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NEW Social Psychology > 1: Intro and methods > Flashcards

1: Intro and methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the four goals of research?

A
  1. Description.
  2. Causal analysis.
  3. Theory building.
  4. Application
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2
Q

When selecting research participants, they must be _________ of the __________ from which they come.

A

When selecting research participants, they must be representative of the population from which they come.

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3
Q

What is the best way to get the most representative sample?

A

Random sampling.

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4
Q

What are the two basic research designs in social psychology?

A

Correlational and experimental.

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5
Q

What does correlational research do?

A

Observes the relationship between 2 or more variables.

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6
Q

What is the range for correlations?

A

-1 to +1

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7
Q

What are the two main advantages of correlational designs?

A
  1. Researchers can study problems in which intervention would be impossible or unethical.
  2. Efficient. Researchers can collect more information and test more relationships.
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8
Q

What is the main disadvantage of correlational designs?

A

Cannot determine cause and effect or variables.

Reverse causality problem.
Third variable problem.

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9
Q

What are the three main features of experimental research?

A
  1. Researcher creates 2+ conditions that differ from another in clearly specified ways.
  2. Individuals randomly assigned to conditions.
  3. Their reactions are measured.
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10
Q

What is the operational definition of a variable?

A

The specific procedure or operations used to manipulate or measure a variable.

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11
Q

What is the main difference between field and lab research?

A

Field research examines behaviour in its natural habitat, whereas, lab research examines behaviour in an artificial setting.

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12
Q

What are the two main advantages of lab research?

A
  1. Maximises internal validity.

2. More convenient and less costly than field research.

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13
Q

What are the three main advantages of field research?

A
  1. Maximises external validity.
  2. Allows researchers to study powerful situations that cannot be studied in a lab.
  3. Minimises suspicion by participants.
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14
Q

What are the three methods of data collection in social psychology research?

A
  1. Self report.
  2. Observational.
  3. Archival research.
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15
Q

Who two bodies hold authority over research ethics in social psychology research?

A
  1. BPS or APA ethical guidelines for research.

2. Institutional review boards.

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16
Q

What are the three important ethical principles of research in social psychology?

A
  1. Informed consent.
  2. Debriefing.
  3. Minimising risk.
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17
Q

What is hindsight bias?

A

The tendency for people to exaggerate how much they could have predicted an outcome after knowing it occurred.

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18
Q

According to Latané and Darley (1968), what is the diffusion of responsibility?

A

The more people who witness an emergency, the less likely any given individual will intervene.

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19
Q

What is ethnography? What research method category does it fall under?

A

Ethnography is a method used in observational research. Researchers attempt to understand a group or culture by observing it from the inside, without imposing any preconceived notions they might have.

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20
Q

What is interjudge reliability?

A

The level of agreement between 2+ people who independently observe and code a set of data.

By showing 2+ judges independently came up with the same observations, researchers ensure observations are less subjective.

21
Q

What is archival analysis? What method of research does it fall under?

A

Used in observational research, examining accumulated documents or archives or a culture, such as diaries, novels, magazines and newspapers.

22
Q

What are the 3 limitations of observational research?

A
  1. Some behaviours are difficult to observe if they rarely occur or are done in private.
  2. If using archives are sources, information may be biased or limited in what the original author or publisher chose to disclose in the papers.
  3. It can only be used to describe behaviour, not predict or explain it.
23
Q

What is a correlation coefficient? Give an example.

A

A statistical technique that assesses how well you can predict one variable from another.

E.g. How well you can predict someone’s weight from their height.

24
Q

What are surveys?

A

Research in which a representative sample of people are asked (often anonymously) questions about their attitudes and behaviour.

25
Q

What are the two main advantages of using surveys?

A
  1. Allows researchers to judge the relationship between variables that are difficult to observe.
  2. Capability of sampling representative segments of a population.
26
Q

What is the main disadvantage of using surveys?

A

Accuracy of responses. Predicting ones behaviour in hypothetical situations rely more on their own theories and beliefs, which may not be accurate to what they would actually do in such a scenario.

27
Q

What is a probability level (p-value)?

A

A number calculated with statistical techniques that tells researchers how likely is is that the results of their experiment occurred by change and not because of independent variable(s).

In social psychology, the significance level is .05 or 5%.

28
Q

What is psychological realism?

A

The extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to psychological processes that occur in everyday life.

29
Q

What is one method used to increase psychological realism in research?

A

Experimenters telling participants a cover story.

30
Q

What is a cover story?

A

A description of a purpose of a study, given to participants, that is different from its true purpose and is used to maintain psychological realism.

31
Q

What are replications in social psychology research? Why are they used?

A

Repeating a study, often with different subject populations or in different settings. Replications are used to test an experiments external validity.

32
Q

What is a meta-analysis? Why is it used in social psychology researcher?

A

A statistical technique that averages the results of 2+ studies. It is used to see if the effect of an independent variable is reliable.

33
Q

What is basic research? Why is it conducted?

A

Studies designed to find the best answer to why people behave the way they do. They are conducted purely for reasons of intellectual curiosity.

34
Q

What is applied research? Why is it conducted?

A

Studies designed to understand the underlying causes behind a particular social phenomena. They are conducted to solve specific social problems.

35
Q

What is cross-cultural research? Why is it conducted?

A

Research conducted with members of different cultures.

To see whether psychological processes are present in both cultures or are only found in particular ones.

36
Q

Where the limitations of cross-cultural research?

A

Observer limitations and bias.

37
Q

What is evolutionary theory?

A

A concept developed by Charles Darwin to explain the ways animals adapt to their environment.

38
Q

What is natural selection?

A

The process in which heritable traits promoting survival in a particular environment are passed down to future generations. Organisms with those traits are more likely to produce offspring.

39
Q

What is evolutionary psychology in the context of social psychology?

A

The attempt to explain social behaviour in terms of genetic factors having evolved over time according to the principles of natural selection.

40
Q

What is the main advantage of evolutionary psychology?

A

Can generate novel hypotheses that can be tested with other methods of psychological research.

41
Q

What is the main disadvantage of evolutionary psychology?

A

Difficult to test with the experimental method.

42
Q

What are the two main methods of measurement used uni social neuroscience? Why are they used?

A

fMRI and EEG

Allow researchers to correlated different kinds of brain activity with social information processing.

43
Q

What is fMRI?

A

People are placed in scanners that measure changes in blood flow in the brain.

44
Q

What is EEG?

A

Electrodes are placed on the scalp to measure electrical activity in the brain.

45
Q

What is informed consent?

A

Agreement to participate in an experiment, granting in full awareness of the nature of the the experiment, which has been explained in advance.

46
Q

What is deception?

A

Misleading participants about the true purpose of a study or the events what will actually transpire.

47
Q

What is the IRB for psychological research?

A

The Institutional Review Board a group made of 1 scientist, 1 nonscientist, 1 person not affiliated with the institution that reviews all researcher at that institution. They decide whether it meets ethical guidelines and can be approved.

48
Q

What is debriefing?

A

Explaining to participants, at the end of an experiment, the true purpose of a study and exactly what transpired.

NEW Social Psychology (12 decks)

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