Scientific Methood
Know the theory
What is the first step of the scientific method?
An organized set of principles that describes, predicts, and explains a phenomenon.
What is a theory?
Descriptive, correlational, and experimental.
What are the three major study approaches?
The relationship between two variables.
What does a correlation measure?
The variable manipulated by the researcher.
What is an independent variable?
You gain more confidence in the theory.
What happens if your predictions are confirmed?
It must be possible to prove it wrong with evidence.
What makes a theory falsifiable?
To describe how people and animals behave in natural settings.
What is the goal of descriptive research?
-1.00 to +1.00.
What is the range of the correlation coefficient?
The variable measured to assess the effect of the independent variable.
What is a dependent variable?
Know theory, formulate hypothesis, design study, collect data, analyze data, disseminate results.
What are the six steps of the ideal scientific method?
Frustration-Aggression Theory; Hypothesis: People stuck in traffic will be more likely to use obscene hand gestures.
Give an example of a theory and hypothesis.
To ensure that participants are equally distributed across conditions, increasing internal validity.
What is the purpose of random assignment?
Because it only shows an association, not directionality or causality.
Why can't correlation prove causation?
they manipulate variables while controlling for other factors.
Why do experiments allow causal conclusions?
It allows others to evaluate, replicate, and build on your findings.
Why is it important to disseminate results?
It should be as simple as possible while still explaining the phenomenon.
What does it mean for a theory to be parsimonious?
reduces bias by keeping both participants and researchers unaware of group assignments.
How does a double-blind procedure improve internal validity
When an unmeasured third factor affects both variables, causing a spurious relationship.
What is the third-variable problem?
They often have low external validity because they occur in controlled environments.
What is one disadvantage of experimental methods?
They may run more studies or consider major modifications to the theory.
What do researchers do if predictions are not confirmed?
A theory that inspires new research and hypotheses.
What is a generative theory?
Descriptive methods observe and describe behavior, while experimental methods manipulate variables to determine causation.
What is the main difference between descriptive and experimental methods?
Which correlation is the strongest: r = .23, r = -.80, r = .05
r = -.80.
To determine how changes in the independent variable affect the dependent variable.
What is the purpose of manipulating conditions in an experiment?