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225 Exam #1
Terms for exam 1
83
Psychology
Undergraduate 3
09/30/2011

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Cards

Term

Conflicts of the Nature of Science:   

  

Definition
There have been conflicts b/w religion and science in past and there are still conflicts w/ science in present day (not necessarily w/ religion).  Examples:  Media (the commercialization of science, advertising, etc), courts and legal system (“expert” testimony, eyewitness, etc), government and politics (global warming controversy, science becoming political.)
Term

Science as attitudes: 

Definition

1.    Empiricism (look and see)

2.    Control

3.    Precision/Accuracy

4.    Honesty/Truthfulness

5.    Critical/Skeptical

6.    Curiosity/openness

7.    Parsimony (minimalizing)

8.    Abstractness (generalizations)

9.    Deterministic

10. Neutrality/Objectivity

11.Publicness

12.Cumulative Enterprise (standing on the shoulders of giants)

13.Rational/Logical/Reasoned

14.Testable/Rigorously Evaluated

15.Practical/Applied (there is a need for both)

Term

Empiricism:

Limits?:


Definition

Observable, look and see attitude of science. 


Observations can be distorted.  Accuracy, selectivity and bias are all issues.  Science probably shouldn’t be based solely on observables. 

Term
Scientific Control:
Definition
Used in manipulation of IV’s, randomizing of subjects, double blind experiments, and environmental controls.
Term
Precision/Accuracy:
Definition

Validity and reliability. Instrumentation, operational definitions, etc. Limits --- differences in operational definitions.

Term
Operational Definition: Limits?: 
Definition

A precise specification of procedures used in an experiment.  (of manipulations and measures). 


Equivalence of construct and OD, not always in line.  

Term
Honesty/Truthfulness
Definition
The falsification of data is the “cardinal sin” of science, though there are some prominent examples.  Honesty is the assumed procedure.
Term
Critical/Skeptical: 
Definition

Be skeptical of things that seem out of typical realm of possibility.

Term
Curiosity/Openness: 
Definition
This attitude can sometimes conflict with skeptical attitude.  Be open to new ideas and willing to study them.
Term
Serendipity:  
Definition
When you find something interesting to study, drop everything and study it.
Term
Prevailing Theory:
Definition

May constrict openness.  Don’t want to deviate from the accepted theory.

Term
Parsimony:
Definition
Occams razor (simplest theory is best).  Minimal theorizing.
Term
Abstractness:
Definition
Generalizations.  Law of large numbers, value of group data, etc helps to develop generalizable theories and findings.
Term
Determinsm:
Definition
Searching for orderly causes and predictability.  Everything has a cause.  Physical causes for psychological processes.
Term
Neutrality/Objectivity
Definition
Desire to minimize bias.  Problem with sponsorship; creates vested interests which creates bias.
Term
Publicness
Definition
Scientists should be willing to share their findings and place them up for public scrutiny (peer review, replication, etc)
Term

Peer Review


Definition
Allowing peers in the scientific community to review and make suggestions to experiments, design, etc.
Term
Public Ownership
Definition

This is controversial with so many research projects being funded by corporations, people patenting their findings, university research parks, etc.

Term
Cumulative/Sequential:
Definition
We should strive to stand on the shoulders of giants.  Utilizing literature and theory, meta-analysis, self correcting, etc.
Term
Rational/Logical:
Definition
Tied with the skeptical attitude.  Hypothesis are stronger when supported/interwoven with other theories or rational explanation.
Term
Testable:
Definition

The “show me” attitude.  Seeking confirmation.

Term
Basic Research:
Definition
Research on the basics of a theory or a subject.  Not conducted for specific outcomes; done to increase and expand general knowledge.
Term
Applied Science:
Definition
Research done for specific outcomes.  More “practical” in eye of the public.  Want immediate benefit.
Term
Primary Sources:
Definition
Sources where studies were first published.  Journals, conference reports, presentations, poster sessions, review articles, books, etc.
Term
Review Article:
Definition
Psych Bulletin, Psych review, Annual Review of Psychology
Term
Meta-analysis:
Definition
A statistical compilation/combination of prior publications.
Term
Box Score Tactic:
Definition
A form of literature review; going through past articles and recording how many succeeded and how many didn’t.
Term
Effect Size:
Definition
Standardized measure of treatment effect.  The difference between means from different conditions.
Term
Mean Effect Size
Definition
Shows how much the treatment helped/harmed.  Relates to the standard deviation. (eg: Mean of .5 means the treatment improved/harmed by half a standard deviation.)
Term
File Drawer Problem
Definition
People tend to shove studies to the side of the bottom of their file drawers when they fail to find significance, don’t support the hypothesis, or are rejected for publication.  (this particularly creates problems for meta-analysis ---a treatment may be seen as more effective simply because studies that DON’T support the treatment don’t get published. 
Term
Forward Search:
Definition

Using PsychInfo, find and article and look to see how many times it has been cited.  By following up with those articles, we have a better understanding of how the research has progressed, what new things have been found, etc.

Term
Descriptive Statistics:
Definition
Term
Statistic:
Definition
Characteristics of the sample.
Term
Parameter:
Definition

Characteristics of the population.

Term
Sample:
Definition
All people who participated in a study w/in a population.  (Hopefully representative of the population.)
Term
Population:
Definition
A larger group. 
Term
Parameter:
Definition

Characteristics of the population.

