PSYC 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Random Assignment, Naturalistic Observation, Inter-Rater Reliability

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Meredith Chivers

Document Summary

The ways and means of psychology pp 28- 55 scientific method: a set of rules that governs the collection and analysis of data gained through observational studies or experiments. Experiment: a study which the researcher changes the value of an interdependent variable and observes whether this manipulation affects the value of a dependant variable. Only experiments can confirm the existence of cause-and-effect relations among variables. Variable: anything capable of assuming any of several values. Manipulation: setting the values of an independent variable in an experiment to see whether the value of another variable is affected. Dependant variable- the variable that is measured in an experiment. Nominal fallacy: the false belief that one has explained the causes of a phenomenon by identifying and naming it; for example, believing that one has explained lazy behaviour by attributing it to laziness . Operational definition: the definition of a variable in terms of the operations the researcher performs to measure or manipulate it.