PSYCH 303 EXAM 1

closed vs open ended questions

Closed (direct): specific information that yields yes or no answers, multiple choice, make categories exhaustive, include "other" with space to be filled in if need be, rating scales Open: more than yes or no answers

present/present bias

a bias in intuition, in which people incorrectly estimate the relationship between an event and its outcome, focusing on times the event and outcome are present, while failing to consider evidence that is absent and harder to notice

association claim

a claim about how two variables, in which the value (level) of one variable is said to vary systematically with the value of another variable

causal claim

a claim arguing that a specific change in one variable is responsible for influencing the value of another variable

frequency claim

a claim that describes a particular rate or degree of a single variable

IRBs

a committee responsible for ensuring that research using human participants is conducted ethically, makes judgements about the acceptability of research protocols, made up of faculty, students, staff, and at least one community member, protocols classified as: exempt (no risk to participants, no need for full board review), minimal risk (a chance of harm, but odds no greater than day to day life), greater than minimal risk, and not research (not under purview of IRB)

cronbach's alpha

a correlation based statistic that measures a scale's internal reliability, also called coefficient alpha

justice

a fair balance between the kinds of people who participate in research and the kinds of people who benefit from it, research should not disproportionately benefit or harm participants from certain segments of society, not a major issue for most psychological studies outside of educational/clinical psych

falsifiability

a feature of a scientific theory, in which it is possible to collect data that will prove the theory wrong

respect for persons (autonomy)

people have the right to determine whether or not they wish to participate in research, participants can withdraw from research at any time and without penalty, participants do not have to answer questions they find objectionable

non-experimental methods

research methods which do not involve direct control of any factor, in contrast to experiments; sometimes called descriptive/correlational designs

translational research

research that uses knowledge derived from basic research to develop and test solutions to real world problems

basic research

research whose goal is to enhance the general body of knowledge, without regard for direct application to practical problems

applied research

research whose goal is to find a solution to a particular real-world problem

bias blind spot

tendency for people to think that compared to others, they themselves are less likely to engage in biased reasoning

confirmation bias

tendency to seek out information that should confirm our theory and ignore information that could falsify it, also known as positive test bias

test retest reliability

the consistency in results every time a measure is used

reliability

the consistency of the results of a measure (if you repeat it will you get the same thing?)

measurement error

the degree to which the recorded measure for a participant on some variable differs from the true value of the variable for that participant, may be random (too high and too low cancel each other out), or systematic (biased either too high or too low)

interrater reliability

the degree to which two or more coders or observers give consistent ratings of a set of targets

content validity

the extent to which a measure captures all parts of a defined construct

face validity

the extent to which a measure is subjectively considered a plausible operationalization of the conceptual variable in question

sample

the group of people, animals, or cases used in a study, a subset of the population of interest

simple random sampling

the most basic form of probability sampling, in which the sample is chosen completely at random from the population of interest, each member of the population has an equal chance at being selected

operational definition

the specific way in which a concept of interest is measured or manipulated as a variable in a study

anchoring effects

the tendency to use one stimulus as an "anchor" or reference point in judging a second stimulus, relying too heavily on the first piece of information (anchor) when making decisions

randomization

the use of a random method to assign participants into different experimental groups

empiricism

the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

theory-data cycle

theory, research question, research design, hypothesis, data

Belmont Report

three basic guidelines for conducting research with human subjects, beneficence (do no harm), autonomy (respect for persons) justice (fairness in selecting participants), these principles continue to guide personal and institutional decisions on research ethics to this day

correlation

to occur or vary together systematically, as in the case of two variables

graphic rating scale

uses a checklist of traits or characteristics to evaluate performance

independent variable

variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter, a predictor variable used to explain variance in the criterion variable

dependent variable

variable in an experiment that is measured, the single outcome or criterion variable the researchers are most interested in understanding or predicting, outcome variable

fraud

wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain

response sets

yea-saying (acquiescence), nay-saying, fence sitting, tendency for person to respond to questions or statements in such a way that it produces a certain image of the respondent

risk benefit analysis

The process of evaluating the possible problems of completing research compared to the expected advantages.

manipulation vs measurement

In experiments, IVs are manipulated (so that changes in the DV can be explained only by changes in the IV). The DVs are measured. In nonexperiments, both the IV and DV are measured because there is no manipulation

