Research In Psychology - C. James Goodwin

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A Priori Method
(subsequent to)

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A way of knowing in which a person develops a belief by reasoning and researching agreement with others who are convinced of the merits of the reasoned argument.

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A-B-C-B design

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A small N design that compares contingent reinforcement (B) with contingent reinforcement (C); allows researcher to separate the effects of reinforces and contingency. (Used with operant Conditioning)

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Alpha Level

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Probability of making Type I Error

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Anecdotal Evidence

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Evidence from a single case that illustrates a phenomenon; when relied on exclusively as in pseudoscience, faulty conclusions can easily be made

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ANOVA

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ANalysis Of VAriance
Used when dependent variables are measured on interval or ratio scales

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Applied behavior analysis

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Research using various methods to evaluate the effectiveness of conditioning procedures in bringing about changes in the rate of response of some behavior.

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Applied research

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research with the goal of trying to solve some immediate real life problem

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Archival Research

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Method in which already existing records are examined to test hypothesis

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Assent

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"Yes"

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ATI design

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Aptitude by treatment interaction design; form of P x E factorial design found in educational research, the goal of which is to examine possible interactions between an aptitude variable (person) and treatment variable (environmental)

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Attrition

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A threat to internal validity of a study; occurs when participants fail to complete a study (most common in longitudinal designs)

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Authority

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A way of knowing in which a person develops a belief by agreeing with someone perceived to be an expert

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Availability heuristic

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Social cognition bias in which vivid or memorable events lead people to overestimate the frequency of occurrence of these events

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Baseline

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Initial stage of small N design in which the behavior to be changed is monitored to determine its normal rate of response

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Basic Research

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Research with the goal of describing, predicting, and explaining fundamental principles of behavior

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Behavior checklist

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List of behaviors with predefined operational definitions that researchers are trained to use in an observational study

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Belief Preservation

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unwillingness to consider any evidence that contradicts a strongly held view; similar to Pierce's principle of tenacity

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Between subjects design

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Any experimental design in which different groups of participants serve in all the different conditions of the study

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Biased sample

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a sample that is not representative of the population

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Bivariate analysis

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Any statistical analysis investigating the relationship between two variables

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Block Randomization

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A procedure used to accomplish random assignment and ensure an equal number of participants in each condition; ensure that each condition of the study has a subject randomly assigned to it before any condition has a subject assigned to it again; used as counter-balancing procedure to ensure that when participants are tested in each condition more than once, they experience each condition once before experiencing any condition again.

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Carryover effect

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form of sequence effect in which systematic changes in performance occur as a result of completing one sequence of conditions rather than a different sequence

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Changing criterion design

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a small N design in which the criterion for receiving reinforcement begins at a modest level and becomes more stringent as the study progresses, used to shape behavior

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Ceiling effect

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occurs when scores on two or more conditions are at or near the maximum possible for the scale being used giving the impression that no difference exists between conditions

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Closed Question

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A type of question found on surveys that can be answered with a yes or no by some marking point on a scale

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Cluster Sample

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A probability sample that randomly selects clusters of people having some feature in common and tests all people within the selected cluster (ex: all freshmen in psych 1001 to test a freshman population)

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Coefficient of Determination

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For two correlated actors, the proportion of variance in one factor that can be attributed to the second factor

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Cohort (effect)

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A group of people born at the same time; effect can reduce the internal validity of cross sectional study

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Community forum

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In program evaluation research; a meeting open to community members to discuss the need for or operation of some program

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Complete counterbalancing

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Occurs when all possible orders of conditions are used in within subjects design

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Confirmation Bias

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Social cognition bias in which events that confirm a strongly held belief are more readily perceived and remembered; disconfirming events are ignored

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Construct

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A hypothetical factor that cannot be observed directly but is inferred from certain behaviors and is assumed to follow certain circumstances

(ex: hunger is demonstrated by eating and commonly caused by fasting)

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Confound

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Any extraneous variable that covaries with the independent variable and could provide an alternative explanation

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Construct Validity

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Occurs when measure being used accurately assess some hypothetical construct. Is the construct a good measure of what it is supposed to measure?

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Content analysis

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A procedure used to systematically categorize the content of the behaviors

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Content validity

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occurs when a measure appears to be reasonable or logical measure of some trait

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Convergent Validity

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Occurs when scores on a test designed to measure some construct are correlated with scores on other tests that are theoretically related to the same construct

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Critical incidents

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method used by ethics committees that surveys psychologists and asks for example of unethical behavior used by psychologists.

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Cross-lagged panel correlation

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refers to a type of correlational research designed to deal with the directionality problem: if X and Y are measured at two different times and X precedes Y then X may cause Y but Y cannot cause X

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Cross sectional study

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a design in which age is the independent variable and different groups of people are tested

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Cumulative recorder

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Apparatus for recording the subjects' cumulative rate of response in operant conditioning

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Data-driven

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belief of research psychologists that conclusions about behavior should be supported by data collected scientifically

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demand characteristic

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any feature of the experimental design or procedure that increases the chances that participants will detect true purpose of study

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Descriptive statisticis

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provide summary of data

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Desensitizing

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portion of debriefing in which the experimenter tries to reduce any distress felt by participants as a result of research experiment

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Determinism

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Assumption that all events have causes

