1
Q
What is one tailed hypothesis (directional)?
A
States exactly what kind of difference or relationship there will be between two variables
2
Q
What is two tailed hypothesis (non-directional)?
A
does not try to predict what that difference will be – just that there will be a difference
3
Q
What is null hypothesis?
A
The null hypothesis suggests there will be no effect on the DV due to the IV, and that any difference or effect from the study occurs by chance
4
Q
Is this directional, non-directional or null?
“There will be a significant difference in reaction times in a driving simulator between participants that have eaten chocolate and those that have not”
A
non - directional
5
Q
Is this directional, non-directional or null?
“Caffeine will have no affect on performance in a memory recall task, and if it does, it is purely by chance”
A
null (the difference will happen by chance)
6
Q
When there is little or no research or it is ambiguous, what is the best hypothesis to use?
A
Non - directional
7
Q
What is an aim?
A
A clearly phrased general statement about what the investor intends to research
8
Q
What is a hypothesis?
A
a precise testable statement including levels of the independent and dependent variable
9
Q
What is operationalisation?
A
defining abstract concepts (like ‘happiness’ or ‘anxiety’) into specific, measurable, and observable actions or indicators, allowing researchers to test them scientifically
10
Q
True or false, hypotheses are predictions
A
false
11
Q
What are the two alternate hypotheses?
A
- directional
- non-directional
12
Q
What is falsifiability?
A
Any theory, even one with significant evidence has to be open to new research being found that contradicts the theory
13
Q
What should you say instead of “proves”?
A
‘evidence supports [name of theory]
14
Q
Independent variable?
A
Variable that is manipulated by the researcher
15
Q
Dependent variable?
A
The one you measure
16
Q
What is extraneous variable?
A
Variable other than the IV that could effect the DV if not controlled
17
Q
What is a lab experiment?
A
18
Q
AO3 of lab experiment
A
- by controlling variables apart from IV and DV the researcher can establish a cause + effect
- High internal validity
- easily replicated due to standardised procedure
- Lack external validity, can’t apply to real life settings
- Tasks conducted in a lab lack mundane realism
- demand characteristics as pps are aware they are being observed
19
Q
What is a field experiment?
A
- Experiment conducted in natural settings
20
Q
AO3 of lab studies
A
- ecological validity, pps are more likely to act naturally
- Mundane realism, tasks are likely to reflect real life tasks
- no demand characteristics if the pps doesn’t know its an experiment
- Extraneous variables that could influence the measurement of the DV
21
Q
What are natural experiments?
A
- Two levels of independent variables have occurred naturally, without the researcher
22
Q
AO3 of natural experiments
A
- Allows research that could not be done as an experiment, cost or ethical issues
- High in external validity, real life setting and no demand characteristics
- Extraneous variables cannot be controlled, no cause and effect relationship
- Often rare events that can’t be replicated for reliability
23
Q
What is a quasi experiment?
A
- Lacks random assignment, groups are pre-existing or formed non-randomly (like by age, location, or a lottery),
24
Q
AO3 of quasi experiment
A
- Only way to experimentally study factors that are pre-existing characteristics of pps
- lack of random assignment, which severely limits the ability to establish definitive causation, as it’s hard to rule out confounding variables
25
What is observation?
- researcher watches and records natural behaviour of pps without manipulating the levels of IV - non experimental
26
What is controlled observation?
- Aspects of the environment are controlled to give pps the same experience, often in a lab setting
27
A03 of controlled observation
- Controlling the environment and giving the same experience reduces the likelihood of extraneous variables being responsible for behaviour
- Results are likely to be reliable as of the standardised procedure
- Artificial environment, may result in unnatural behaviour
28
What is naturalistic observation?
- takes place in the real world, places pps ae most likely to be, school, work, home
29
A03 of naturalistic observation
- High realism, pps are likely to show natural behaviour
- External validity, results are more likely to be generalised to other situations
30
What is overt observation?
- pps can see the researcher and know their behaviour is being observed
31
AO3 for overt observation
- Ethical, informed consent
- Demand characteristics are likely, social desirability bias
32
What is participant observation?
