3.01 Psychology as a Science

confirmation bias

makes researchers more likely to ignore data that force them to contradict their preexisting notions.

DISadvantages of naturalistic observation?

� behavior of the participants can be contrived, due to the observer effect (correct answer)
� observer bias (correct answer, your response)
� naturalistic settings are unique and might have differences from one another (correct answer, your response)

DISadvantages of laboratory observation?

� the artificial lab environment might result in artificial bheaviors (correct answer, your response)
� observer bias (correct answer, your response)

DISadvantages of case studies?

� the results are unique to one individual, and so findings in one case study cannot always be generalized to others (correct answer, your response)
� detailed observation is vulnerable to observer bias (correct answer, your response)

DISadvantages of surveys?

� it can be challenging to get a representative sample (correct answer, your response)
� people often misremember or misrepresent themselves (correct answer, your response)
� courtesy bias (correct answer, your response)

courtesy bias

occurs in surveys when participants respond inaccurately to avoid being offensive

observer effect

process wherein animals or people who know they are being watched will not behave normally

participant observation

technique where in a researcher participates in the group she is observing

observer bias

occurs when a person recognizes only those actions that support the preconceived expectation, and ignores contradictory actions

representative sample

a randomly selected group large enough to produce reliable data

To avoid the __________ effect, a researcher must often remain _________ from view.

observer, hidden

To avoid _________ bias, a research project should use
___________ observers, who do not know what the research question is, and thus have no bias. Also, multiple observers should be used.

observer, blind

Two methods that allow researchers to know more than just a description of something

correlations and experiments

Correlation technique

looks for patterns
measure of the relationship between two or more variables. It's always between -1 and 1.

correlation coefficient

r, measures the direction of a relationship and its strength

r is near 0

weak relationship between variables

experiment

only research method that allows a researcher to determine the cause of a behavior.

confounding variable

blurs the relationship between independent and dependent variables.

random assignment

each participant should have an equal change of being assigned to any experimental or control group.

double-blind study

neither participants nor experimenters know what group participants have been assigned to

experimenter effect

results when a researcher inadvertently affects the outcome of an experiment because of her expectations

placebo

a substitute for a treatment that has no medical effect

single-blind study

participants don't know what group (experimental or control) they've been assigned to, but researchers do

placebo effect

improvement in a patient due to how the participant believes a treatment should work