PSYCH 1100H Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Descriptive Statistics, Informed Consent, Null Hypothesis

• School: Ohio State University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH 1100H
• Professor: All

Document Summary

Experimental methods: experiment: tests hypotheses and allows researchers to make conclusions about causality, independent variable: controlled and manipulated by the experimenter, example, dependent variable: demonstrates the effect of an independent variable, example: Random assignment group in an experiment: confounding variable: irrelevant to hypothesis being tested but can alter a researcher"s conclusion, example, experimental group: the group that is exposed to the independent variable, example: Groups: control group: the group that experiences all procedures except the independent variable, example: Avoiding bias: double-blind: an observation whose true purpose is hidden from both the observer and the person being observed, placebo: inactive substance or treatment that cannot be distinguished from a real, active substance or treatment. Designing an experimental study: manipulate one variable and observe changes in others, independent variable: the cause, dependent variable(s): the effect. Experiments: strengths, allows control of situations, strong hypothesis testing, infer causality, weaknesses, artificial and ethical concerns, time consuming. Why are both important: reliability and validity.