PSY100H1 Lecture 3: PSY100-lec3- Psychological Theories and Research Methods

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

Document Summary

Role of theory: scientific theories explain relationships between two/more variables, explanatory and predictive/generative, must be testable, falsifiable, parsimonious (preference for simplicity, competition important for advancement in sciences. Independent: variable that is manipulated: dependent: outcome variable, measurable. Operational definitions - concrete, observable procedures (sometimes well-defined and sometimes not (not directly observed)) Stroop effect (operational: words and colours (mismatched colours assoc. with word, measure of cognitive abilities such as processing speed and selective attention, operationalization. Eg. operational definition for anxiety: physiological measure (ie. measure sweat), behavioural measure (ie. body language), self-reported measure (ask)