Term
Standard Deviation:
Definition

Indicates how variable the data is. (s)

Term
Variance:
Definition
The squared standard deviation.  The average of the squared differences from the mean.
Term
z score:
Definition
Standardized score in standard deviation units (-2, -1, +1, +2, etc)
Term
Null Hypothesis:
Definition
The prediction if the treatment is not significant.  Status quo.
Term
Sampling distribution:
Definition

Shows us the pattern outcomes if things happen by chance. 

Term

Central Limit Theorem:


Definition
Specifies the nature of the sampling distribution.  Middle is at zero, variability is caused by standard error, and the shape should typically be normal.
Term
Standard error:
Definition

The standard deviation of the sampling distribution.

Term
Shape of Sampling Distribution:
Definition
Should be normal ( a bell curve shape).
Term
Significance:
Definition
A study has significance when the results are unlikely to have happened by chance.
Term
p<.05
Definition

There is a 5% chance that the results are due to chance.

Term
t ratio:
Definition

A standardized score, indicating the location of the studies outcome in the sampling distribution.  Found by dividing treatment effect by random error.

Term
Type 1 error
Definition
Saying that a treatment was significant when it was actually due to error.  Probability of committing Type I error is set by the level of alpha.
Term
Type II error:
Definition

Saying that a treatment was not significant when it actually was.  Probability of type II error increases when alpha is too small/power is too small.  Probability of type II error decreases when number of participants increases.

Term
Alpha:
Definition
Probability level for type I error.
Term
Beta:
Definition
 Defines the probability of type II error.
Term
Power:
Definition
1 - beta.  probability of detecting a significant effect when there actually IS one.  When power increases, probability of type II error decreases.
Term
Underpowered research:
Definition
When research is underpowered, the chance of type II error increases, making it more likely that the researchers won’t detect a significant effect, even when one is present.
Term
Independent groups:
Definition

when there is more than one group in a research study.  These groups are composed of different participants and are not linked to each other in any way.

Term
Repeated Measures:
Definition

When multiple measures are conducted using the same group of participants.  Ex: A pre-test and a post-test in a study.  Advantages:using the same participants eliminates individual differences and decreases error.

 

 

Term
ANOVA:
Definition

Analysis of Variance.  Compares multiple means and uses variance estimates to test for significance.

Term
Partitioning of variance:
Definition
ANOVA finds the total variance and splits it depending on which method is being used.  With independent groups, total variance is partitioned between Treatment variance and error variance.  In a repeated measures ANOVA the total variance is s[lit by treatment variance, subjects variance, and error variance.  In a two way ANOVA, variance is partitioned by the main effect of factor A, Factor B, the interaction of A and B, and error.
Term
Treatment varience:
Definition
The variance among means (between treatment condition and control condition, etc).
Term
Error Variance:
Definition
The variability with groups (differences between participants, environment, etc).
Term
F ratio:
Definition
Treatment variance divided by error variance.  There is a sampling distribution for F ratios – skewed to one side (?)
Term
Main Effect:
Definition
Shows whether a single variable had an effect on its own, apart from other variables.
Term
Interaction:
Definition

Shows whether multiple variables have an effect when paired together.

Term
Subject variance:
Definition
Variance between participants in a study.  Comes out of the error variance. (repeated measures ANOVA)
Term
Post hoc tests:
Definition
Statistical post test analysis that looks for patterns and relationships that would not typically be detected in the original statistical analysis.
Term
Alpha inflation:
Definition
When you conduct multiple tests, all with an alpha of p<.05, chances of committing type I error increases dramatically.
Term
Bonferroni Adjustment:
Definition
Dividing the alpha level by the number of tests conducted.  Eg:Two tests = .05/2 = .025.
Term
Tukey test:
Definition
Post hoc test which separates means to see which means are significantly different from one another.  A fairly conservative post hoc test.
Term
Homoeneity of variance:
Definition
The assumption that the variance within groups is equal.  (assumption of ANOVA).
Term
Directional test:
Definition
Called a one tail test because all of the error is placed at one end of the distribution.
Term
Construct validity:
Definition
Degree to which a study is actually studying the variables it claims to be studying.
Term
Internal Validity:
Definition

Degree to which a study can legitimately cause-effect statements.

Term
External Validity:
Definition
Degree to which results can be generalized to different people, settings and times.
Term
Constructs:
Definition

Characteristics of individuals that can’t be directly observed, such as mental states, traits, abilities, and intentions.

Term
Top down theories:
Definition
Emphasis on theory with less emphasis on data.  These are typically large scale theories.
Term
Bottom up theories:
Definition

Making sense of tons of data and formulating a small theory.  Less emphasis on the theory, more emphasis on the data. (“mini-theories”)

Term
Induction:
Definition
Part of the traditional model of theory constructs.  The “feedback” stage after data collection.
Term
Deduction:
Definition

The hypothesis testing stage of the traditional model of theory constructs.

Term
Moderator:
Definition
 A variable that intensifies, weakens, or reverses the relationship between the IV and the DV.  It alters the relationship between the IV and the DV.
Term
Mediators:
Definition
Variables that intervene between the IV and the DV.  Could be cognitive, physiological processes, etc that intervene between input and output.
Term
Generalizations:
Definition
One of the functions of theory. Must be able to demonstrate that operational definitions are representative of broader  constructs.
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