PSYCH 1F03 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Scatter Plot, Confounding, Social Desirability Bias
24 Jan 2017
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Scientific method: a formal way of asking and answering questions about human behaviour to get the most accurate, objective info possible and sidestep the inaccuracy of our common sense beliefs. Operational definition: the actions or operations that will be made to objectively measure or control a variable. Variable: a feature or characteristic that is free to take on at least two different values. The scientific method allows us to evaluate claims to minimize the chances of being misled of stories that are unsupported by facts. Forces us to examine and test claims that we might otherwise be tempted to accept w/out much critical thought b/c they appeal to us. Humans tend to see what they expect to see. To ask and answer questions, psychologists need to agree on exactly how the variables involved are defined. Construct: a theoretical idea that is quite useful for describing a concept in a general way, but difficult to measure in practice.
