Psychology 1000 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Confounding, Random Assignment, Dependent And Independent Variables

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Dr.Mike

Document Summary

Scientific method: distinguishes science from other approaches (reason, intuition, religion, etc. ) Identify the question: gather information and form hypothesis, test hypothesis through research (manipulate independent variables, analyze data (measure dependent variables), draw tentative conclusions, report findings, build body of knowledge and ask further questions. Hypothesis: specific prediction about some phenomenon (usually if-then) Conforms to law of parsimony (if two theories explain the same phenomena equally, Incorporates existing facts/observations in a meaningful way the simpler theory is preferred) Confounded: an experiment is confounded without proper control (suffers from problem of internal validity) Two approaches to understanding behaviour: hindsight: after the fact understanding. Problem: related past events can be explained in many ways: prediction, control and theory building: If we understand the cause of a behavior, we should be able to predict/produce that behavior. Variable: any characteristic or factor that can vary.