Psychological Science
What are the three requirements in making a causal conclusion?
temporal precedence, covariation, and the ability to rule out alternative explanations
What is the difference between a variable and a constant?
variable must have at least 2 levels whereas a constant is a factor with 1 level in a given study
What types of claims does internal validity apply to?
causal claims and experimental studies
Why would a researcher preregister their study?
to increase their credibility and reduce bias
Recall the two types of variables. What type of variable is "age"?
measured
A researcher wants to evaluate the effectiveness of a school intervention by observing students in the classroom as naturalistically as possible. What concept related to external validity is this researcher emphasizing?
mundane realism
A psychologist theorizes that dreams are manifestations of individuals' subconscious and conscious conflicts with their caregivers from childhood. What dimension of a good theory does this theory lack?
falsifiability; possibly parsimony
A researcher replicates a study several times but only publishes the one in which the results supported their hypotheses. What fallacy does this represent?
confirmatory hypothesis testing
A researcher determines that, in their longitudinal study, 2/3 of children start walking before 12 months of age. What type of claim is this?
frequency
A school counselor starts to implement a self-esteem intervention that scientific evidence has repeatedly discredited. What scientific assumption does this practice violate?
evidence-based conclusions and practices
What is the difference between a conceptual variable and an operational definition?
a conceptual variable is defined at a theoretical/abstract level while an operational definition refers to the specific procedures, measurements, etc. related to the variable
A researcher studying attitudes about romantic relationships samples participants from a small university's undergraduate psychology courses in which students receive extra credit for participating. They conclude that the majority of young people in general would prefer to wait until their thirties before marrying. What type of validity do these results threaten?
external validity
A researcher is using what they know from the scientific literature about implicit biases to develop a method of assessing individuals' implicit biases that ultimately will be used with hiring personnel to hopefully detect discrimination in hiring practices. What type of research is being conducted?
translational
One of your friends believes "opposites attract," using another extremely introverted friend's successful relationship with her outgoing girlfriend as justification. Contrastingly, most research indicates "birds of a feather flock together" is a more appropriate aphorism. What type of fallacy is your friend a victim to?
availability heuristic
A researcher in New Orleans wants to study infants' behavior while being walked outside in their strollers. Data collection is to occur between January and August. What threat to validity does this experimental design introduce?
extraneous variable - the weather, clothing infants are wearing