PSYC 200W Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Variance, Analysis Of Variance, Test Cricket
12 Oct 2018
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Department
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PSYC 200W
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Dancing Twins:
Is the behavior induced or natural? Do they influence each other? Do they dance to the radio too or just
when their dad plays the guitar? Is the parent encouraging them? Would they do it if they were alone?
Will this continue over time? Most of these can be tested scientifically by carrying different
observational experiments. However, they might influence each other for a long time because they are
twins and thus, it would be difficult to nullify that effect. Some of these questions seem more scientific
because they are falsifiable or actually give an answer.
Psychology aims to study ABC - affect, behavior, cognition
Wilhelm Wundt - first research psychologist - first psychology lab in Leipzig
Basic research - understand psychological processes and increase our knowledge
Applied research - solve particular problems
Evaluation research - use behavioral research to assess effect of social and institutional programs on
behavior
Goals of Psych Research:
Description: To describe the research that is being conducted . How do we get to this goal? We
can carry out observational studies or descriptive research.
Prediction: Predict worker productivity by giving them different exams, look at different
dimensions of their work, or look at success of students through their SAT or test scores. We use
correlational studies to make these predictions.
Explanation: We try to depict cause and effect relationships between our variables. Only
experimental research allows for this because it allows us to manipulate the variables.
Benefit of research:
Research methods allow people to research more about their professions
Makes one more intelligent and an effective research consumer
Development of critical thinking
Helps one become an authority on research and other topics
Empiricism - relying on observation to draw conclusions
Scientific approach:
Systematic empiricism - scientists structure their observations in a systematic way so they can
use them to draw valid conclusions about the world
Public Verification - carrying out research in such a way that it can be observed, verified, and
replicated by others. Two reasons:
oIt requires the phenomena scientists study are real and observable and not one person's
fabrication - gotten kidnapped by Bigfoot cannot be verified
oIt makes science self correcting - find faults in procedures, methodology errors
Solvable problems - scientists can only investigate those problems that are answerable given
current knowledge and research techniques
Most sayings we hear or read look true in hindsight even if they contradict each other. This is why we
need science because it helps us to avoid traps of common sense called pseudoscience.
Nonsystematic and non-empirical evidence - pseudoscientific data is not made from observation and we
cannot make valid conclusions from it because it is based on myths, anecdotes. Such evidence also
cannot be publicly verified and is not published in scientific journals. They also cannot be tested or
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refuted because people who believe in ESP refuse to test it in labs since it might compromise the ESP
ability in controlled environments.
Scientific Method: (HOMER)
H - Hypothesize: Testable prediction about what's going to happen in an "if-then" fashion. They should
be falsifiable (can be proven false with the right information). We can get these hypotheses from
previous observable facts (induction) but also derive them from theory (deduction) . Theory is a set of
logical propositions that attempts to specify interrelationships among set of concepts. It is more broad
and complex and not directly testable, unlike hypotheses. We test the hypotheses derived from our
theory to confirm/disconfirm the theory. Apriori are the explanations we have before going to test these
hypotheses and post hoc are the explanations we give after the test. We tend to trust the apriori
explanations more because those are the ones we will aim to test and focus on more as compared to
post hoc which we will only use to agree with the results, despite our beliefs.
Stereotype threat - when we are aware of a negative self-stereotype, it hinders our
performance. Eg: hypothesis - if women consider their gender, then their math performance will
suffer
O - Operationalize: We are making our concepts of interest testable. Conceptual definitions are abstract,
general, and not specific enough to conduct research on. Operational definitions are concrete, situation-
specific. Eg: aggression. Conceptual - Behavior intended to harm others. Operational - Ask them in form
of a questionnaire and scores would be considered operationalization. For stereotype threat, awareness
of stereotype (conceptual) -> gender related questionnaire (operational) OR stereotype relevant
performance (conceptual) -> 12 math questions (operational)
M - Measure: conduct our study
E - Evaluate: examine the data that we gather and engage in data analysis
R - Revise/Replicate: If hypothesis is supported, then we must replicate the study to confirm but if our
hypothesis is not supported, then we must revise our hypothesis or operational definition
Scientists discover and document new phenomenon, patterns, and relationships - researchers
need to collect data and test relations before building a hypothesis otherwise there will be no
viable theory.
Scientists' second job is to develop and evaluate the explanations they see - once they have
collected sufficient information, they can develop theories to explain the patterns they observe
and conduct research to test these theories
Theory - set of propositions that attempts to explain the relationships among a set of concepts
Model - tries to describe the relationships between variables whereas theory explains the relationships
Hypothesis - a prediction regarding the outcome of a study
Posthoc explanations - explanations made after data is collected and analyzed
Apriori - predictions made about the outcome of a study before collecting the data
Deduction - the process of reasoning from a general proposition to a specific implication of that
proposition
Induction - deriving a hypothesis from a collection of facts
Empirical generalizations - previously observed patterns of results
Empirical falsification - theories should be able to be proved false
Methodological pluralism - using many different methods and designs
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Document Summary
Most of these can be tested scientifically by carrying different observational experiments. However, they might influence each other for a long time because they are twins and thus, it would be difficult to nullify that effect. Some of these questions seem more scientific because they are falsifiable or actually give an answer. Psychology aims to study abc - affect, behavior, cognition. Wilhelm wundt - first research psychologist - first psychology lab in leipzig. Basic research - understand psychological processes and increase our knowledge. Evaluation research - use behavioral research to assess effect of social and institutional programs on behavior. Description: to describe the research that is being conducted . We can carry out observational studies or descriptive research. Prediction: predict worker productivity by giving them different exams, look at different dimensions of their work, or look at success of students through their sat or test scores. We use correlational studies to make these predictions.
