Psychology
Chapter 2: Methods of Psychology
Textbook: Psychology (8th Edition) by Peter Gray & David F. Bjorklund
Vocabulary:
Observation: particular behaviors or reliable patterns of people or animals
Theory: an idea, or a conceptual model, that is designed to explain existing observations and make
predictions about new observations
Variable: anything that can change dierent values
Independent Variable: the variable that is hypothesized to cause an eect on another variable
Dependent variable: the variable that is hypothesized to be aected
Autism: a disorder characterized by a decit in the ability to perform emotional bonds and to
communicate with others. Can start before age 3.
Materialism: Hobbes's theory that nothing exists but matter and energy
Types of Research Strategies:
- research design includes experiments, correlational studies, and descriptive studies
Correlational study: a study in which the researcher does not manipulate any variable but observed or
measures two or more existing dependent variables and nd relationships
- correlation does not imply causality (can’t make real conclusions to correlation studies)
- data that is plotted in numeric outcomes are correlation coefficients
Descriptive study: describe the behavior of an individual or set of individuals without assessing
relationships between dierent variables
- some descriptive studies are narrow in focus, concentrating on one specic aspect of behavior
and others are broad, aiming to learn as much as possible about the habits of the particular
group
Research Settings:
- the setting in where the study is conducted, there are 2 types: eld and laboratory
Laboratory study: any research study in which the subjects are brought to a specially designated area
that has been set up to facilitate the researchers collection of data or control over environmental
conditions (where the researcher has control over the subjects experiences)
Pros: laboratory studies allows more data to be collected in more controlled and organized conditions
Cons: the articiality of the laboratory may create behaviors that conceal what the research wants to
study
Chapter 2: Methods of Psychology
Textbook: Psychology (8th Edition) by Peter Gray & David F. Bjorklund
Vocabulary:
Observation: particular behaviors or reliable patterns of people or animals
Theory: an idea, or a conceptual model, that is designed to explain existing observations and make
predictions about new observations
Variable: anything that can change dierent values
Independent Variable: the variable that is hypothesized to cause an eect on another variable
Dependent variable: the variable that is hypothesized to be aected
Autism: a disorder characterized by a decit in the ability to perform emotional bonds and to
communicate with others. Can start before age 3.
Materialism: Hobbes's theory that nothing exists but matter and energy
Types of Research Strategies:
- research design includes experiments, correlational studies, and descriptive studies
Correlational study: a study in which the researcher does not manipulate any variable but observed or
measures two or more existing dependent variables and nd relationships
- correlation does not imply causality (can’t make real conclusions to correlation studies)
- data that is plotted in numeric outcomes are correlation coefficients
Descriptive study: describe the behavior of an individual or set of individuals without assessing
relationships between dierent variables
- some descriptive studies are narrow in focus, concentrating on one specic aspect of behavior
and others are broad, aiming to learn as much as possible about the habits of the particular
group
Research Settings:
- the setting in where the study is conducted, there are 2 types: eld and laboratory
Laboratory study: any research study in which the subjects are brought to a specially designated area
that has been set up to facilitate the researchers collection of data or control over environmental
conditions (where the researcher has control over the subjects experiences)
Pros: laboratory studies allows more data to be collected in more controlled and organized conditions
Cons: the articiality of the laboratory may create behaviors that conceal what the research wants to
study