- Researcher joins the group being observed and takes part in activities and discussions
33
AO3 of participant observation
- Researcher builds trust and comfort, pps may act more naturally or share more
- Researcher can loose objectivity, only seeing from the pps POV
34
What is non participant observation?
- Researcher is separate from pps
35
AO3 of non participant observation
- Researcher is more likely to remain objective
- Lack of trust, pps may act unnaturally or share less
36
What is operationalised behavioural categories
behaviours need to be clearly identifiable and measurable e.g aggression - number of punches, kicks etc
37
What is time sampling?
- Researcher records all relevant behaviour at set points, every 10 mins, every hour etc
38
What is event sampling?
- Researcher tallies every time a behaviour occurs from the list of operationalised behavioural categories
39
AO3 of time sampling
- More flexibility
- Can miss behaviour that happens outside of recording periods
40
AO3 of event sampling
- As long as its on the list, everything will be recorded
- may miss relevant behaviour that wasn't on the OBC
41
What is Inter observer/ rater reliability?
- two (or more) researchers conduct the same observation
- Use the same checklist
- observation is conducted separately
- compare the two independent data sets
- A 0.8 correlation is generally accepted
42
What are self report techniques?
- Pps reveals personal information about themselves in response to questions
43
What are open questions?
What data do they produce?
- The question is phrased in a way that lets the pps answer how they want
- Qualitative data (non-numerical)
44
AO3 of open questions
- pps have the freedom to answer how they want, leads to more valid, truthful answers
- Qualitative data is much harder to analyse, especially in larger groups of data, meaning its harder to spot patterns
45
What are closed questions?
What data does it produce?
- Have fixed answers of a few options e.g do you like X, yes or no
- quantitative
46
AO3 of closed questions
- quantitative data is much easier to analyse, making it easier to spot patterns
- Pps responses are fixed, therefore less valid. Picking the response that fits best not necessarily how they feel
47
Structured interview?
- reads out a list of prepared questions
48
AO3 of structured interview
- interviewer does not have to be skilled
- data is easily compared as same questions were asked
- Answers cannot be followed up by additional questions that could provide more data
49
Unstructured interview?
- no set questions, an open conversation
50
AO3 of unstructured interviews
- rapport is likely, pp feels comfortable answering questions
- allows follow up questions
- interviewer must be trained to think of questions
- interviews will be different, hard to compare data
51
semi structured interview
- prepared questions with the ability to ask follow up questions
52
A03 of semi structured interviews
- rapport is likely
- data is comparable, same questions
- follow up questions to interesting answers
- trained interviewer to think of good follow up questions
53
Possible bias for self report technique
- demand characteristics
- social desirability
- interviewer bias
54
A03 of questionnaires
- no trained interviewer
- quicker, easier to distribute to larger groups, cheaper
- Same closed questions are easy to compare
- questions the p doesn't understand cannot be rephrased
- often not taken seriously, acquiesce bias, responding yes to every question
55
A03 of interviews
- can rephrase questions misunderstood
- can build rapport, more valid answers
- time consuming, expensive - requires an interviewer
- Interviewer effects, personal characteristics of the interviewer can change responses
56
Difference between experiments and correlations?
- experiments, manipulate the independent variable and measure the change in the dependent variable
- correlations, no variables are manipulated, 2 co-variables are measured to look for a relationship
57
Examples of co variables in a correlation?
- number of pets
- IQ
- age
- reaction time
58
What is a scatter gram?
- graph used to plot the measurement of two co variables
59
What is a positive correlation?
- as one co variable increases so does the other
60
What is a negative correlation?
- as one co variable increases the other decreases-
61
What is a zero correlation?
- no relationship between the values of the two co variables
62
A03 of correlations?
- a strong correlation does not necessarily show causation
- highlight potential causation relationships which can be tested experimentally
- often the co variable data already exists and is easily accessible, limited ethical issues
62
What is a correlation coefficient?
- represents the strength and direction of the co variables with a number between -1 and 1
63
What is content analysis?
- an indirect, observational method used to analyse human behaviour, using human artefacts
64
What is the process to perform content analysis?
