Psychology 2070A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Pyotr Kapitsa, Cultural Anthropology, Operational Definition

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2070A/B
• Professor: Taylor Kohut

Document Summary

Social psychology is an empirical science with a well-developed set of methods to answer questions about social behaviour. Hindsight bias the tendency for people to exaggerate how much they could have predicted the outcome after knowing that it occurred. Theory an organized set of principles that can be used to explain observed phenomena. Hypothesis a testable statement or idea about the relationship between two or more variables. Operational definition the precise specification of how the variables are measured or manipulated. Observational method the technique whereby a researcher observes people and systematically records measurements of their behaviour. This method varies according to the degree to which the observer actively participates in the scene. At one extreme, the observer neither participates nor intervenes in any way; instead the observer is unobtrusive and tries to blend in with the scenery as much as possible.