9.1.9 - Control issues

Question 1

Define ‘counterbalancing’.

Answer 1

Dividing the participants into two groups and having each group perform the conditions in a different order

Question 2

Define ‘order effects’.

Answer 2

When participants’ responses in the various conditions are affected by the order of conditions to which they were exposed

Question 3

What are the 2 types of order effects?

Answer 3

Practice effects - participants becoming better at a certain task due to practice in previous trials

Fatigue effects - participants performing worse near the end of the experiment due to fatigue from performing the same task multiple times

Question 4

Define ‘experimenter effects’.

Answer 4

Any unwanted influence of the investigator on the research outcome

Question 5

Define ‘social desirability’.

Answer 5

The tendency for people to present themselves in a generally favourable fashion

Question 6

Define ‘demand characteristics’.

Answer 6

When subjects pick up cues during an experiment and modify their behaviour, thereby altering the study’s results

Question 7

Define ‘participant variable’.

Answer 7

An extraneous variable specific to the participants of an investigation that affects their performance

Question 8

Define ‘situational variable’.

Answer 8

An extraneous variable present in the environment of the study which affects participant performance

Question 9

Define ‘extraneous variable’.

Answer 9

Any variable that may have an effect on the DV if not controlled

Question 10

Define ‘confounding variable’.

Answer 10

An extraneous variable that affects the results of the study so that the effect of the IV is not truly seen

Question 11

Define ‘operationalisation’.

Answer 11

Making your variables specific/precise: making them quantifiable, objective and measurable