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PSY 2174 Final Exam Questions And
Correct Answers
Module 1: The Scientific Study of Behaviour - answer Way of acquiring knowledge - answer - Intuition
- Authority
- The Scientific Method Intuition (Way of acquiring knowledge) - answer Anecdotes, personal experience, opinion No critical thinking Authority (Way of acquiring knowledge) - answer Trust in experts or those in power No critical thinking Scientific Method (Way of acquiring knowledge) - answer Scientists do not accept knowledge from intuition or authority without evidence Why use the Scientific Method? - answer - An objective, systematic way to collect, evaluate, and report information about a phenomenon (reduces bias)
- Poses empirical questions that can be answered through structured observation (empirical questions are falsifiable: can be shown to be false or refuted) Scientific skepticism (Scientific Method) - answer Questioning the truth of information and seeking out evidence Empiricism (Scientific Method) - answer Gaining knowledge based on structured, systematic observations Goals of Psychological Research - answer - Describe
- Predict
- Determine causes
- Explain
Describing behaviour (Goals of Psychological Research) - answer What happens? When? For whom? How often? Predicting behaviour (Goals of Psychological Research) - answer When will a behaviour occur/not occur? Determining the causes of behaviour (Goals of Psychological Research) - answer Related to prediction, but relies on additional criteria:
- Covariation of cause and effect
- Temporal precedence
- No other alternative explanation Covariation of cause and effect (Determine causes) - answer - Causal factor is present: behaviour occurs
- Causal factor is not present: behaviour does not occur Temporal precedence (Determine causes) - answer Causal factor must occur before the behaviour does No other alternative explanation (Determine causes) - answer For the relationship that is observed between the causal factor and the behaviour Explaining behaviour (Goals of Psychological Research) - answer Why does a behaviour occur or change? Basic research - answer Answers fundamental questions about the nature of behaviour Applied research - answer Addresses practical, real-world problems with the goal of finding solutions Module 2: Research Starting Points - answer How to come up with a research idea - answer - Common assumptions
- Observations
- Practical problems
- Theories
- Past research
Internet/Wikipedia: 1 star (Ways to find past research) - answer - Best used for general information/terminology
- Great need to critically evaluate the source/quality of information Types of research sources - answer - Empirical studies
- Systematic literature reviews
- Meta-analyses Empirical studies (Types of research sources) - answer - Primary source
- Basic research paper detailing "original research"
- Research articles that report the results of one or more studies in which new data were collected and analyzed to answer a novel question Systematic literature reviews (Types of research sources) - answer - Secondary source
- Offers a summary of existing empirical studies on a specific topic
- Provides general description of the findings in a particular area
- Researchers take great care to find all of the relevant research findings on a given topic (do this to fully summarize all the available research findings in the form of a narrative or text-based article) Meta-analyses (Types of research sources) - answer - Secondary source
- Uses a statistical analysis to summarize existing empirical studies on a specific topic
- Provides statistical estimate of a set of findings in a particular area
- Systematically review all available research on a given topic
Structure of an academic article - answer - Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- References
- Appendices/Supplemental material Abstract (Structure of an academic article) - answer Brief summary of entire article Introduction (Structure of an academic article) - answer Tells a story, explains a purpose, past research findings/theoretical framework, builds in logical way towards research hypothesis(es) Methods (Structure of an academic article) - answer Describes the research design in detail Results (Structure of an academic article) - answer Provides objective (non-interpreted) report of study findings Discussion (Structure of an academic article) - answer - Interprets the study findings, typically in context of existing research and theory