- decide a research question
- select a sample of data
- researcher decides on coding units (categories) to be recorded
- read the sample and tally the categories that appear
- data analysis to look for patterns
65
Why should content analysis categories be operationalised?
Reduce subjective determination
66
AO3 of content analysis?
- 'artefacts' are usually not created for research but taken from the real world, high external validity and generalisability
- researcher will often have to interpret subjective text, researcher bias
- artefacts not created for research, lack controlled variables (validity)
67
What is thematic analysis?
(content analysis)
- start by attempting to identify deeper meaning of the text by reading it first and allowing themes to emerge
- THEMES ARE NOT PRE DETERMINED
68
A03 of thematic analysis?
- themes come after reading, reduces researcher bias
69
What are longitudinal case studies
- follows pp for many years
(unlike snapshot)
70
Example of a case study?
- Tan
- Little Hanz
71
A03 of case studies
- Rare human behaviour, cannot be replicated in a lab for ethical reasons. Research wouldn't exist without case study
- rely on interviews which rely on memories which can be inaccurate or social desirability
-cannot be generalised, as so unusual
- cannot replicate, unreliable
- case studies can suffer from researcher bias
72
What is target population?
- every member of the group that the investigator plans to study
- target population could contain millions of people
73
What is random sampling?
- each member of the target population has an equal chance of being in the sample
74
How is random sampling conducted?
- full list of the entire target population
- all names are entered in a container
- sample number is pulled from it
75
A03 of random sampling
- reduces researcher bias, cannot choose
- by chance, the sample could be unrepresentative
- difficult and time consuming to get a full list of the target population
76
What is systematic sampling?
- pp are chosen from a list of target population
- the nth name is chosen
77
A03 of systematic sampling?
- Avoids researcher bias, cannot choose
- If their is an existing list of the target population it is quick
- by chance the method can be unrepresentative
78
What is opportunity sampling?
- researcher directly asks available members of the target population
79
A03 of opportunity sampling
- quickest way to create a sample
- could result in researcher bias as they are choosing
- unlikely to be representative as its people available e.g university, students
80
What is volunteer sampling?
- pp offer to take part after finding out about the research
81
A03 of volunteer sampling?
- advertising can reach a large number of people
- easy sample to create as you don't have to contact them, the come to you
- Sample may not be generaliseable due to volunteer bias. Type of people who would volunteer may not reflect the target population
82
What is stratified sampling?
- by selecting within the strata
- characteristics of pps in the sample are the same proportion as those in the target population
83
A03 of stratified sampling?
- representative of the target population
- randomly chosen from each straten, avoids researcher bias
- not every characteristic can be included, the researcher decides which ones are important - bias
- time consuming
84
What is a repeated measure design?
- the same pps complete the two levels of the independent variable
85
What is independent group design?
- different pps complete the 2 levels of the independent variable
86
A03 of independent group design?
- if more pps with a particular characteristic are randomly assigned to one of the groups, this can influence the measurement of the DV
87
What data does repeated measure design produce?
- related data
88
A03 of repeated measure design
- order effects
- taking part in the first task can influence the second. Either worse due to fatuige or boredom, or better due to practice
- Also they can figure out the aim and change behaviour due to demand characteristics
89
How does ABBA format help improve the problem with repeated measure design?
- half the pps complete task a first and b second
- the other half complete b first and a second
90
What are matched pairs design?
- an experimental method where researchers pair up participants with similar characteristics (like age, IQ, gender) and then randomly assign one person from each pair to different experimental conditions
91
What data does matched pairs produce?
- related, each pps score in one condition can be compared to the pp in the other condition
92
A03 of matched pairs
- Reduced participant variables as they are matched on a characteristic
93
What are extraneous variables?
- any variable (aside from the IV) that can influence the measurement of the DV
94
What are situational variables?
- environmental factors that are present in one condition and not the other that could change behaviour
95
How to prevent demand characteristics?
- single and double blind trial
96
What factors ensure an ethical study?
- informed consent
- right to withdraw
- protection from harm
- confidentiality
- debriefing
97
What is the problem with informed consent?
