What is research?

If psychologists are making suggestions for how to change behavior, then they are demonstrating which goal of psychology?

control

Which of the following statements is a prediction?

C. Drivers that speed will receive more traffic citations than other motorists during traffic holidays.

All of the following are reasons that psychologists use a systematic method to conduct research except __________.

C. to minimize objectivity in research

Which of the following statements is an observation?

D. When traffic signals are timed traffic seems to be less dense.

A psychologist whose goal is to explain a behavior will __________.

D. suggest why a behavior occurs

Explain the difference between descriptive and experimental research.

Descriptive research is a type of research that simply describes behavior or data through observation research methods whereas experimental research attempt to seek and explain cause and effect relationships by manipulating data.

Explain two reasons why psychologists use a systematic method for collecting and analyzing research data.

Psychologists use a systematic method in research in order to eliminate subjectivity and allow for consistency across studies. This is to ensure that data is tested and recorded in the most objective way possible as well as ensure that psychologists are defining and measuring psychological concepts and behaviors in the same way.

Describe what it means when psychologists state that scientific theories must be supported by empirical evidence

Stating that a scientific theory must be supported by empirical evidence means that the theory must be supported by testing it out through research. If research results demonstrate that the psychological claim has been backed by data in a significant manner then accuracy for the theory is established and the theory is said to be backed by empirical evidence.

List and briefly describe the steps of the scientific method.

There are six steps of the scientific method: First, the researcher develops a research question after making observations and critically researching information in order to develop questions needed to guide research. Next, the researcher creates a testable hypothesis by narrowing the research question down to a testable predictive statement. Then the researcher designs a study by considering type of research method and measurements to use as well as determine participants. Collecting data occurs next, which is when the actual study is conducted. The researcher then analyzes data and draw conclusions about the data collected which involves interpreting or making sense of the data. The final step occurs when the researcher reports study findings so that other researcher can review, critique, and replicate work.