Experimental Psychology RBE

Chapter 1 rational. It should also follow the rules of

parsimony (Occam's razor).
Commonsense Psychology- nonscientific
Parsimony- an aspect of good thinking,
data gathering that shapes our expectations
stating that simplest explanation is
and beliefs and directs our behavior
preferred until ruled out by conflicting
towards others.
evidence.
Confirmation Bias- tend to overlook
Self-correction- Modern scientists should
instances that might disconfirm our beliefs
accept the uncertainty of their own
and seek, instead, confirmatory instances of
conclusions. The contents of science
behavior. (need evidences)
changes as we acquire new scientific
explanations.
Overconfidence Bias- overly hold that our
predictions, guesses and explanations are
Publicizing Results- A continuous exchange
more correct than they actually are. (no
of information is vital to the scientific
evidences needed)
process.
Systematic Observable- visible behavior in
Replication- Research procedures should be
relation to visible values of the environment.
repeatable and they should have the same
results.
Scientific Method- steps (scientist) take to
gather and verify information, answer
questions, explain relationships, and Objectives of Psychological Science
communicate this information to others.
DESCRIPTION- It is a systematic and
Characteristics of Modern Science unbiased account of the observed
characteristics of behavior.
Gathering Empirical Data- data that is
EXPLANATION- Includes knowledge of the
observable or experienced.
conditions that reliably reproduce the
occurrence of a behavior.
Seeking General Principles (disconfirms
theories)- can observe countless behaviors
PREDICTION- Refers to the capacity of
and situations, but these will be useless
knowing in advance when certain behaviors
without structuring them.
are expected to occur.
Laws- when these principles have the
CONTROL- Using available knowledge to
generality to apply to all situations;
effect change or improve behavior.
applicable to anyone.
APPLIED RESEARCH- Research that is
Theory- advance understanding by devising
designed to solve real-world problems.
and testing an interim explanation; well
supported; explanation of observation; can
BASIC RESEARCH- Research designed to
be applicable to anyone but not others.
test theories or to explain psychological
phenomena.
Good Thinking- The approach to the
collection and interpretation of data should
be ALWAYS systematic, objective, and
 Experimental Psychology RBE
Antecedent Conditions- the circumstances Risk/benefit Analysis- a determination,
that come before the event or behavior that made by an IRB, that any risks to the
we want to explain. individual are outweighed by potential
benefits or the importance of the knowledge
Tools of Psychological Science to be gained.

Observation- systematic recording and Chapter 3

noting of events.
Non Experimental Design- methods used in
Measurement- noting of events. a natural setting and in which there is no
Assignment of numerical values to objects manipulation of antecedent conditions.
or events or their characteristics according
to conventional rules. Internal Validity- the extent to which the
study establishes that the cause of a
Experimentation- a process undertaken to behavior is the treatment presented.
test a hypothesis that particular events will
occur reliably in certain, specifiable External Validity- the applicability of the
situations. research to people and situations outside
the research.
Pseudoscience- a field of study that gives
the appearance of being scientific but has Phenomenological- a nonexperimental
no true scientific basis and has not been method of gathering data by attending to
confirmed using the tools of the scientific and describing one’s own immediate
method; observation, measurement, and experience.
experimentation.
Archival Study- a descriptive method in
Chapter 2 which already existing records are
reexamined for a new purpose.
Institutional Review Board (IRB)- to evaluate
proposed studies before they are Case Studies- descriptive record of an
conducted. individual’s experiences, behaviors, or both
kept by an outside observer.
Informed Consent- means that the subject
agrees to participate after having been fully Retrospective Data- data collected in the
informed about the nature of the study. present based on recollections of past
events; apt to be inaccurate because of
Ethics- set of standards of principles. faulty memory, bias, mood, and situation.

Privacy- freedom of an individual to pick and Deviant Case Analysis- a form of case study
choose for himself whether he disclose or in which deviant individuals are compared
withhold any attitudes or beliefs and with those who are not to identify the
opinion. significant differences between them.

Confidentiality- controls the protection Field Studies- nonexperimental research

against the unauthorized disclosure of method used in the field or in real-life
information. setting, typically employing a variety of
techniques, including naturalistic
observation and unobtrusive measures or
 Experimental Psychology RBE
survey tools, such as questionnaires and Level of Measurements- type of scale of
interviews. measurements—ratio, nominal, ordinal or
interval— used to measure a variable.
Naturalistic Observation- technique of
observing events as they occur in their Nominal Scale- the simplest level of
natural settings (is a common component of measurements; classifies items into two or
field research) more distinct categories on the basis of
some common feature.
Participant-observer Study- the research
may interact with subjects as well as Ordinal Scale- measure of magnitude in
observe them to obtain information which each value is measured in the form of
ranks.
Reactivity- tendency of subjects to alter
their behavior or responses when they are Interval Scale- measurements of magnitude,
aware of the presence of an observer. or quantitative size, having equal intervals
between values but no true zero point.
Unobtrusive Measure- procedure used to
assess subjects’ behavior without their Ratio Scale- measure of magnitude having
knowledge; used to obtain more objective equal intervals between values and having
data. an absolute zero point.

