Psychology 300

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This approach to describing behaviors and events occurs when researchers seek to study the individual to understand their uniqueness rather than studying groups to understand the average or general performance of behavior or events.

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What is the idiographic approach to describing behaviors and events?

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This form of research involves studies in which research findings are presented in terms of statistical summaries and analysis.

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What is quantitative research?

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This form of research produces verbal summaries of research findings with no statistical summaries and analysis.

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What is qualitative research?

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This branch of science mainly performs nomothetic and quantitative research.

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What is the primary type of research performed in psychology?

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This term describes the fact that when researchers identify correlations (relationships) among variables and then can accurately guess what will happen based on certain information.

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What is a prediction?

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This term is a dimension on which people differ, or vary.

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What is a variable?

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This exists when two different measures of the same people, events, or things vary together or go together in some way. People can use this in order to predict scores on a variable based on another variable.

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What is a correlation?

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To make a successful prediction between two variables, it is not dependent upon knowing why a relationship exists between the two variables.

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What is not needed to make a successful prediction between two variables?

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This is when scientists can identify the causes of an event or behavior.

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What is understanding?

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This type of research differs from descriptive and correlation research because of the high degree of control that scientists seek in it.

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What are the unique characteristics of an experimental research design?

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This is a statement about the cause of an event.

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What is a causal inference?

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This is the ultimate goal of psychology research.

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What is role of psychology researchers' goal of “change?”

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Psychologists conduct this type of research in order to change people’s lives for the better.

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What is applied research?

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Psychologists who conduct this type of research seek to primarily understand behavior and mental processes.

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What is basic research?

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This approach to research searches for an answer using various research methodologies.

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What is the multimethod approach to research?

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This is the consistency of a measurement, which is most likely being measured by an instrument. For example, a scale that always measures a 10 lb weight as 10 lb.

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What is reliability?

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This type of measure is one that measures what it claims to measure. For example, using a scale to measure a person’s weight instead of determining their weight by only measuring their height.

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What is validity?

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These are tentative explanations for something.

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What are hypotheses?

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The following conditions disqualify these tentative explanations for something that is useful to science: when they cannot be tested, when they appeal to ideas or forces that are not recognized by science, when they are not testable because the concepts to which they refer to are not adequately defined or measured, when they are circular arguments—when an event itself becomes an explanation for the event—and when they cannot be proven false able.

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What are not hypotheses?

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This perspective views information through a skeptical and critical lens.

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What is a scientific attitude?

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Scientists do this in an unbiased, objective, and systematic way because they want to separate what they have observed from what they conclude, or infer, on the basis of these observations. Importantly, scientists keep observations independent of conclusions so that other scientists can accurately repeat the original experiment.

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What is the reason why scientists report in an unbiased and objective way?

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Scientists use these, symbols used for communication, by clearly defining them so that scientists can communicate ideas in precise and unambiguous language.

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What is the way that scientists use concepts?

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This is the difference between what an instrument says is true and what is actually true.

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What is accuracy?

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This is how small of a difference in a measurement is able to be detected by an instrument.

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What is precision?

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This type of measurement involves dimensions for which there is an agreed-upon standard and an instrument used to do the measuring.

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What are physical measurements?

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This type of measurement is based on an agreement among a number of observers.

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What are psychological measurements?

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This is a way that is used to create and answer questions (especially ones that are related to psychology!).

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What is the scientific method?

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In making this, scientists incorporate the following characteristics to gain knowledge, scientifically: empirical approach to gaining information, systematic and controlled observations, unbiased and objective reporting, clear definitions of concepts, accurate and precise instruments, valid and reliable measurements, testable hypotheses, and critical and skeptical attitude.

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What are the 8 characteristics of experiment design?

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This approach to knowledge is empirical rather than intuitive.

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What is the scientific approach to knowledge?

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This approach to answering questions emphasizes direct observations and experimentation.

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What is the empirical approach to answering questions?

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Scientists use this technique when they investigate the effect of various factors by examining them one at a time.

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What is the use of “control” by scientists?

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This type of observations is systematic and controlled.

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What are scientific observations?

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This type of reporting is unbiased and objective.

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What is scientific reporting?

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In general, it has the following goals: description, prediction, understanding causes, and creating change.

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What are the goals of research, in a general sense?

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This goal of research refers to the procedures that researchers use to define, classify, catalogue, or categorize events and their relationships.

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What is description, a goal of research?

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This approach describes behaviors and events by trying to establish broad generalizations and general laws that apply to a diverse population.

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What is the nomethetic approach to describe behaviors and events?

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Examples of this type of instruments, which are used in psychology research, are surveys and questionnaires.

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What are examples of psychological instruments?

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Researchers can use either of these two types of research designs in order to measure variables through observation or surveys to describe and predict behavior.

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What are observational and correlation research designs?

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Researchers use this type of research design when they manipulate an independent variable to determine the effect on a measured dependent variable. The goal of this design is to identify the causes of behavior.

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What are experimental research designs?

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Researchers use this type of research design when they manipulate an independent variable and measure a dependent variable, but the setting of the research limits the researcher’s control over potential confounding variables.

