The Scientific Method
What is the scientific method?
a self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis
What is naturalistic observation?
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
What are case studies?
an observation technique in which one person is studied in the hope of revealing universal principles
What is correlational analysis?
measures the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well they predict each other
What is an experiment?
manipulation of one variable to observe the effect on another variable
What is a hypothesis?
a testable prediction often implied by a theory
What are some examples of a naturalistic observation?
watching a parent-child interaction through a camera, watching a wild bird through binoculars in it's natural habitat,
What is an example of a case study?
phineas gage, anna o, aaron hernandez, little hanz
What is the correlation coefficient and what is it's range?
the statistical index of the relationship between two factors (ranges from -1 to +1)
What is an independent/dependent/confounding variable?
independent-variable that is manipulated
dependent-the variable that is expected to be affected by the independent variable
confounding variable-any variable that affects the dependent variable other than the independent variable
What is an operational definition?
a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables.
define what behaviors of interest look topographically
What is ecological validity?
How accurately performance on a test implies the performance in real life? In naturalistic observation there is a high ecological validity.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of case studies?
benefits-focus on one case can give an extensive/detailed account of the phenomena of interest
drawbacks-anectodal evidence may not generalize to greater population
What is a scatter plot? What do the slopes and the scatter represent?
graphed cluster of dots representing the values of two variables. The scatter suggests the strength of the correlation while the slope indicates the direction of the relationship
what are the benefits/drawbacks of experiments?
benefits-can determine causation
drawbacks-can be expensive, might not be able to simulate natural environment
What is replication and why is it important?
repeating the fundamental aspects of a research study with different participants, different settings, etc., to see whether results will extend to those different circumstances
What are some advantages/disadvantages of naturalistic observation?
Advantages-targeted behaviour may only occur in natural environment
Disadvantages-can only describe rather than explain behavior because there is no experimental manipulation
Who are some psychologists who used case studies in developing their theories?
Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget
What are the benefits/drawbacks to correlational analysis?
Benefits-has predictive value
Drawbacks-do not imply causation, may imply 3rd variable
What does experimental control refer to?
The degree to which an researcher limits the effect of confounding/extraneous variables on the dependent variable.