Psychology Unit 2 study questions PDF

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Unit 2: The Research Enterprise in Psychology

1. Briefly identify and describe the three goals of the scientific enterprise. The goals of the science of psychology include the measurement and description of behavior, the understanding and prediction of behavior, and the application of this knowledge to the task of controlling behavior. Measure + Describe (researcher figures out a way to measure the phenomenon under study), understand and predict (events can be understood when a scientist can explain the reasons for the occurrence of the events) and apply + control (applying research studies to practical, everyday problems-aka clinical psychology) 2. What are the five steps in scientific investigations? The 5 steps in scientific investigations are: 

Formulate a testable hypothesis (translate the theory or idea into a testable hypothesis.)

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Select the research method and design the study (figure out how to put the hypothesis to an empirical test-using a research method and make detailed plans for executing the study. (who are the participants? How may are needed? Where should we get them?)

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Collect the data

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Analyze and draw conclusions (researches use statistics to analyze their data to decide whether their hypotheses have been supported)

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Report findings (publication or record of results in a journal)

3. Define an operational definition, participants (or subjects), and data collection techniques. Participants/subjects are the people/animals whose behavior is observed in a study. Operational definition describes the actions/operations that will be used to measure or control a variable in a study. Data collection techniques are procedures for making empirical observations and measurements (direct observation, questionnaire, interview, psychological test, psychological recording and examination of archival records)

4. Describe two advantages of the scientific approach as it relates to the study of behavior.

Clarity and Precision: Common sense notions about behavior tend to be vague and ambiguous. The scientific approach requires people to specify exactly what they are talking about when they formulate hypotheses. This enhances communication about important ideas. Relative Intolerance of Error: Scientists are trained to be skeptical. They subject their ideas to empirical tests and scrutinize one another’s finding with a critical eye and demand objective data thorough documentation before they can accept ideas.

5. Define an experiment. Define and give examples of the three types of variables (independent, dependent, and extraneous) that may be encountered in an experiment. Experiment is a research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result. An independent variable is a condition or event that an experiment varies in order to see its impact on another variable (Experimenter controls or manipulates/free to be varied) A dependent variable is the variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable. (depends on manipulations by the independent variable) 6. Distinguish between experimental and control groups, and explain their relationship in an experiment An experimental group consists of subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable. The control group consists of similar subjects who do not receive any special treatment given to the experimental group.

7. Why is it sometimes advantageous to use only one group of subjects who serve as their own control? Sometimes it’s advantageous to use only one group of subjects to serve as their own control group because it can ensure that the participants in the experimental and control conditions would be alike on any extraneous variables involving their own personal characteristics. When subjects serve as their own control group this is called within-subjects design because the comparisons are made within the same group of comparisons. When two or more subjects are exposed to a manipulation of an independent variable, this is called a between-subjects design because the comparisons are made between two different groups. 8. Explain the major advantages and disadvantages of the experimental method.

A major advantage of the experimental method is that it permits conclusions about cause and effect relationships between variables. Researchers are able to draw these conclusions about causation because the precise control available in the experiment allows them to isolate the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable, while neutralizing the effects of extraneous variables. A disadvantage of the experimental method is that it is often artificial. Experiments require great control of proceeding and researchers must often construct simple, contrived situations to test their hypotheses. For example, to investigate decision making in juries, psychologists have conducted many experiments in which subjects read a brief summary of a trial and then record their individual “verdicts” of innocence or guilt. This approach allows the experimenter to manipulate a variable, such as the race of the defendant, to see whether it affects the participants’ verdicts. However, critics have pointed out that having a participant read a short case summary and make an individual decision cannot really compare to the complexities of the real trials (Weiten & Diamond, 1979). In actual court cases, jurors may spend weeks listening to confusing testimony while making subtle judgments about the credibility of witnesses. They then retire for hours of debate to arrive at a group verdict, which is quite different from rendering an individual decision. Many researchers have failed to do justice to this complex process in their laboratory experiments. 9. Distinguish between the experimental and the descriptive/correlational research methods. Discuss three descriptive research methods (i.e., naturalistic observation, case studies, and surveys). The major advantage of the experimental method over the correlational approach is that the experimental method permits one to make casual conclusions. Naturalistic observation is when a researcher engages on careful observation of a behavior without intervening directly with the subjects. (i.e. to see if drivers stop or continue at a yellow light) Case studies are an in-depth investigation of an individual subject. Surveys are the use of questionnaires or interviews to gather information about specific aspects of participants’ behavior. 10. Explain the major advantages and disadvantages of descriptive/correlational research. What is the main disadvantage of descriptive/correlational research? Descriptive/correlations research broadens the scope of phenomena that psychologists are able to study. However, the biggest disadvantage of descriptive/correlational research is that investigators cannot control events to isolate cause and effect. Correlational research cannot demonstrate conclusively that two variables are casually related.

