PSYC&100 General Psychology: Chapter 2

Hypothesis

(plural: hypotheses) tentative and testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables

An intelligence test yields the same results when administered on three separate occasions. However, the test's results are more strongly correlated with hours spent doing homework than they are with other standardized intelligence tests. This test has________ reliability and ________ validity.

High; Low

Spurling et al. investigated the effects of two vocabulary learning strategies on word retention two weeks later. In this example, learning strategy is the ________ variable and word retention is the ________ variable.

Independent; Dependent

Falsifiable

able to be disproven by experimental results

Empirical

grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing

Experimental group

group designed to answer the research question; experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, so any differences between the two are due to experimental manipulation rather than chance

Generalize

inferring that the results for a sample apply to the larger population

Validity

accuracy of a given result in measuring what it is designed to measure

Random assignment

method of experimental group assignment in which all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group

Archival research

method of research using past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for interesting patterns or relationships

Population

overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in

Placebo effect

people's expectations or beliefs influencing or determining their experience in a given situation

Opinion

personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate

Illusory correlation

seeing relationships between two things when in reality no such relationship exists

Control group

serves as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might influence the results of the study—by holding such factors constant across groups so that the experimental manipulation is the only difference between groups

Longitudinal research

studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or measured repeatedly over an extended period of time

________ research uses past records or data sets to investigate research questions or to look for patterns or relationships.

Archival

________ is a reduction in the number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time.

Attrition

The scientific process is ________, involving both inductive and deductive reasoning.

Circular

A(n) ________ case study is conducted by gathering detailed information about participants who are psychological patients.

Clinical

An upper-level psychology class is conducting an experiment on racial prejudice that involves having participants rate the likeability of faces in a set of photos. However, they tell participants that the study is about the effects of aging on likeability. When participants are finished, they are thanked for their time and leave the experiment. In this example, the class forgot to ________ in order to resolve the ________ in the study.

Debrief participants; Deception

Ethics need to be considered when ________ scientific research.

Designing, Conducting, and Reviewing

A major advantage of case studies is ________.

Detailed Information

________ (IRB) reviews research that is conducted using human participants.

Institutional Review Board

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a good hypothesis?

It is complex

________, an anthropologist, contributed to our understanding of chimpanzee behavior in the wild, using naturalistic observation.

Jane Goodall

________ research studies the same groups of participants over time.

Longitudinal

Drs. Goran and Lieberman are interested in assessing differences in pain threshold between men and women. They recruit male and female participants to a study that assesses tolerance for thermal pain. This is an example of a(n) ________ study.

Quasi-Experimental

Research describing a link between childhood vaccines and autism has been ________.

Retracted due to a financial conflict of interest by the author

What is a limitation that affects the generalizability of research results?

Small sample size

In order to assess whether viewpoints on decriminalization of marijuana for medical purposes change with age, four groups of participants, ages 20, 30, 40, and 50, are asked whether they support this issue. What is one flaw of this design?

Social or cultural factors may influence the results, not age

Scientific knowledge is advanced through a process known as ________.

The Scientific Method

A(n) ________ is a well-developed set of ideas that proposes an explanation for observed phenomena.

Theory

A ________ is least likely to be involved in the IRB decision regarding whether a study will be permitted.

Veterinarian

Peer-reviewed journal article

article read by several other scientists (usually anonymously) with expertise in the subject matter, who provide feedback regarding the quality of the manuscript before it is accepted for publication

Cause-and-effect relationship

changes in one variable cause the changes in the other variable; can be determined only through an experimental research design

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

committee of administrators, scientists, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving human participants

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)

committee of administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and community members that reviews proposals for research involving non-human animals

Cross-sectional research

compares multiple segments of a population at a single time

Inductive reasoning

conclusions are drawn from observations

Reliability

consistency and reproducibility of a given result

Operational definition

description of what actions and operations will be used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent variables

Statistical analysis

determines how likely any difference between experimental groups is due to chance

Double-blind study

experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments

Single-blind study

experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group

Survey

list of questions to be answered by research participants—given as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally—allowing researchers to collect data from a large number of people

Inter-rater reliability

measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular event

Correlation coefficient

number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, and usually represented by r

Fact

objective and verifiable observation, established using evidence collected through empirical research

Naturalistic observation

observation of behavior in its natural setting

Clinical or case study

observational research study focusing on one or a few people

Informed consent

process of informing a research participant about what to expect during an experiment, any risks involved, and the implications of the research, and then obtaining the person's consent to participate

Deception

purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment

Attrition

reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time

Correlation

relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does

Replicate

repeating an experiment using different samples to determine the research's reliability

Experimenter bias

researcher expectations skew the results of the study

Deductive reasoning

results are predicted based on a general premise

Participants

subjects of psychological research

Random sample

subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

Sample

subset of individuals selected from the larger population

Confirmation bias

tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs

Negative correlation

two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation

Positive correlation

two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller

Confounding variable

unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable, when, in actuality, the outside factor causes changes in both variables

Independent variable

variable that is influenced or controlled by the experimenter; in a sound experimental study, the independent variable is the only important difference between the experimental and control group

Dependent variable

variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had

Theory

well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena

Debriefing

when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion

Observer bias

when observations may be skewed to align with observer expectations