Psychological Research Goals and Empiricism Quiz

Empiricism and Scientific Psychology

• The premise of empiricism is that scientific psychology conclusions should be based on empirical evidence and observations.
• The main goal of research psychologists is to understand and explain mental phenomena.

Philosophy of Mind

• Dualism proposes that mental phenomena are non-physical and cannot be reduced to physical processes.
• René Descartes proposed that the mind is a non-physical substance that interacts with the body.

Scientific Method

• An important part of the scientific method according to empiricism is the use of empirical evidence to test hypotheses.
• Positivism suggests that scientific methods should be based on objective observation and measurement.
• Empiricism emphasizes the importance of empirical evidence in the acceptance of scientific theories.

Purpose of Scientific Method

• The purpose of the scientific method in psychology is to develop and test theories that explain mental phenomena.

Theories in Psychology

• A good theory in psychology is required to make testable predictions and be falsifiable.

Research Design

• Operational definitions define the variables being measured in a study.
• An independent variable (IV) is a variable that is intentionally manipulated by the researcher.
• A positive correlation indicates that two variables are related, but does not imply causation.
• Correlation does not imply causation, meaning that a correlation between two variables does not necessarily mean that one causes the other.

Experimental Design

• The two central features of experiments are manipulation of an independent variable and measurement of a dependent variable.
• In a between-participants design, different levels of the independent variable are administered to different groups of participants.
• In a within-participants design, each participant is exposed to all levels of the independent variable.
• A mixed experimental research design combines between-participants and within-participants designs.
• In a quasi-experimental research design, the independent variable is not manipulated by the researcher.

Validity

• Internal validity in experimental research refers to the extent to which a study establishes a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.
• External validity in experimental research refers to the extent to which a study's findings can be generalized to other populations and contexts.

Blinding

• Single-blind in an experimental study means that participants are unaware of the experimental conditions.
• Double-blind in an experimental study means that both participants and researchers are unaware of the experimental conditions.

Key Concepts

• The primary advantage of using correlations in psychological research is that they can identify relationships between variables.
• The primary disadvantage of using correlations in psychological research is that they do not imply causation.
• The key characteristic of a within-participants design is that each participant is exposed to all levels of the independent variable.
• In a quasi-experimental research design, the independent variable is not manipulated by the researcher.
• The primary difference between between-participants design and within-participants design is the administration of the independent variable.
• The main difference between single-blind and double-blind studies is the level of awareness of the experimental conditions.
• The primary advantage of using experiments is that they can establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables.