PSYC 2510 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Frequency Distribution, Social Desirability Bias, Syphilis

• School: York University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2510
• Professor: Agnieszka Kopinska

Document Summary

Chapter 2 notes: the research enterprise in psychology. Idea is that once people understand a phenomenon, they often can exert more control over it: psychologists hope that their research can help people. Theory a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations: to understand behaviors better scientists come up with theories, theories permit psychologists to make the leap from description of behavior to understanding. Operational definition des(cid:272)(cid:396)i(cid:271)es the a(cid:272)tio(cid:374)/ope(cid:396)atio(cid:374)s that"ll (cid:271)e used to measure/control variable. Key data collection techniques in psychology table on page 45. Advantages in the scientific approach: clarity and p(cid:396)e(cid:272)isio(cid:374) (cid:271)/(cid:272) it (cid:396)e(cid:395)ui(cid:396)es people to spe(cid:272)if(cid:455) e(cid:454)a(cid:272)tl(cid:455) (cid:449)hat the(cid:455)"(cid:396)e talki(cid:374)g about, relative intolerance of error. An experiment is a research method where investigators manipulate a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observe whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result: powerful procedure that allows researchers to detect cause-and-effect relationships.