PSY100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Internal Validity, Social Comparison Theory

• School: UTSG
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY100H1
• Professor: Ashley Waggoner Denton

Document Summary

Psych lecture 2 review: research methods in psychology. Scientific theories typically explain the relationship between two or more variables. It explains a wide breadth of findings. Falsifiable -> it must be possible in principle to make an observation that would show the proposition to be false, even if that observation has not been made. Intergroup contact theory- under certain circumstances, positive intergroup contact can reduce prejudice toward the outgroup. Social comparison theory- when more objective measures are unavailable, people will evaluate their own abilities by comparing themselves to similar others. Social learning theory- people can learn by observing others, in the absence of explicit behavioral reproduction or reinforcement. Variables: a characteristic or condition that changes or has different values for different individuals. Independent variable -> variable that is manipulated, in order to see its impact on the dependent variable. Dependent variable -> variable that is measured, in order to see how it is affected by the independent variable.