger collection of animals or people that researchers want to generalize about

population

equal chance of assignment to a condition in the study for all subjects

random assignment

alteration of a subject's behavior by the presence of an observer

reactivity

repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated

replication

differing approaches to the observation, measurement, manipulation, and control of variables in empirical studies

research methods

collection of subjects selected for observation in an empirical study

sample

The problem of occurs when a sample is not representative of the population from which it is drawn. Assessment question

sampling bias

error that exists when a sample is not representative of the population

sampling bias

There is a problem with select answer if the participants in a study tend to provide socially approved answers to questions about themselves.

social desirability bias

tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself

social desirability bias

The difference between the results of the original study by Gervais and Norenzayan (2012) and the replication by Sanchez et al. (2017) is most likely due to:

the number of participants in each study.

any measurable condition, event, characteristic, or behavior that are controlled or observed in a study

variable

Professor Alvarez is conducting a study to see whether sleep deprivation has an impact on the performance of college students on a test that measures creative problem-solving. Half of the subjects are instructed to get normal sleep the night before the test, and the other half are instructed to limit their sleep to four hours. In this experiment, the independent variable is

whether or not subjects are sleep-deprived