- Proposes implications, limitations of study design, and future research directions References (Structure of an academic article) - answer Complete list of all books, article, other sources the author(s) refer to
way Variable of interest - answer Any variable in which the researcher is particularly interested Situational variables - answer Feature of event/environment participant is exposed to - certain colour of wall in a waiting room
- noise level in a study room
- various dosages of a drug Response variables - answer Participant's reaction to event/experience
- amount of time it takes to press a button after hearing a beep or seeing a certain colour appear on a screen
- changes in heart rate in response to some stimuli Participant variables - answer Pre-existing characteristic of a participant
- gender, ethnicity, age Operational definition - answer Specifies the operations or techniques that will be used in a particular study to represent that variable
- A single variable may have many different possible operationalizations Operational definitions inform... - answer - Measurement
- Predictions
- Research design
Non-experimental designs - answer - Research designs that focus on determining the relationship(s) between variables
- Also known as "correlational methods"
- "Do the variables of interest change together in meaningful ways?" Advantages of non-experimental designs - answer - Can establish trends across large amounts of data
- Good for describing behaviour
- Can be used to predict future behaviour
- Sometimes necessary due to ethical issues Disadvantages of non-experimental designs - answer - Direction of causal influence
- Third-variable problem Direction of causal influence (Disadvantages of non-experimental designs) - answer Which variable causes changes in the other? Third-variable problem (Disadvantages of non-experimental designs) - answer What if an unmeasured variable is actually responsible for the relationship between two measured variables? Experimental designs - answer - Research designs that try to determine causal influence between variables
- At least one variable is manipulated, one variable is measured or observed Independent variable (IV) - answer The variable that "causes" changes in behaviour; is
behaviour
- High internal validity
- More experimental control Disadvantages of experimental - answer - Lack of external validity: can conclusions apply outside context of the experiment?
- Sometimes ethically impossible The chosen research design depends on... - answer Your operational definitions, your specific hypothesis/prediction, and what kind of conclusion you wish to make Module 4: Sampling & Measurement - answer Population - answer Entire group of people of interest Sample - answer Smaller group of people who complete study procedures Representative samples - answer - A sample should be similar to the population so conclusions are generalizable
- Representativeness is more likely with larger samples
- Representativeness depends on how the sample is selected from the wider population Probability sampling - answer All members of the population have a known probability of being selected for the sample
Simple random sampling (Probability sampling) - answer Sample is randomly selected across all members of the population; each member has equal probability of being selected Stratified random sampling (Probability sampling) - answer Population divided into subgroups; number of people randomly selected from each subgroup is proportional to their size in the population Cluster sampling (Probability sampling) - answer Clusters of people are identified from population, everyone in those clusters are the sample Non-probability sampling - answer No real effort to ensure that sample accurately represents the population Convenience sampling (Non-probability sampling) - answer Sample participants selected on the basis of availability Purposive sampling (Non-probability sampling) - answer Sample participants selected on the basis of availability, as long as they meet some criterion Quota sampling (Non-probability sampling) - answer Sample participants selected on the basis of availability, but certain subgroups from population are proportionally represented Self-report measures (Types of measures) - answer Individuals explicitly asked to respond on their thoughts, attitudes, or beliefs
- Questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, etc.
Inter-rater reliability - answer - How consistent is the measure across different raters?