What are ways around this?
- you have to reveal the aims of the study which can result in demand characteristics
- prior general consent, agree to potential features not knowing which is the one
- retroactive consent, researcher asks after the study, if its a no data is destroyed
- presumptive consent, asks a group similar and if they consent they assume the pps will as well
98
What is peer review?
- before publication in a journal, it is assessed by people in the same field
99
What are the stages of peer review?
- Submit a paper to an academic journal, sent to external peers
- peers consider the quality, research design, how controlled the variables were and if the results support the conclusion
- peers decide if they should recommend the paper for publication
100
A03 of peer review?
- Scientist's knowledge of peer review from fellow experts makes them take more care in their work
- In new and specialised areas of science, journal may struggle to find peers
- professional rivalry, may reject on non scientific basis
101
What is maternal deprivation studies impact on the economy?
- hospitals have improved visiting hours for young children
- adoption agencies prioritise quick adoptions with loving families for infants
102
What is external reliability?
- the extent to which a measure is consistent when repeated
103
How to assess internal reliability?
- split test method, make pps do half and half and compare the answers. If their similar it has internal reliability
104
How to assess external reliability?
- test retest, do it again
105
How to improve reliability?
- improving the training given to observers
- structured interviews over unstructured
- used closed questions in questionnaires
- standardised procedures in experiments
106
What is empiricism?
- factual knowledge comes from experience
107
What is the empirical method?
- process of collecting data from direct experience
108
How to improve objectivity?
- systematic data collection
- peer review
- double bind
109
What is falsifiability?
A theory can be tested in a way that proves it wrong
110
What is an abstract in a paper?
- one or two paragraphs at the start of a report summarising it
111
What is the introduction in a report?
- acts as a guide to the academic background of the study
112
What is the referencing section of a report?
- an alphabetical list of research studies that were used to inform the current study
113
Advantages of quantitative data
- objectively measured, reduces bias
- descriptive data allows for it to be summarised and put into chars and graphs
- tends to be more reliable as it has a limited number of responses. Increases the chance of getting the same results if replicated
114
Disadvantages of qualitative data?
- data can be open to interpretation and potentially bias
- due to extensive range of data it can be hard to summarise
- data is open ended and therefore much more variable, decreasing reliability
115
Advantages of qualitative data
- rich in data, much more information
- open ended questions mean pps will answer more truthfully, increasing validity
116
Disadvantage of quantitative data?
- limited answers mean it lacks detail
- can only focus on what can be mathematically measured
117
What is primary data?
- researcher is responsible for collecting the data
118
What is secondary data?
- when researchers use data previously collected by another researcher or organisation
119
Advantage of primary data
- increased validity as the research was created to answer the question
- increased validity as the researcher can control the collection of the data
120
Disadvantage of primary data?
- time consuming and expensive
121
Advantage of secondary data?
- reduces time and cost of researchD
122
Disadvantage of secondary data?
- Decrease validity as research wasn't created to answer the research question directly
- Decreases validity as researcher had no role in collecting the data, cannot ensure there was no bias and variables were controlled
123
What is meta-analysis?
- a process that collects and combines data from a range of previously published studies asking similar questions
124
Evaluation of meta-analysis
- large sample size means they are more statistically powerful than studies with a small sample size
- a few studies with bias or lack of control won't do any harm
- has all the weaknesses of secondary data
- the choice of which studies to include could result in bias
125
What are the measures of central tendency?
- average number of a data set
126
What is the standard deviation?
- complex calculation using all data
psychology
flashcards
Decks in class (19)
# Cards
-
research methods127
-
memory58
-
Psycho dynamic theory20
-
cognitive approach12
-
Behaviourist Approach12
-
Social learning theory15
-
Humanistic approach15
-
Biological Approach24
-
Psychopathology20
-
psychopathology52
-
Social influence55
-
Attatchment40
-
Biopsych105
-
Issues And Debates50
-
Paper 1 exam questions4
-
Approaches (big sheet)29
-
Stress48
-
Forensic Psychology77
-
Gender60