IACUCs

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees, animals are not afforded nearly the same rights as humans, pain and discomfort should be minimized, termination of life should be done as quickly and painlessly as possible

linear relationships

When there is a constant rate of change between two variables.

negative wording

avoid phrasing questions with negatives

internal validity

one of three criteria for establishing a causal claim, a study's ability to rule out alternative explanations for a causal relationship between two variable, also called third-variable criterion

conditions for causality

covariation (correlation), temporal sequence, elimination of confounding variables

third variable problem

in a correlation study, the existence of a plausible alternative explanation for the association between two variables

internal reliability (internal consistency)

in a measure that contains several items, the consistency in a pattern of answers, no matter how a question is phrased

order effects

in a within groups design, a threat to internal validity in which exposure to one condition changes participant responses to a later condition

margin of error

in the context of a percentage estimate, an inferential statistic providing a range of values that has a high probability of containing the true population value

true score

individuals score on a measure if there was no error

anonymity vs confidentiality

-anonymity means that names and other pieces of information that can identify participants are never attached to the data * ex: separate link for entering a survey raffle -confidentiality means that any information or data the participants provides is controlled in such a way that it is not revealed to others -only researcher has access to that data * ex: confidential group evaluations

temporal precedence

A comes first in time, before B

nominal data

A level of measurement where data are in separate categories, like marital status or type of car owned, no particular order to the categories

ratio data

A level of measurement where there is differences between measurement and a true zero point, like height, age, weekly food spending

interval data

A level of measurement where units of equal intervals are used, but there is no true zero, like temperature in fahrenheit or a standardized exam score

Milgram Experiment

A series of psychological experiments which measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience, many people very agitated despite their obedience

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

Research study conducted by a branch of the U.S. government, lasting for roughly 50 years (ending in the 1970s), in which a sample of African American men diagnosed with syphilis were deliberately left untreated, without their knowledge, to learn about the lifetime course of the disease.

semantic differential rating scale

This is another type of rating scale that elicits the respondent's attitudes using positive and negative descriptors such as 'happy-sad' or 'funny-boring'. Responses can then be analysed using the point scale between the two extremes. Ex: please rate OSU students on the following characteristics: good<-->bad

stratified random sampling

a form of probability sampling, a random sampling technique in which the researcher identifies particular demographic categories or strata, and then randomly selects individuals within each category, like if women make up 55% of the population, I select respondents so 55% of them are women

oversampling

a form of probability sampling, a variation of stratified random sampling in which the researcher intentionally overrepresents one or more groups

confounding variables

a general term for a potential alternative explanation for a research finding, a threat to internal validity

population

a larger group from which a sample is drawn, the group to which a study's conclusions are intended to be applied

experimental control

a level of an independent variable that is intended to represent "no treatment" or a neutral condition

questionnaires

a list of questions to be asked of respondents, personal administration, mail surveys, internet surveys, problems include response rates and missing data, misrepresentation of the respondent, and misunderstanding questions

self report data

a method of measuring a variable in which people answer questions about themselves in a questionnaire or interview

likert scale

a numerical scale used to assess attitudes; includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme ex: tying one shoes is too difficult for most students at MSU strongly agree agree neither agree nor disagree disagree strongly disagree

cluster sampling

a probability sampling technique in which clusters of participants within the population of interest are selected at random, followed by data collection from all individuals in each cluster, choosing pre-existing groups at random like choosing whole classrooms or clubs, eliminates need for list of all names

systematic sampling

a probability sampling technique in which the researcher uses a randomly chosen number N, and counts off every Nth member of a population to achieve a sample

multistage sampling

a probability sampling technique involving at least two stages, a random sample of clusters followed by a random sample of people within the selected clusters, randomly choosing groups in successively more restricted strata ex: american nation election studies going from counties --> census tracts --> census blocks --> household --> participant

informed consent

a process, not just a form to be signed, participants must be given enough information about the procedures to determine whether they want to participate, children cannot consent, only parents can, with children consent and assent should be obtained, these forms frequently tell participants that they may be given incomplete or ambiguous information

curvilinear relationship

a relationship between two variables whereby the strength and/or direction of their relationship changes over the range of both variables

conceptual definition

a researcher's defintion of a variable at the theoretical variable, also called construct

census

a set of observations that contains all members of the population of interest

fatiguing respondents

occurs when participants become tired of the survey task and the quality of the data they provide begins to deteriorate, occurs when survey participants attention and motivation drop toward the late sections of a questionnaire

journal to journalism cycle

a source that is meant to reach the general population, they are easy to access and do not require specialized education to read, the general public can learn about what psychologist really do, pick up important tips for living, understand themselves and others more.

