PSYC 2310 Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Textbook Notes

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2310
• Professor: Saba Safdar

Document Summary

Steps in a scientific process: identify a question of interest, gather information, test hypothesis, analyze data, build knowledge. Theory- set of formal statements that explains how and why certain events are related to one another. Operational definition- a variable in terms of the specific procedures used to produce of measure it. Social desirability bias- responding in a socially acceptable manner. Physiological measures- measures heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, hormonal secretion, brain function. Descriptive research- identifies how humans and other animals behave. Naturalistic observation- researcher observes behaviour as it occurs in a natural setting. Habituation when disguise is not feasible, people and other animals adapt and ignore the presence of an observer. Representative sample- reflects the important characteristics of the population. Random sampling- every member of the population has an equal probability of being chosen. Surveys- effective for collecting lots of data but cannot be used to draw conclusions about cause and effect.