11. Distinguish between a positive and a negative correlation. Explain how the size of a correlation coefficient relates to the strength of an association. A positive correlation is when two variables co-vary in the same direction-for example a positive number of times a student has attended class equals a higher score. A negative correlation indicates variables that co-vary in the opposite direction, for example a negative correlation between how frequently university students attend class and how well they do on the exam. Students who have a higher number of absences, have a lower mark on the exams. The strength of correlation: the positive or negative sign indicates the direction of an association; the size of the coefficient indicates the strength of an association between two variables. The coefficient can vary between 0 and 11.00 (if positive). Or between 0 and 21.00 (if negative). A coefficient near zero indicates no relationship between the variables: that is, high or low scores on variable X show no consistent relations to high or low scare on variable Y. A coefficient of 11.00 or 21.00 indicates a perfect, one-to-one correspondence between the two variables. 12. Explain how a correlation relates to prediction and causation. Provide and recognize original examples of two variables that are positively or negatively correlated but that are not causally related. As correlation increases in strength, the ability to predict one variable based on knowledge of the other variable increases. Although, it does not tell us whether a cause and effect relationship exist between two variables. Variables can be highly correlated but not casually related (i.e. there is a substantial positive correlation between the size of young children’s feet and the size of their vocabulary. That is, larger feet are associated with a lager vocabulary. Obviously, increases in foot size do not cause increases in vocabulary size. Nor do increases in vocabulary size cause increases in foot size. Instead, both are caused by a third variable: an increase in the children’s age) 13. Describe the importance of replication in scientific research. Replication is the repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated. This helps science identify and get rid or erroneous findings. 14. Describe the four common flaws in research: sampling bias, placebo effects, distortions in self-report data, and experimenter bias. Sampling bias exists when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn. For example, if a political pollster were to survey only people in posh shopping areas frequented by the wealthy, the pollster’s generalizations about the voting public as a whole would be off the mark. Placebo effects occur when participants’ expectations lead them to experience some change even though they receive empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment. In the realm of research, the problem is that psychologists have found that participants’ expectations can be powerful determinants of their perceptions and behavior when they are under the microscope in an empirical study.

Self-report data methods, such as questionnaires, can be plagued by social desirability bias: the tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about yourself. Another problem is response sets. Response sets are a tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions. Experimenter bias occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained. 15. What is the double-blind procedure? The double-blind is a research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups. This can neutralize experimenter bias. 16. Discuss the controversy regarding the use of deception in psychological research. Critics that argue against the use of deception assert that deception is only a nice word for lying and that it is inherently immoral. Second, they argued that deceiving unsuspecting participants may undermine many individuals trust in others. Third, they point out that many deceptive studies produce distress for participants were not forward about the possibility. Those who defend the use of deception research maintain that many important issues cannot be investigated if experimenters were not permitted to sometimes mislead participants. 17. Discuss how Canada applies ethical guidelines to the use of animals as research subjects. The CPA ethical principles deal with how people with whom the psychologist comes into contact should be treated. The principles also have implications for psychologists who employ animals in their research period for example, every effort must be made to minimized the discomfort filled by the participants and to ensure that animals will not be used unless there is a strong expectation that the results will benefit both humans and animals.

18. Explain highlights of two of the Weiten and McCann (2013) text’s unifying themes. First, the entire chapter is a testimonial to the idea that psychology’s empirical. Second, the discussion of methodological flaws in research provides numerous examples of how people’s experience of the world can be highly subjective. Empirical approach entails testing ideas Colin basing conclusions on systematic observations, and relying on healthy brand of skepticism. Psychologists test their ideas by formulating clear hypothesis that involve prediction about relationship between variables. These are variety of research methods to collect data. Psychologists are impressed only by research results that are highly unlikely to have a current by chance. Collectively, these procedures represent the essence of empirical approach period the subjectively of a personal experience became apparent in the discussion of methodological

problems, especially placebo effect an experimental bias. The highly subjective nature of experience is exactly what the empirical approach attempts to neutralize. 19. Describe the standard organization of a published journal article. Abstract-a quick summary of what the article is about Introduction-overview of the study and the research/mentions relevant theories and quickly preview previous research that bears on the problem Method-a thorough description of the methods used in the study Results-the data obtained in the study are reported here Discussion-conclusions drawn by the author References-bibliographical references for any studies cited 20. Define anecdotal evidence. Describe the perils of using anecdotal evidence in the decision-making process. Anecdotal evidence is personal stories about specific incidents or experiences. Anecdotal evidence is the experience of a single case study which is not enough. It’s similar to self-report data which can be distorted for a variety of reasons (social desirability) Anecdotes are often inaccurate and riddled with embellishments....