PSYC 295 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Meta-Analysis, Descriptive Statistics, Statistical Inference
Document Summary
Researchers use the word schema to refer to a cognitive generalization that organizes and guides the processing of information. Researchers have found that peoples reactions to particular stimuli and events are strongly affected by the schemas they possess. Schemas provide us with framework for organizing, remembering, and acting on the information we receive. The concept of variability runs through the entire enterprise of designing and analyzing research. Five propositions that involve the relationship between variability and behavioral research are: psychology and other behavioral sciences involve the study of behavioral variability. We would like the variability in the numbers we assign to various participants to correspond to the actual variability in the participants behaviors, thoughts, emotions, or physiological reactions. There are two types of statistics; descriptive and inferential. Descriptive statistics are used to summarize and describe the behavior of participants in a study.