- Relevant to: behavioural observations
- Cohen's kappa/intraclass correlation: extent of agreement between raters Validity (Quality of Measures) - answer Degree to which a measure correctly measures variable/behaviour (construct) of interest High validity - answer Measure seems to accurately measure the behaviour/construct it is designed to measure How a measure might lack validity - answer - It does not appear, on its surface, to measure the variable of interest
- It does not include all aspects of the variable of interest
- It does not seem to be related to other well-established measures that measure the same variable Reactivity (Quality of Measures) - answer Degree to which participant behaviours/responses change as a result of measuring it Non-reactive (Reactivity) - answer A measure that does not greatly alter participants' responses or behaviour Reactivity is a concern across self-report, behavioural, and physiological measures - answer - Self-report: e.g., issue of social desirability
- Behavioural: e.g., knowing you are observed may cause you to behave differently than if you were not being observed
- Physiological: e.g., knowing your blood pressure/heart rate/etc. is being measured may
alter your blood pressure Module 5: Research Ethics - answer Research ethics - answer - Focused on analyzing the ethical and legal questions pertaining to conducting research with human or animal participants
- Ensures that the interests and well-being of research participants are protected Tri-Council Policy Statement (3 core ethical principles) - answer - Respect for Persons
- Concern for Welfare
- Justice Respect for Persons (Tri-Council Policy Statement) - answer Potential research participants must be fully informed about all aspects of the study that may influence their decision to participate in advance of making this decision Exceptions in which fully informed consent is not required - answer - Purely observational research
- Special populations (e.g., children who are minors → assent)
- Research requiring deception Concern for Welfare (Tri-Council Policy Statement) - answer The potential benefits of participating in the research are greater than the potential risks to participating in the research Possible types of risk (Concern for Welfare) - answer - Physical harm
Module 6: Observational Methods - answer Quantitative approaches - answer Research approaches that result in numeric data that are statistically analyzed Qualitative approaches - answer Research approaches that result in non-numeric data that are analyzed for meaning, themes, and/or patterns Mixed methods - answer - Combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches
- Maximizes the types of conclusions drawn Naturalistic Observations (Observational research methods) - answer - A research method that involves the researcher making systematic observations in a natural setting in the real world
- A broad range of behaviours are typically of interest
- Can be quantitative or qualitative Participant observation (Naturalistic observation) - answer Researcher joins the community they are observing Non-participant observation (Naturalistic observation) - answer Researcher does not actively participate and/or their presence is hidden from observed group Advantages of Naturalistic Observation - answer - High external validity
- Rich information
- Sometimes the only possible approach to use
Disadvantages of Naturalistic Observation - answer - Lack of control
- Extremely time consuming
- Observer bias
- Possible increased reactivity Structured Observations (Observational research methods) - answer - A research method in which the researcher observes participants in a controlled setting, typically in a lab space
- Specific set of behaviours of interest are typically "coded" from video recordings
- Usually qualitative Coding schemes (Structured Observations) - answer Behaviours tracked systematically using coding schemes
- Sets of rules that define what behaviours to identify and how
- Can track frequency of behaviour observed or level/degree of behaviour observed
- Can range from simple to complex Advantages of Structured Observations - answer - Good external validity
- Some experimental control Disadvantages of Structured Observations - answer - Observer (coder) bias
- Increased reactivity (often occur in a controlled/artificial environment) Case Studies (Observational research methods) - answer A research method in which the
Open-ended questions - answer Any response is possible Issues in questionnaire research - answer Rely on participants' honest and meaningful responses
- Social desirability bias: tendency for participants to respond in ways that are likely to be viewed favourably Advantages of Questionnaires - answer - Affordable & efficient
- Large sample sizes
- Anonymity
- Flexibility Disadvantages of Questionnaires - answer - Risk of collecting biased or untruthful data is higher Interview Research - answer Data collection approach where researchers ask participants questions orally Interviews are subject to interviewer bias - answer Any influence the interviewer has over the participants' response Face-to-Face Interviews (Types of Interviews) - answer - Quantitative & Qualitative
- Interviewer & participant meet in person to complete the interview
- Can include both closed- & open-ended questions
- More feasible if sample size is small
Telephone Interviews (Types of Interviews) - answer - Quantitative & Qualitative
- Traditionally held by phone
- Can include both closed- & open-ended questions
- Adaptable to larger samples if using multiple interviewers Focus Groups (Types of Interviews) - answer - Qualitative
- Interviews of approx. 6-8 participants at a time from a particular target group
- Typically open-ended questions, group interaction can also be coded
- Very rich data, but take a lot of time to collect and code data Advantages of Interviews - answer - Rich information
- Can confirm participant understanding
- Can detect careless responses Disadvantages of Interviews - answer - Time & resource intensive
- Interviewer bias
- Challenge of consistency Unnecessary complexity (Asking "good" questions) - answer Question is too complex to be easily understood by a general audience Solution to unnecessary complexity - answer Avoid technical terms/jargon, use brief sentences and basic language, define uncommon terms
