psych #1 -3rd

-it is translated into a statement of the problem

-the variables are operationally defined

- null hypothesis

-confounding variable hypothesis

-causal hypothesis

-reject null hypothesis

-rule out each potential confounding variable hypothesis

-statistical

-contruct

-external

-internal

-using well validated measures

-having an appropriate sample size

-unreliable measures

• -violations of statistical assumptions
• ex)null hypothesis

the extent to which operationalization of the variables truly captures the contructs

Q: Do our operationalizations of the independent and dependent variables capture the contruct of interest? 

-any alternative explanation for the results

-using well-validated contructs to build the theoretical predictions for the study

Q: Do the results apply to other people and other situations?

• -unrepresentative samples
• *doesnt represent larger population

-unrealistic tasks and procedures

• -gathering a representative sample 
• *if possible

• *mundane realism
• *psychological realism

• extent to which experiment is similar to real-life sitiation
• *ex) person bumps into another person and cusses him out. someone is recording how he reacts

• extent to which psych processes triggered during an experiment are similar to those that occur everyday life
• *things that people faec in the real world

Q: is the indepedent variable responsible fro the observed changes in the dependent variable?

• confounding variables: any variable that causes change in the dependent variable
• *variables that we may not be aware of that may cause change

• adding adequate controls to reduce or eliminate confounding
• ex)great experimental design

-changes due to growth or predictable changes

• -results can be attributed to time rather than the independent variable
• ex) people get over anxiety or depression by adjusting to it

-againg

-health

-boredom

-fatigue

-any change in the calibration of the measuring instrument over the course of the study

ex) get better at making measurements over time

-any factor that creates groups that are not equal at the start of the study

• ex) time of day
• *studyign one group in night and another in morining

-tendency for participants selected because of extreme scores to be less extreme on a reset

-extreme scores tend to shift to the average on future measurement occasions

ex) CHOOSING students with very high scores, most likley they will fall towards average

• -loss of participants during a study
• *participants who drop out different from those who contine?

• ex) smoking cessation
• *maybe program wanst working for them

• -changes in participants behavior due to information they obtained about other conditions
• *contaminates other conditions

ex) person is informed by friend what the experiment is about

repeated measurement of the same individual may impact persons subsequent scores

• ex) memory
• -they can just adjust to whatever test tehy are given

-events that take place during the course of a research study that influence the outcome of the study

ex) 911 event might have impacted experiments

• -they try to understand the study to help them guide their behavior
• *respond to subtle cues about what us expected

changes in the behavior of research participants as a result of their knowledge that they are part of a research project

-when performance in an experiment is affected by knowledge by participants that they are in an experiment

*in his experiment, workers produced more productivity when told they were being monitored

cues available to the participants that enable them to detect purpose of research, or what is expected of them by researcher

• *setting
• *instruction
• *expression on experimenters face

-good subjects

-negativistic subjects

-apprehensive subjects

-faithful subjects

-do what they think researcher wants

do the opposite of what they think the researcher wants

-behaves in what they think is a socially desirable manner

honest behavior

• *this is what we wnat them to do
• **we need to create an environment to promote faithful behavior

-people show physiological changes from suggestion that such changes could take place

ex)tension headaches cured by placebos

• -based on the expectations of the researcher
• *ideally zero

-affects the outcome of studies if not controlled

-may be due to experimenter providing demand characteristics to participant

• inter-rater reliability
• *measure that captures degree to which observers agree
• **not all observers will agree with one score or assumption

-errors in data usually favor hypothesis

• -self-fulfilling prophecy
• *make smart rats experiemtn