PSYCH 1 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Falsifiability, Test Cricket, Recap Software
PSYCH 1
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
8/23/17
Psychology : A Science of People (and Animals)
●Variation : complexity, differences, changes
○between-person variation : differences
○within-person variation : differences within an individual’s own behavior
●Variable : a label for some psychological phenomenon that has variation
●Psychological Phenomenon : the ABCs
○A = Affect = emotions and feelings
○B = Behavior = things that you do
○C = cognition = thoughts that you have
●Research Question : an attempt to learn about how or why variation occurs
○Proximate Question : a how
question
○Ultimate Question : a why
question
●Statistical Model : a formula that specifies and organizes the variables you are interested
in studying.
○writing out a model : DV ~ IV1 + IV2 + … + IVk + error
○DV = what you want to predict
○IV = your theory about what predicts the DV
○error = other factors that explain the DV that are not part of your model
○say : “the DV is a function of…”; “the DV depends on the IV(s)”
●Prediction : an educated guess you have about the future.
●Control : attempts to change the future based on predictions
The How (and Why) of Science
●Theory : “...a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a
vast body of evidence.” -- National Academy of Science
●Patterns in Data : can we use information about variability in the IV to make more
accurate predictions about variability in the DV (than if we had no information about the
IV)?
●The Spotlight Effect :
○theory : people tend to overestimate extent
to which others pay attention to them
○method :
■15 participants asked to wear Barry
Manilow t-shirt to a group meeting
■compared prediction of # of people
in group (also participants) who
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would notice vs. actual # of people who noticed the t-shirt
○data : see chart to the right →
■note : the chart is currently missing half of the graph for “actual”.
○source : Gilovich, T., Medvec, V. H., & Savitsky, K. (2000). The spotlight effect in social
judgment: an egocentric bias in estimates of the salience of one's own actions and
appearance. Journal of personality and social psychology
, 78
(2), 211.
●Operationalization : how researchers define and measure the variables they will study
○science needs systematic ways to measure a variable.
○how a variable is operationalized is critical to the interpretation of psychological
data
●Paradigms of Inquiry
○1. POSITIVISM : reality exists. there is a REAL TRUTH that we can someday learn.
○2. POST-POSITIVISM : reality exists, but it will be influenced by context. We can
only study it through imperfect human eyes.
○3. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM : we construct our world to fit our own needs;
models simply reinforce our pre-existing beliefs
○4. ANTI-POSITIVISM : there is no reality. trying to attain reality turns people into
machines (which is bad).
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Document Summary
Psychology : a science of people (and animals) Within-person variation : differences within an individual"s own behavior. Variable : a label for some psychological phenomenon that has variation. A = affect = emotions and feelings. B = behavior = things that you do. C = cognition = thoughts that you have. Research question : an attempt to learn about how or why variation occurs. Statistical model : a formula that specifies and organizes the variables you are interested in studying. Writing out a model : dv ~ iv1 + iv2 + + iv k + error. Dv = what you want to predict. Iv = your theory about what predicts the dv. Error = other factors that explain the dv that are not part of your model. Say : the dv is a function of ; the dv depends on the iv(s) . Prediction : an educated guess you have about the future.
