Psychological Research and Methodology

Case Study

• Study of one individual in great detail.

• Observation of human or animal behavior in its natural setting.

• An inexpensive and quick method of gaining information about people’s opinions, attitudes, and perceptions.

• Experiment using a variety of different hypotheses.

Survey

• An inexpensive and quick method of gaining information about people’s opinions, attitudes, and perceptions.

• Study of one individual in great detail.

• Observation of human or animal behavior in its natural setting.

• Experiment using a variety of different hypotheses.

An experiment where neither the participants nor the experimenter know who has received the treatment, until the experiment has concluded, is known as what?

• Random Experiment
• Single-blind Experiment
• Stratified Experiment
• Double-blind Experiment

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

• Experimental condition
• Control condition
• Independent variable
• Dependent variable

A specific, testable prediction, narrower than a theory

• Theory
• Hypothesis
• Critical thinking
• Psychological reasoning

Group that does receive the treatment

• Experimental group
• Control group

Group that does not receive the treatment

• Experimental group
• Control group

____________Studies is research gathering info from different age groups at the same time

• Longitudinal
• Experiment
• Cross Sectional
• Correlation

Professor Ober carefully monitors and records the behaviors of children on school playgrounds to track the development of their physical skills. Professor Ober is engaged in:

• experimentation. 
• replication. 
• survey research.
• naturalistic observation. 

An experiment is performed to see if background music improves learning.  Two groups study the same material, one while listening to music and another without music. The independent variable is

• learning
• size of group
• material studied
• presence of music