PSYC 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Dependent And Independent Variables, Operational Definition, Confounding

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Jill L Atkinson

Document Summary

Chapter 2 psyc reading: scientific method: a set of rules that governs the collection and analysis of data gained though observational studies or experiments. Rules are based on logic and common sense. Originally devised by philosophers who were attempting to determine how we could understand reality. Important to realize how easily we can be fooled about the actual causes of behaviour: types of scientific research: Naturalistic observation: the observant of the behaviour of people or other animals in their natural environments. Clinical observation: the observation of people who are undergoing diagnosis or treatment researcher might perceive new facts following careful observation. Correlational studies: the examination of relations between two or more measurements of behaviour or other characteristics of people or other animals (involves more formal measurements) Experiments: a study in which the researcher changes the value of an independent variable and observes whether this manipulation affects the value of a dependent variable.