Scientific Foundations & Thinking Traps
When reading an Instagram post claiming that a new herbal tea completely cures test anxiety, Clara doesn't just accept it. Instead, she checks the sample size of the study, looks for conflicting evidence, evaluates the biases of the company selling the tea, and asks alternative questions about the results.
What is Critical Thinking
Dr. Evans spends two full years tracking a single patient, G.W., who lost the ability to form new verbal
memories after a highly unusual brain injury. Dr. Evans conducts brain scans, interviews family members, and
records daily behavioural journals.
Case Study
A researcher discovers that as the number of books present in a child's home increases, the child's
standardized reading achievement test scores also tend to increase systematically
Correlation
What is the difference between Mean, Median, Mode and Range?
Mode- Most frequent number
Median- the middle or midpoint of data
Mean- the average of the data distribution
Range- scores from lowest to highest then subtract
To determine if a new app improves vocabulary, researchers split subjects into two random groups: one uses the app for 20 minutes, while the other reads a paper dictionary, controlling all other factors.
Experiment
Before the AP Physics exam, Jackson is incredibly nervous and tells his friends he is terrified he might fail. After receiving a top score of 5 a few weeks later, Jackson exclaims, 'I knew all along I was going to crush that exam! It was completely obvious!'
What is Hindsight Bias
For her sociology unit, Chloe sits inconspicuously on a bench at the local shopping mall food court, counting
how many teenagers clean up their trays versus leaving their trash on the tables. She never interacts with the subjects.
Naturalistic Observation
After analyzing data tracking exercise time and body fat percentages, a statistician calculates a precise
mathematical value of r = -0.74, indicating a strong inverse relationship.
Correlation Coefficient
Difference between Informed Consent and Informed Assent?
Informed Consent- participants 18 and older re given enough details about a study to choose freely whether they want to participate.
Informed Assent- is the explicit, voluntary agreement given by a minor or non-legal guardian to participate in research, alongside legal parental consent.
What is a Placebo and How do you know if the Placebo Effect is in play?
Placebo- A placebo is an inactive substance or fake treatment given to the control group, designed
to look identical to the active independent variable being tested.
Placebo Effect- participant's behavioral or physical expectations cause an effect, despite receiving an entirely inert or inactive substance.
Sarah skims through her psychology flashcards for 15 minutes and feels completely certain she will get a 100% on the upcoming Unit Zero test. However, during the actual assessment, she struggles significantly and scores
a 72%.
What is Overconfidence
The high school student council emails an digital questionnaire containing multiple-choice options to all 2,000 enrolled students to ask about their preferences for the upcoming homecoming dance theme and music playlist.
Survey
A baseball pitcher firmly believes that whenever he eats a spicy chicken sandwich exactly two hours before a game, his team wins. He ignores the many times they lost after he ate the sandwich
Illusory Correlation
Give an example of how research would be completed for Qualitative and Quantitative Research?
Qualitative- Interviews, descriptive diaries, and behavioral transcripts
Quantitative- Scales, Graphing, plotting points, numerical data sheets
What is the difference between a single blind procedure vs a double blind procedure?
Single Blind- the participants are kept completely unaware of whether they are receiving the active experimental treatment or a baseline control.
Double Blind- keeps both the research participants and the data-collecting staff ignorant about who received the treatment or placebo, neutralising bias.
Dr. Patel completes a groundbreaking laboratory experiment on sleep deprivation and memory. Before any scientific journal agrees to publish her paper, three independent, anonymous neuroscientists rigorously evaluate her methodology, statistical calculations, and ethical compliance.
What is Peer Reviewers
For his psychology project due tomorrow morning, Mason stands right outside his own classroom door during his lunch period and surveys the first fifteen friends who happen to walk past him.
Convenience Sampling
Mia creates a graph where the horizontal X-axis represents daily screen time and the vertical Y-axis represents depression scores, plotting each student's data as a single isolated dot.
Scatterplot
A study yields a calculated p-value of p = 0.02, indicating there is only a 2% chance that the observed
differences between the groups happened due to random luck or chance.
What is this and what is the decimal (percentage) needed for P/R value
Statistical Significance
R/P= 0.05
What is the specific difference between an Independent Variable and Dependent Variable?
IV-is the experimental factor that is actively manipulated or changed by the researcher to examine its downstream effects
DV- is the specific outcome factor being measured; it is the behavior or mental process that changes in response to the independent variable.
Based on hundreds of past behavioral studies, environmental psychologists propose a comprehensive
framework stating that highly cluttered internal spaces cause significant increases in human cortisol levels,
leading directly to elevated chronic stress.
What is Theory
What is the difference between a Random Sample and a Random Assignment?
Random Sample- A random sample ensures that every individual member of the entire target population has an equal, unbiased chance of being selected for the research study.
Random Assignment- Random assignment uses chance to place subjects into experimental/control groups, minimizing pre-existing differences between groups before testing begins.
An athlete who normally averages 15 points per game scores an incredible 38 points on Thursday. In the next
three subsequent games, her scoring performance drops right back down to 16, 14, and 15 points.
Regression Toward The Mean
Create a Bell "Normal" curve and label these parts:
The mean/Percentile
The Standard Deviations (+/-)
Percentage per standard deviationMean: 0 or 50th percentile
Standard Deviation= -1,-2,-3 0 ,1,2,3
Percentage per SD: 1=68% 2=95% 3=99%When do you decide whether to put a participant into a Experimental vs a Control Group?
Experimental Group-The experimental group consists of the participants who are exposed to the independent variable or the specific version of the treatment being evaluated.
Control Group- The control group is composed of participants who do not receive the experimental
treatment, serving as a vital baseline for evaluating the treatment's true effect.