Chapter 4 Representativeness- extent to which the

sample responses we observe and measure
Survey (research)- useful way of obtaining reflect those we would obtain if we could
data about people’s opinions, attitudes, sample the entire population. (fairness)
preferences, and experiences that are hard
to observe directly; data may be obtained Sampling- deciding who the subjects will be
using questionnaires or interviews. and selecting them.

Context Effects- effects produced by the Reliability- extent to which a survey is

position of a question; where it falls within consistent and repeatable.
the question order can influence how the
question is interpreted. Validity- extent to which a survey actually
measures the intended topic and not
Value-laden Questions- do not word the something else.
questions in a way that would make a
positive (or negative) response seem Probability Sampling- selecting samples in
embarrassing or undesirable. such a way that the odds of any subject
being selected for the study are known or
Position Preferences- when in doubt about can be calculated.
answers to multiple-choice questions, some
people always select A response in a certain Nonprobability Sampling- sampling
position, such as answer C. procedures in which subjects are not
chosen at random; two common examples
Buffer Items- questions unrelated to either are quota and convenience samples.
of the related questions
Simple Random Sampling- most basic form
of probability sampling whereby a portion of
 Experimental Psychology RBE
the whole population is selected in an Chapter 5
unbiased way.
Correlation- degree of relationship between
Systematic Random Sampling- variation of two traits, behaviors, or events, represented
random sampling in which a researcher by r ; when two things are correlated,
selects every Nth person from the changes in one are associated with the
population. changes in another; predict variables to
another variables;(once the correlation is
Cluster Sampling- form of probability known, it can be used to make predictions).
sampling in which a researcher samples
entire clusters, or naturally occurring Correlation Coefficient- used to measure
groups, that exist within the population. how strong the relationship is between
variables; usually presented as Person r; the
Stratified Sampling- form of probability value of correlation can range from -1.00 to
sample obtained by randomly sampling +1.00
from people in each important population
subgroup in the same proportion as they Negative Correlation ( — )- relationship
exist in the population. existing between two variables such that an
increase in one is associated with a
Quota Sampling- selecting samples through decrease in the other; inversely proportional
predetermined quotas that are intended to
reflect the makeup of the population; they Positive Correlation ( + )- relationship
can reflect the proportions of important between two measures such that an
population subgroups, but the particular increase in the value of one is associated
individuals are not selected at random with an increase in the value of the other;
directly proportional
Convenience Sampling- obtained by using
any groups who happen to be convenient; Scatterplots- visual representations of the
considered a weak form of sampling scores belonging to each subject in the
because the researcher exercises no control study.
over the representativeness of the sample
(also called accidental sampling). Regression Lines (or lines of the best fits)-
Purposive Sampling- selection of lines drawn in a scatterplot
nonrandom samples that reflects a specific
purpose of the study; participants have a Simple Correlation- relationships between
qualification or requirement; criteria. pairs of scores from each subject

Snowballing Sampling- form of probability Multiple Correlation- statistical

sampling in which a researcher locates one intercorrelations among three or more
or a few people who fit the sample criterion behaviors, represented by R.
and asks these to locate or lead the
researcher to additional individuals who fit Quasi-experimental Designs- often seem like
the criteria; referrals from other subjects. (as the prefix quasi-implies) real
experiments, but they lack one or more of
its essential elements, such as manipulation
of antecedents and random assignment to
treatment conditions; investigates
differences in pre existing groups of
 Experimental Psychology RBE
subjects with no manipulations of measurable; educated guess; (if… then
antecedents conditions and random format)
assignment; comparing people exposed to a
naturally occurring events with a Synthetic Statement- statements that can
comparison groups; subjects are exposed to be either true or false, a condition necessary
different treatments but the researcher can to form an experimental hypothesis.
exert control on who receives a certain
treatment; establish causality but we do not Analytic Statement- statement is always
manipulate. true.

Ex post facto study (after the fact)- study in Contradictory Statement- statement that is
which a researcher systematically examines always false.
the effects of pre-existing subject
characteristics (often called subject Testable Statement- statement that can be
variables) without manipulations; selecting tested because the means exist for
subjects on the basis of differences that manipulating antecedent conditions and for
already exist. measuring the resulting behavior; supported
by data; measurable or quantifiable.
Non equivalent Group Design
(between-group study)- design in which the Falsifiable Statement- statement that is
researcher compares the effects of different worded so that it is falsifiable, or
treatment conditions on pre-existing groups disprovable, by experimental results.
of participants
Fruitful Statement- statement that leads to
Longitudinal Design- method in which the new studies.
same group of subjects is followed and
measured at different points in time; a Parsimonious Statement- statement that is
method that looks for changes across time. simple and does not require many
supporting assumptions.
Cross sectional Design- method in which
different groups of subjects who are at Inductive Model- the process of reasoning
different stages are measured at a single from specific cases to more general
point in time; a method that looks for principles to form a hypothesis.
time-related changes.
Deductive Model- the process of reasoning
Pretest/Posttest Design- research design from general principles to specific
used to assess whether the occurrence of instances; most useful for testing the
an event alters behaviors; scores from principles of a theory.
measurements made before and after the
event (called pretest and posttest) are Serendipity- knack of finding things that are
compared. not being sought.

