Methods in Psychology - Methods of Explanation: Figuring out Why People do What they Do

13 important questions on Methods in Psychology - Methods of Explanation: Figuring out Why People do What they Do

What is the benefit of correlations?

They allow you to predict the value of one variable from the value of another without measuring

What is a natural correlation?

Correlations we observe in the world around us

What is the third variable problem?

the fact that the natural correlation between two variables cannot be taken as evidence of a causal relationship between them because a third variable might be causing them both
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What two factors are important for experiments?

Manipulation
random assignment

What are the three steps to establishing a causal relationship?

Manipulate the independent variable
measure the dependent variable
compare the variable in one condition with the variable in the other

Why do we use statistical testing?

To make sure that the difference between variables isn't due to chance

What restrictions do experiments have when making conclusions?
Representativeness restriction
____________
reliability restriction

generalizability restriction

The representativeness restriction says that how we define our _____impacts the _______ we can make about it (ex. Does media violence mean 2 hrs of gory axe murdering or 10 minutes of football?)

variable; conclusions

The generalizability restriction says that the conclusions drawn from the study are restricted to the _________ and can only be made about _________.

population from which the sample came from; the variable studied

Why are most psychological studies non-random?

Because it's impossible to randomly select everyone from everyone on Earth

Using a non-random sample not necessarily a fatal flaw because sometimes representativeness _____ and sometimes the representativeness of a sample is a _______.

doesn't matter; reasonable starting assumption

Sometimes the representativeness of a sample not matter because researchers want to know if ______ can do something (ie. It doesn't matter if everyone can)

anyone

What is a Type II error?

False negative; researchers conclude that there's no relationship between variables when there actually is one

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