hypothesis

a statement of the specific result the researcher expects to observe from a particular study, if the theory is accurate, also called prediction

theory

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

deception

actively giving false information, like in milgram's studies, bogus pipeline studies, and the dot estimation task, alternatives include role playing, simulation studies, honest experiments, for this to be used, there has to be a case that alternatives aren't feasible

criterion related validity

an empirical form of measurement validity that establishes the extent to which a measure is associated with a behavioral outcome with which it should be associated

convergent validity

an empirical test of the extent to which a self report measure correlated with other measures of a theoretically similar construct

discriminant validity

an empirical test of the extent to which a self report measure does not correlate strongly with measures of theoretically similar constructs

external validity

an indication of how well the results of a study generalize to or represent individuals or contexts besides those in the study itself

withholding information

by giving full information, people's responses may change, like with subliminal priming

methods of administering surveys

can be done via interviews, questionnaires, longitudinal designs change over time, can entice people by making them easy to do, not too long, including a preaddressed envelope, postage, pencil, if appropriate, include little rewards like money or candy, and provide anonymity and confidentiality

interviews

can be face to face, over telephone using CATI, or with focus groups, problems include discomfort if there is sensitive topics discussed, and interviewer bias

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

social desirability bias

giving answers on a survey or other self report measure that make one look better than one really is, aka "faking good"

APA code of ethics

informed consent, freedom from coercion, protection from harm, risk-benefit analysis, deception, debriefing, confidentiality, converges with federal guidelines regarding human participants, include other principles to guide research and professional practice in psychology

debriefing

informing participants afterward about a study's true nature, details, and hypotheses, any deception should be revealed, the purpose and importance of the study should be communicated, and participants should return to the frame of mind with which they entered the study

popular source

intended for a general audience of readers, they are written typically to entertain, inform, or persuade. Popular sources help you answer who, what, when, and where questions and are essential for finding information about current events or issues. Popular sources range from research-oriented [but lacking complete citations to sources] to special interest, agenda-driven publications.

scholarly source

intended for use in support of conducting in-depth research, often containing specialized vocabulary and extensive references to sources. The content has been reviewed by academic peers to ensure the reliability of methods used and the validity of findings. help answer the "So What?" question in academic writing and lay the foundation for discovering connections between variables, issues, or events.

categorical data

level of measurement take category or label values and place an individual into one of several groups

quantitative data

level of measurement that takes numerical values and represent some kind of measurement

ordinal data

level of measurement where categories are ordered, like service quality rating or student letter grades

panel studies

longitudinal study where data are collected from the same individuals at successive time points

double barreled questions

questions that attempt to get at multiple issues at once, and so tend to receive incomplete or confusing answers

leading questions

questions that predispose a respondent to answer in a certain way

bullseye analogy

reliability is necessary but not sufficient for a measure to be valid, can't have validity without reliability

plagiarism

representing the ideas or words of others as one's own; a form of research misconduct, can include lifting sections of text, or even paraphrasing without citing previous work, including your own previous work

beneficence

researchers must take precautions to protect participants from harm and to promote their well being, there are risks in psychological research like physical harm, psychological stress, loss of privacy and confidentiality, can be an issue for observational studies in particular, have to protect confidentiality by recording no identifying information, secure data with identifiers, obtain certificate of confidentiality, there are also potential benefits, can gain educational benefits, new skills, or treatment for a psychological or medical condition, material benefits, personal satisfaction, contributions to humanity

peer review cycle

scientific articles are published in peer-reviewed journals - rigorously reviewed by other scientists - anonymous review, so honest assessment - manuscripts can be rejected, accepted, or accepted with minor or major revisions

parsimony

simplest explanation is the best, sun being at the middle of the solar system is simpler than the earth being at the middle