PSYC 270 Final QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Research questions can be... - answers- -descriptive: whether a specific behavior
occurs (does implicit bias exist?)
-causal: about causes of behavior (what causes implicit bias?)
Law vs. Hypothesis vs. Theory - answers- -hypothesis: predictions about specific
events that are derived from one or more theories
-law: a universal statement of the nature of things that allows reliable predictions of
future events
-theory: a general statement about the relation between two or more variables
Induction - answers- -make many observations under controlled conditions to arrive at
a general statement about how things work
-bottom up
-data driven
-reason from specific instances to
General principles
Deduction - answers- -a general statement (theory) is used to make specific predictions
(hypotheses)
-top down
-theory driven
-reason from the general to the specific
-"proving" a theory
What are the different ways of knowing? - answers- -intuition: common sense
-authority
-logic: reasoning
-observation (empiricism): observations
What are the different phases of hypothesis testing? - answers- -validation: gather
evidence to support a theory or hypothesis
-falsification: gather evidence that invalidates or disconfirms a theory or hypothesis
-qualification: identify boundary conditions under which a theory or hypothesis is true
and is not true
Validity - answers- refers to how well a test measures what it is purported to measure
-internal: degree to which dv outcome is due to iv manipulation- causality
-external: generalizability
-construct: extent to which the ivs and dvs in a study represent the abstract,
hypothetical variables of interest
-conceptual validity: how well a specific hypothesis maps onto the broader theory
, What are the assumptions of experimental psychology? - answers- 1. Determinism:
events have meaningful, systematic causes
2. Empiricism: making observations is the best way to figure out the world
3. Parsimony: theory should simplify
4. Testability: scientific theories should be testable (confirmable or disconfirmable)
What are the three steps to confidently determine causality (internal validity)? -
answers- 1. Covariation: changes in one variable must correspond to changes in
another variable
2. Temporal sequence: to argue that changes in one variable cause changes in another,
changes in the first variable must precede the changes in the second
3. Confound: additional variable that may (a) influence the dv and that (b) varies
systematically along with the iv.
Can a study have high internal validity and external generalizability? Why or why not? -
answers- -maybe, but it's hard. Internal validity strongest in lab experiments, but those
are lower in external validity because its hard to generalize them to real life situations.
Reliability - answers- -the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and
consistent results
-a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity
-test-retest reliability: measure of consistency of test scores over time
-internal consistency: degree to which the total set of items or observations in a
multiple-item measure behave in the same way
-interrater reliability: the degree to which different judges independently agree upon an
observation or judgment
How can you improve internal reliability/consistency of a test or scale? - answers- -
better operational definitions; make sure they test what they're supposed to
What improves interobserver agreement/interrater reliability? - answers- -more raters
and measures
What qualities must raters possess in order to make ratings of multiple judges helpful? -
answers- good operational definitions?
Can a measure be reliable and invalid? Valid and unreliable? - answers- -reliability is a
necessary but not sufficient condition for validity. In order for something to be valid, it
has to be reliable, but if something is reliable it does not have to be valid
How do nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales differ? - answers- 1. Nominal:
categories (male and female)
Research questions can be... - answers- -descriptive: whether a specific behavior
occurs (does implicit bias exist?)
-causal: about causes of behavior (what causes implicit bias?)
Law vs. Hypothesis vs. Theory - answers- -hypothesis: predictions about specific
events that are derived from one or more theories
-law: a universal statement of the nature of things that allows reliable predictions of
future events
-theory: a general statement about the relation between two or more variables
Induction - answers- -make many observations under controlled conditions to arrive at
a general statement about how things work
-bottom up
-data driven
-reason from specific instances to
General principles
Deduction - answers- -a general statement (theory) is used to make specific predictions
(hypotheses)
-top down
-theory driven
-reason from the general to the specific
-"proving" a theory
What are the different ways of knowing? - answers- -intuition: common sense
-authority
-logic: reasoning
-observation (empiricism): observations
What are the different phases of hypothesis testing? - answers- -validation: gather
evidence to support a theory or hypothesis
-falsification: gather evidence that invalidates or disconfirms a theory or hypothesis
-qualification: identify boundary conditions under which a theory or hypothesis is true
and is not true
Validity - answers- refers to how well a test measures what it is purported to measure
-internal: degree to which dv outcome is due to iv manipulation- causality
-external: generalizability
-construct: extent to which the ivs and dvs in a study represent the abstract,
hypothetical variables of interest
-conceptual validity: how well a specific hypothesis maps onto the broader theory
, What are the assumptions of experimental psychology? - answers- 1. Determinism:
events have meaningful, systematic causes
2. Empiricism: making observations is the best way to figure out the world
3. Parsimony: theory should simplify
4. Testability: scientific theories should be testable (confirmable or disconfirmable)
What are the three steps to confidently determine causality (internal validity)? -
answers- 1. Covariation: changes in one variable must correspond to changes in
another variable
2. Temporal sequence: to argue that changes in one variable cause changes in another,
changes in the first variable must precede the changes in the second
3. Confound: additional variable that may (a) influence the dv and that (b) varies
systematically along with the iv.
Can a study have high internal validity and external generalizability? Why or why not? -
answers- -maybe, but it's hard. Internal validity strongest in lab experiments, but those
are lower in external validity because its hard to generalize them to real life situations.
Reliability - answers- -the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and
consistent results
-a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity
-test-retest reliability: measure of consistency of test scores over time
-internal consistency: degree to which the total set of items or observations in a
multiple-item measure behave in the same way
-interrater reliability: the degree to which different judges independently agree upon an
observation or judgment
How can you improve internal reliability/consistency of a test or scale? - answers- -
better operational definitions; make sure they test what they're supposed to
What improves interobserver agreement/interrater reliability? - answers- -more raters
and measures
What qualities must raters possess in order to make ratings of multiple judges helpful? -
answers- good operational definitions?
Can a measure be reliable and invalid? Valid and unreliable? - answers- -reliability is a
necessary but not sufficient condition for validity. In order for something to be valid, it
has to be reliable, but if something is reliable it does not have to be valid
How do nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales differ? - answers- 1. Nominal:
categories (male and female)