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What are quasi-experimental research designs?

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Researchers use this type of research design to describe, predict, and control variable in order to understand and treat the behavior of one individual.

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What are single-case research designs?

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This method has the following eight steps: develop a research question, generate hypotheses, form operational definitions, choose a research design, evaluate the ethics, collect the data, analyze the data and form conclusions, and finally report your results.

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What are the 8 steps in the scientific method?

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This definition is used to define a concept solely in terms of the “operations” (or methods) used to produce and measure it.

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What is an operational definition?

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This is a simple and tentative explanation for a behavior.

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What is a hypothesis?

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This is an idea that attempts to answer a question. It must include definitions of various events or concepts, it must contain information about relationships between these events, and it must explain the causes of the events. Its main function is to guide research and to organize empirical knowledge.

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What is a theory?

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This is a plan for answering a research question.

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What is a research design?

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This type of research design seeks to describe and/or predict an aspect of behavior.

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What is the purpose of observational and correlation research designs?

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This research design seeks to identify the causes of a relationship between variables.

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What is the purpose of experimental research designs?

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This research design seeks to examine the casual effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable without being able to control important variables in the research.

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What is the purpose of quasi-experiment research designs?

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This form of bias causes problems for psychologists when psychologists try to understand the behavior of individuals in a different culture through the lens of the psychologist’s own culture.

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What is the problem with ethnocentrism when psychologists try to understand behavior?

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To be complete, this scientific term must have the three following components: definitions of concepts, what the relationship is between the concepts, and an explanation of why the relationship is.

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What are the three things that a theory must have?

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This has the following three dimensions: sensitivity of information (more sensitive information requires more strict procedures to ensure its confidentiality), setting (it must allow for the privacy of disclosure), and dissemination of information (it’s okay to report averages, proportions, stats, but it is not okay to reveal the identity of subjects in connection to their data).

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What are the three dimensions of “privacy,” which is important to preserve for subjects whom participate in research?

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This report defined modern ethical principles for research as: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice.

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What are the three ethical principles of the 1979 Belmont Report (i.e. the modern ethical principles)?

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This ethical standard of research must have the following points: it requires subjects to be aware of possible risks and they must know that they may stop at any time without negative consequences, subjects must know what the experiment entails, and subjects have the right to have all of their questions answered honestly by the researcher.

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What are the points that must be included in voluntary consent?

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To be this, the results that could come from an experiment must benefit science and/or humanity in some way. This includes making sure that the data that is collected can be analyzed correctly.

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What is the ethical responsibility for the results of research?

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To be this, researchers must ensure the animal subjects welfare and humane treatment. Additionally, most research must be tested on animals before then are tested on humans, to be this.

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What are the ethical considerations when researchers work with animals?

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This ethical standard states that the harm or discomfort that subjects may experience in the research is not greater than what they might experience in their daily lives or during routine physical or psychological tests. That is this ethical standard cannot be above the stress that people experience in their everyday life.

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What is minimal risk, an ethical standard?

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To be this, researchers must be prepared to stop the research at any time.

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What is the requirement that researchers must be prepared to do at anytime during their research, to be ethical?

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When performing research, the researchers cannot perform this act in order to get subjects to do something that they would not normally do or if it involves serious risk.

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What are the two instances that reproachers cannot use deception?

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In this portion of research, the researchers must educate the subjects about the experiment and topic of interest, they must explain the true motives of the experiment, and they must provide references about the topic provided.

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What must be explained in the debriefing portion of research?

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This standard is either absolute or relative.

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What are the two types of ethical standards?

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This experiment was unethical because it knowingly put the subjects in physical and physiological harm. The motives and the procedures of the experiment, however, were ethical.

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What is the reason why the Zimbardo experiment was unethical?

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This scale organizes data into discrete categorizes. Its goal is to sort stimuli into discrete categories like gender or college majors.

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What is the nominal scale?

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This scale differentiates the stimuli according to magnitude. That is, it adds the arithmetic relationships “greater than” and “less than” to the measurement process. Its goal is to rank-order stimuli on a single dimension, like class rank.

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What is the ordinal scale?

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This scale organizes data by specifying how far apart two observations are on a dimension. That is why its goal is to specify the distance between stimuli on a given dimension. For example, when given 3 test scores like 70, 75, and 80, this scale assumes that the difference between 70 and 75 points (5 points) is equal to the difference 75 and 80 points (5 points).

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What is the interval scale?

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This scale is the same as the interval scale with one exception. It adds a meaning to he value “zero.” Its objective is to specify the distance between the stimuli and obtain ratios of a scale values. For example, this scale is used to describe the meaning of a person with a reaction time measure that is twice as fast as someone else.

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What is the ratio scale?

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This type of psychology research has the following scientific characteristics: they are made under precisely defined conditions, in a systematic and objective manner, and with careful record keeping.

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What are the characteristics of scientific observations?

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This type of psychology research has the following goals: to describe behavior fully and accurately.

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What are the goals of observational research?

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This type of psychological research does not find casual links.

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What is not determined by observational research?

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This type of psychological research has the following potential biases:

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What are the potential biases of direct/indirect observational research?

