Psychology

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What makes psychological research scientific?

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SWORP
Skepticism
Willingness to make "risky predictions"
Openess
Reliance on emprical evidence
Precision

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Hypothesis

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a statement that attempts to describe or explain a given behavior.

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operational definition

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a precise definition of a term in a hypothesis, which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process of phenomenon being defined.

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principle of falsifiability

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the theory must predict not only what will happen but also what will not happen.

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confirmation bias

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the tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms one's own belief.

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a big "no-no"

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scientists must be willing to tell others where they got their ideas.

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Descriptive studies

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NSCTECL
Naturalistic observation
Survey
Correlational study
Test
Experiment
Case study
Laboratory observation

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theoty

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an organized system of assumptions and principles that purports to explain a specified set of phenomena and their interrelationships.

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hypothesis

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a statement that attempts to predict or to account for a set of phenomena; scientific hypothesis specify relationships among events or variables and are empirically tested.

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operational definition

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A precise definition of a term in a hypothesis, which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process or phenomenon being defined.

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principle of falsifiability

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the principle that a scientific theory must make predictions that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation; that is, the theory must predict not only what will happen but also what will not happen.

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confirmation bias

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the tendency to look for or pay attention to information that confirms one's own belief.

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replicate

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to make a copy of s.t.

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peer review

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Scientists are expected to submit their results to prefessional journals, which send the findings to experts in the field for evaluation and suggest revisions before publishing them.

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representative sample

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A group of subjects, selected from a population for study, which matches the population on important characteristics such as age and sex.

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descriptive methods

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Methods that yield descriptions of behavior but not necessarily casual explanations.

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case study

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A detailed description of a perticular individual being studied or treated.

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observational study

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A study in which the researcher carefully and systematically observes and records behavior; it may involve either naturalistic or laboratory observation.

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naturalistic observation

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to find out how people or animals act in their normal social environments.

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laboratory observation

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researchers have more control of the situation. They can use sophiscated equipment, determine the number of people who will be observed, maintain clear line of vision, and so forth.

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psychological tests

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Procedures used to measure and evaluate personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, intests, abilities, and values.

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standardization

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In test construction, to develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test.

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norms

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In test construction, established standards of performance.

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reliability

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In test construction, the consistency of scores derived from a test, from one time and place to another.

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test-retest reliability

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are scores similar from one session to another?

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alternate-forms reliability

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Are scores similar on different versions of the test.

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validity

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The ability of a test to measure what it was desighned to measure.

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content validity

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Do items broadly represent the trait in question?

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Criterion Validity

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Do the test results predict other measures of the trait?

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Surveys

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Questionnairs and interviews that ask people directly about their experiences, attitudes, or opinions.

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volunteer bias

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A shortcoming of findings derived from a sample of volunteers may differ from those who did not volunteer.

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correlational study

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a descriptive study that looks for a consistent relationship between two phenomena.

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correlation

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A measure of how strongly two variables are related to one another.

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variables

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Characteristic of behavior or experience that can be measured or described by a numeric scale.

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positive correlation

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An association between increases in one variable and increases in another-or between decreases in one and another.

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negative correlation

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An association between increases in one variable and decreases in another.

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coefficient of correlation

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A measure of correlation that ranges in value from -1.00 to +1.00.

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experiment

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A controlled test of a hypothesis in which the researcher manipulates one variable to discover its effect on another.

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independent variable

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A variable that an experimenter manipulates.

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dependent variable

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A variable that an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable.

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control condition

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In an experiment, a comparison condition in which subjects are not exposed to the same treatment as in the experimental condition.

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randome assighnment

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A procedure for assighning people to experimental and control groups in which each individual has the same probability as any other of being assighned to a given group.

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placebo

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An inactive substance or fake treatment used as a control in an experiment or given by a medical practitioner to a patient.

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single-blind study

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An experiment in which subjects do not know whether they are in an experimental or a control group.

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experimenter effects

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Ununtended changes in subjects' behavior due to cues inadvertently given by the experimenter.

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double-blind study

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An experiment in which neither the subjects nor the indivduals running the study know which subjects are in the control group and which are in the experimental group until after the results are tallied.

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field research

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Descriptive or experimental research concluded in a natural setting outside the laboratory.

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descriptive statistics

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Statistical procedures that organize and summarize research data.

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airthmetic mean

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An average that is calculated by adding up a set of quantities and dividing the sum by the total number of quantities in the set.

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standard deviation

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A commonly used measure of variability that indicates the average differnce between scores in a distribution and their mean.

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inferential statistics

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Statistical procedures that allow researchers to graw inferences about how statiscally meaningful a study's results are.

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siginification tests

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Statiscal tests that show likely it is that a study's results occured merely by chance.

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cross-sectional study

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A study in which subjects of differnt ages are compared at a given time.

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longitudinal study

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A study in which subjects are followed and periodically reassesed over a period of time.

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effect size

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The amount of varience among scores in a study accounted for by the independent variable.

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meta-analysis

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A procedure for combining and analyzing data from many studies; it determines how much of the variance in scores across all studies can be explained by a particular variable.

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informed consent

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The doctrine that human research subjects must participate voluntarily and must know an intelligent decision about whether participate.