7.3 Return to hypotheses and other things

Question 1

define ‘confederate’

Answer 1

An individual in a study who is not a real participant and has been instructed how to behave by the investigator.

Question 2

define directional hypothesis

Answer 2

states the direction of the predicted difference between two conditions or two groups of participants

Question 3

define non-directional hypothesis

Answer 3

predicts simply that there is a difference between two conditions or two groups of participants, without stating the direction of the differnece

Question 4

define ‘pilot study’

Answer 4

A small-scale trial run of a study to test any aspects of the design, with a view to making improvements.

Question 5

describe the role of a hypothesis in experiments

Answer 5

directional hypothesis states more, less, higher, lower, etc…
non-directional hypothesis does not state direction of difference
state direction if indicated by past research
pilot study is a trial run with similar participants to test procedures and amend if necessary
confederates are directed by a researcher to play certain roles in a study