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This form of psychological research must take into consideration ethical responsibility. That is, it is allowed to record data from people in the public. Nonetheless, it must have informed consent when it records data of people who have the “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Finally, it must pose only a minimal risk to participants.

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What are the important concerns that observational research must take into consideration?

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This is a sample (subset) that is similar to a population on important factors that may include setting, conditions, and personal characteristics.

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What is a representative sample?

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This is when researchers choose various time intervals for observation. It is used when researchers are interested in a certain behavior and not the situations.

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What is time sampling?

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This is when researchers pick a specific time interval to make observations. For example, a researcher may want to observe the number of smokers every Monday morning from 9-10am.

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What is systemic sampling as it relates to time sampling?

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This occurs when researchers randomly select different times to make observations. For example, researchers may want to observer the number of people smoking, and so, they pick Monday from 5-6om and Friday from 10-11am as the times that they will make their observations.

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What is random sampling as it relates to time sampling?

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This form of sampling has the following pros: it is helpful when you want to target a specific group of people. Nonetheless, it has the following cons: things other than the time may influence the behavior.

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What are the pros and cons of systemic time sampling?

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This form of sampling occurs when researchers observe the behavior of their subjects in various circumstances and conditions. It is used when interested in effects of a situation on a specific behavior and it can contribute to making your sample more varied. For example, observing how many times someone sneezes based on where they are in the world (church, elevator, car, etc.).

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What is situational sampling?

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This form of psychology research occurs when researchers observe behaviors as it occurs. For example, counting the number of times people fall on a sidewalk in a week.

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What are direct observations?

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This form of psychology research occurs when researchers use records or physical traces to measure a behavior. For example, a researcher may count the number of band-aids a person has on their arm and infer from it that this person fell a certain number of times.

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What are indirect observations?

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This form of observation differs from its opposite because it makes observations based on seeing the behavior first hand, but its opposite makes observations based on inferences made from other indicators.

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What is the key difference between direct and its opposite, indirect observations?

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This form of direct observation occurs when researchers do not intervene in the observations that they make; they simply watch the behavior as it happens with no interference and as unobtrusively as possible.

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What are naturalistic observations?

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This form of observation does not use manipulation and it does not use controls. It is passive. Finally, it is used whenever it is unethical or impossible to create an experiment or intervention to study a behavior.

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What are the key characteristics of naturalistic observations?

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This form of observations occurs when researchers observe and participate in their experiment design. It can either be disguised (subjects do not know what your real role is) or undisguised (subjects know what your there for).

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What are participant observations?

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This form of observations has the following cons: reactivity and the researcher may lose their objectivity and unknowingly influence the behavior of those they are observing.

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What are the cons of participant observations?

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This event occurs when subjects alter their behavior in response to being observed, like being observed by a researcher.

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What is reactivity?

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This form of observations is a little bit of a catchall. It occurs when researchers usually observe intervenes to cause an event to occur or to set up a situation for easier recording. For example, altering things in child development psychology research.

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What are structured observations?

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This form of observations has the following pros: it allows for more natural setting where observations can take place. In other words, it can create a situation that mirrors real life occurrences. Nonetheless, it has the following con: the more controls it puts on observations the less able the observations are able to be generalize.

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What are the pros and the cons of structural observations?

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This relationship states that the more controls there are in observational research, then the less able are those observations to be generalized.

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What is the relationships between increasing controls over observations and generalize ability?

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This is a form of observations that occurs when researchers manipulate one or more variables in a natural setting in order to determine their effect on behavior. It is the most extreme form of intervention.

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What are field experiments?

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These observations have the following pros: it creates different conditions, which allows for comparison on effect of different factors and can be used to make causal inferences (since there is control).

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What are the pros of field experiments?

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These are recording indirect behavior by analyzing records or physical evidence (kind of like forensics).

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What are indirect observations?

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This form of observations has the following pros: it is unobtrusive, and there is no reactivity from the subjects.

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What are the two pros of indirect observations?

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This form of making observations has the following cons: it does not have control and it is sometimes hard to figure things out if there is missing data from some subjects.

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What are the cons of indirect observations?

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These are the remnants, fragments, and products of past behavior.

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What are physical traces?

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This is a form of physical traces. It is evidence resulting from the use or nonuse of an item like a candy wrapper (which may indicate that someone ate it).

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What are traces?

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This is a form of physical traces. It is what people make, artifacts.

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What are products?

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These forms of indirect observations are susceptible to subjectivity and can be easily misinterpreted.

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What is the con to physical traces?

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These are public and private documents describing the activities of individuals, institutions, governments, and other groups. They are used to investigate reactions to natural events (natural treatments).

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What are archival records?

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This form of indirect observations has the following pros: researchers can get a lot of data for minimal effort and less concern for ethics, since many records are public.

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What are the pros of archival records?

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This form of indirect observations has the following cons: selective deposit and selective survival.

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What are the cons of archival records?

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This bias occurs when some information is selected to be put in archives but other information is not, which may not give a true representative sample.

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What is selective deposit?

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This bias occurs when records are missing or incomplete because the record keepers may have thrown them out.

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What is selective survival?