Methods Of Psychology

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Empircism

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Originally a Greek school of medicine that stressed the importance of observation, and generally used to describe any attempt to acquire knowledge by observing objects or events.

Front 2

Method

Back 2

A set of rules and techniques for observation that allow researchers to avoid the illusions, mistakes, and erroneous conclusions that simple observation can produce.

Front 3

Operational definition

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A description of an abstract property in terms of a concrete condition that can be measured.

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Measure

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A device that an detect the measurable events to which an operational definition refers.

Front 5

Electromyograph (EMG)

Back 5

a device that measure muscle contractions under the surface of a person's skin.

Front 6

Validity

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The characteristic of an observation that allows one to draw accurate inferences from it.

Front 7

Construct Validity

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The tendency for an operational definition and a property to have a clear conceptual relation.

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Predictive Validity

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The tendency for an operational definition to be related to other operational definitions

Front 9

Reliability

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The Tendency for a measure to produce the same result whenever it is used to measure the same thing.

Front 10

Power

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The tendency for a measure to produce different results when it is used to measure different. things

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Case Method

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A method of gathering scientific knowledge by studying a single individual.

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Population

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The complete collection of participants who might possibly be measured.

Front 13

Sample

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the partial collection of people who actually were measured in a study.

Front 14

Law of large Numbers

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A statistical law stating that as sample size increases, the attributes a sample will more closely reflect the attributes of the population from which it was drawn.

Front 15

Frequency Distribution

Back 15

A graphical representation of the measurements of a sample that are arranged by the number of times each measurement was observed.

Front 16

Normal Distribution

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(aka : bell curve) A frequency distribution in which most measurements are concentrated around the mean and fall off toward the tails, and the two sides of the distribution are symmetrical.

Front 17

Mode

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The "most frequent" measurement in a frequency distribution.

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Mean

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The average of the measurement in a frequency distribution.

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Median

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The "middle" measurement in a frequency distribution. Half the measurements in a frequency distribution are greater than or equal to the median and half are less than or equal to the median.

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Range

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The numerical difference between the smallest and largest measurements in a frequency distribution.

Front 21

Demand Characteristics

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Those aspects of an observational setting that cause people to behave as they think an observer wants to expects them to behave.

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Naturalistic Observation

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A method of gathering scientific knowledge by unobtrusively observing people in their natural environments.

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Double-blind

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An observation whose the true purpose is hidden from the researcher as well as from the participant.

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Variable

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A property whose value can vary or change.

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Correlation

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The "co-relationship" or pattern of covariation between two variables, each of which has been measured several times.

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Correlation Coefficient

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A statistical measure of the direction and strength of a correction, which is signified by the letter "r".

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Natural correlation

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A correlation observed between naturally occurring variables.

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Third-variable Correlation

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The fact that two variables may be correlated only because they are both caused by a third variable.

Front 29

Matched Samples

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An observational technique that involves matching the average of the participants in the experimental and control groups in order to eliminate the possibility that a third variable ( and not the independent variable) caused changes in the dependent variable.

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Matched Pairs

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An observational technique that involves matching each participant in the experimental group with a specific participant in the control group in order to eliminate the possibility that a third variable ( and not independent variable) caused changes in the dependent variable.

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Third-variable problem

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The fact that the causal relationship between two variables cannot be inferred from the correlation between them because of the ever-present possibility of third-variable correlation.

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Experiment

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A technique for establishing the casual relationship between variables.

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Manipulation

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a characteristic of experimentation in which the researcher artificially creates a patter of variation in an independent variable in order to determine its causal powers. Manipulation usually results in the creation of an experimental group and a control group.

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Independent variable

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The variable that is manipulated in an experiment.

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Experimental Group

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One of the two groups of participants created by the manipulation of an independent variable in an experiment; the experimental group is exposed to the stimulus being studied and the "control group" is not.

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Control Group

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One of the two groups of participants created by the manipulation of an independent variable in an experiment that is not exposed to the stimulus being studied.

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Dependent Variable

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The variable that is measured in a study.

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Self-selection

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The case in which a participant's inclusion in the experimental or control group is determined by the participant. ( randomly selected.. I guess.. who decides to choose the participants?.. no one.. wooo~)

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Randomization

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A procedure to ensure that a participant's inclusions in the experimental or control group is not determined by a third variable.

Front 40

Internal Validity

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The characteristic of an experiment that allows one to draw accurate inferences about the causal relationship between an independent and dependent variable.

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External Validity

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A characteristic of an experiment in which the independent and dependent variables are operationally defined in a normal, typical, or realistic way.

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Theory

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A hypothetical account of how and why a phenomenon occurs, usually in the form of a statement about the casual relationship between two or more properties. Theories lead to "hypotheses."