PSYA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Naturalistic Observation, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Convenience Sampling
Document Summary
Psychological science chapter 2: reading and evaluating scientific research. Objectivity assumes that certain facts about the world can be observed and tested independently from the individual who describes them. As soon as people observe an event, their interpretation of it becomes subjective, meaning that their knowledge of the event is shaped by prior beliefs, expectations, experiences, and even their mood. The five characteristics of quality scientific research: it is based on measurements that are objective, valid, and reliable, it can be generalized, it uses techniques that reduce bias, it is made public. Weight is something that can be measured objectively. There is a certain variability that is allowed in research: variable refers to the object, concept, or event being measured. o for example, speed being measured by a speedometer is a variable. Fmri allows researchers to view the brain and see which areas are activated while you perform different tasks (like remembering words or looking at emotional pictures)