Chapter 6 Intuition- development of ideas from

hunches; knowing directly without
Hypothesis- thesis, or main idea, of an reasoning from objective data; closest to
experiment or study consisting of a phenomenology.
statement that predicts the relationship
between at least two variables; can be
 Experimental Psychology RBE

Chapter 7 Reliability- consistency and dependability of

experimental procedures and
Independent Variable ( IV )- variable measurements.
(antecedent condition) that the experimenter
intentionally manipulates. Interitem Reliability- degree to which
different items measuring the same variable
Dependent Variable ( DV )- specific behavior attain consistent results.
that a researcher tries to explain in an
experiment; the variable that is measured. Interrater Reliability- degree of agreement
among different observers or raters.
Levels of the Independent Variable- two or
more values of the independent variable Test-retest Reliability- consistency between
manipulated successfully. an individual’s scores on the same test
taken at two or more different times.
Validity- soundness of an operational
definition; in experiments, the principle of Maturation Threat- a threat to internal
actually studying the variables intended to validity produced by internal (physical or
be manipulated or measured. psychological) changes in subjects.

Concurrent Validity- degree to which scores Operational Definition- specification of the

on the measuring instruments correlate with precise meaning of a variable within an
another known standard for measuring the experiment; defines a variable in terms of
variable being studied. observable operations, procedures, and
measurements.
Construct Validity- degree to which an
operational definition accurately represents Confounding- an error that occurs when the
the construct it is intended to manipulate or value of an extraneous variable changes
measure. systematically along with the independent
variable in an experiment; an alternative
Content Validity- degree to which the explanation for the finding that threatens
content of a measure reflects the content of internal validity.
what is being measured.
Extraneous Variable- a variable other than
Face Validity- degree to which a an independent or dependent variable; a
manipulation or measurement technique is variable that is not the focus of an
self-evident. experiment but can produce effects on the
dependent variable if not controlled.
Internal Validity- certainty that the changes
in behavior observed across treatment Chapter 8
conditions in the experiment were actually
caused by the independent variable. Balancing- a technique used to control the
impact of extraneous variables by
Predictive Validity- degree to which a distinguishing their effects equally across
measuring instrument yields information treatment conditions.
allowing prediction of actual behavior or
performance. Constancy of Conditions- a control
procedure used to avoid confounding;
keeping all aspects of the treatment
 Experimental Psychology RBE
conditions identical except for the conditions they are in; a procedure used to
independent variable that is being control demand characteristics.
manipulated.
Social Variables- qualities of the
Cover Story- a plausible but false relationships between subjects and
explanation of the procedures in an experimenters that can influence the results
experiment told to disguise the actual of an experiment.
research hypothesis so that subjects will
not guess what it is. Chapter 9
Demand Characteristics- the aspects of the
experimental situation itself that demand or Between-subjects Design- a design in which
elicit particular behaviors; can lead to different subjects take part in each
distorted data by compelling subjects to condition of the experiment.
produce responses that conform to what
subjects believe is expected of them in the Control Group- subjects in a control
experiment. condition.

Double-blind Experiment- an experiment in Control Condition- condition in which

which neither the experimenter nor the subjects receive zero value of the
subjects know which treatment condition independent variable.
the subjects are in; used to control
experimenter bias. Experimental Group- subjects in an
experimental condition
Elimination- a technique to control
extraneous variables by removing them Experimental Condition- a treatment
from an experiment condition in which the researcher applies a
particular value of an independent variable
Experimenter Bias- any behavior of the to subjects and then measures the
experimenter that can create confounding in dependent variable; in an experimental
an experiment. group—control group design, the group that
receives some value of the independent
Personality Variables- personal variable.
characteristics that an experimenter or
volunteer subject brings to the experimental Precision Matching- creating pairs whose
setting. subjects have identical scores on the
matching variable.
Physical Variables- aspects of the testing
conditions that need to be controlled. Random Assignment- technique of
assigning subjects to treatments so that
Placebo effect- results of giving subjects a each subject has an actual chance of being
pill, injection, or other treatment that assigned to each treatment condition.
actually contains none of the independent
variable; the treatment elicits a change in Factorial Design- an experimental design in
subjects’ behavior simply because subjects which more than one independent variable
expect an effect to occur. is manipulated.

Single-blind Experiment- an experiment in Within-subjects Design- a design in which

which subjects are not told which treatment each subject takes part in more than one
 Experimental Psychology RBE
condition of the experiment; also called a
repeated-measures design.

Within-subjects factorial design- a factorial

design in which subjects receive all
conditions in the experiment.