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Directionality problem

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correlational research; refers to the fact taht for a correlation between variables X and Y it is possible that X is causing Y but also possible that Y is causing X

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Discrete variable

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Variable in which each level represents a distinct category that is qualitatively different from another category (eg male or female, or drug doses)

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Discriminant validity

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Occurs when scores on a test designed to measure some construct are uncorrelated with scores on other tests that should not be related

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Double barreled question

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Should be avoided in surveys; question that states two different things in a single item

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Empiricism

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A way of knowing that relies on direct observation

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Event sampling

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a procedure in obesrvational research in which only certain types of behaviors occurring under precisely defined conditions are sampled

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Experimental Realism

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refers to how deeply involved the participants become in the experiment

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experimenter bias

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occurs when experimenter's expectations about study affect its outcome

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external validity

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extent to which the finding of a study generalize to other populations, settings, or times

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Factorial design

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Any experiment design with more than one independent variable

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Field experiment

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An experiment that is conducted outside the laboratory

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File drawer effect

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a situation in which finding of no difference fail to be published

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Floor effect

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scores on two or more conditions are at or near the minimum possible for the scale

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Formative evaluation

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form of program evaluation that monitors the functioning of a program while it is operating to determine if it functioning as planned

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Good subject role

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a participant bias in which participants try to guess the experiment's hypothesis and they behave in such a way as to confirm it

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Hawthorne effect

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participant bias in which behavior is influenced by the mere knowledge that the participant is an experiment an therefore of some importance (eg if studying efficiency, workers will be more efficient during experiment)

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Homogeneity of Variance

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One of the conditions that should be in effect in order to perform parametric inferential tests such a s at test or ANOVA; refers to the fact that variability among all conditions of a study ought to be similar

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Individual subject validity

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the extent to which the general outcome of a research study characterizes the behavior of the individual participants

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Inferential statistics

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type of statistic used to draw conclusions about broader population

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Inter-observer reliability

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degree of agreement between two or more observers

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Interrupted time series design

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quasi experimental design in which a program or treatment is evaluated by measuring performance several times prior and after treatment

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Interrupted time series with switching replication

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time series design in which the program is replicated at a different location and time

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intraclass correlation

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a form of correlation used when pairs of scores do not come from the same person (eg twins)

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Latin square

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Form of partial counterbalancing which each condition of the study occurs equally often in each sequential position and each condition precedes and follows each other condition exactly once

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Matched group design

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between subjects design that uses a manipulated independent variable and has at least two groups of participants; subjects are paired on some variable

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PxE factorial design

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mixed design with at least one subject factor and one manipulated factor

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Multiple baseline design

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a small N design in which treatment is introduced at staggerer intervals to:
alter the behavior of more than one individual
more than one behavior in one individual
the behavior of an individual in more than one setting

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Mundane realism

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refers to how closely the experiment mirrors real life

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Naturalistic observation

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descriptive research method in which the behavior of people or animals is studied as it occurs in everyday environments

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Pilot study

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During the initial stages of research it is common to collect some data first

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Operational definition

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definition of concept of variable in terms of precisely defined terms

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Partial counterbalancing

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Occurs when a subset of all possible orders of conditions is used in a within subjects design

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Order/Sequence effect

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Occurs in within study designs when the experience of participating in one of the conditions of the study influences performance in subsequent conditions

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Parsimony

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Theory that includes minimum amount of constructs and assumptions is probably the best explanation of event of phenomenon

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Program Audit

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Examination of whether a program is being implemented as planned

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Progressive effect

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any sequence effect in which the accumulated effects are assumed to be the same from trial to trial

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Reliability

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Extent to which measures of the same phenomenon are consistent and repeatable

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Reverse Counterbalancing

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Participants are tested more than once per condition; subjects experience one sequence and a second in the reversed order A-B-C-B-A

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Sample frame

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list of individuals from whom the sample will be drawn; with cluster sampling, a list of groups from which the sample groups will be selected

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Social Desirability bias

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Type of response bias in survey research; people respond to a question by trying to put themselves in a favorable light

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Split half reliability

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form of reliability in which one half of items on a test are correlated with other half

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Statistical determinism

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Assumption made by research psychologists that behavioral events can be predicted with probability grater than chance

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Stratified Sample

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Probability sample that is random, with restriction that important subgroups are proportionately represented

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Social validity

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Extent to which an applied behavior analysis program has the potential to improve society, whether its value is perceived by the study's participants

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Type I error

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False Positive

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Type II error

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False Negative

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Validity

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extent to which a measure of X truly measures X and not Y

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Yoked control group

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Control group in which the treatment given a member of the control group is matched exactly with the treatment given a member of the experimental group

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Withdrawal design

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small n design in which a treatment is in place for a time and is then removed to determine if the rate of behavior returns to baseline

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What is the First Stage of Program Assessment?

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1. Needs Assessment- determine what needs there are in a population and what problems could be addressed.

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What is the Fourth Stage of Program Assessment?

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4. Outcome Evaluation (Summative Evaluation)- did it work? Was the problem solved?

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What is the Third Stage of Program Assessment?

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3. Process Evaluation- implement program and determine if the program is running smoothly

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What is the Second Stage of Program Assessment?

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2. Program Theory Assessment- design a program to address said problem(s)

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What is the Fifth Stage of Program Assessment?

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5. Efficiency Assessment (Cost-Effectiveness)- was it worth the cost