PSYC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Operationalization, Confounding

• School: Towson University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 101
• Professor: Alexa J.Doerr

Document Summary

Overconfidence: we are much more confident than we are correct. Hindsight bias: i knew it all along. Theory: broad explanation and prediction concerning phenomena of interest. Hypothesis: prediction stated in a way that allows it to be tested. Operationalization: translation of a hypothesis into specific, testable procedures that can be measured/observed. Archival: existing data (documents, records) are examined. Naturalistic observation: investigator observes some naturally occurring behavior and does not make any changes in the situation. Correlational: 2 sets of variables are examined. Experimental: investigation of relationship between 2 or more variables by deliberately producing a change in one variable and observing the effects of that change on other aspects of the situation. Survey: people chosen to represent a large population asked a series of questions. Case study: in depth, intensive investigation of an individual / small group of people. Dependent variable: is measured (expected to change as a result of manipulation)