aim, hypothesis and variables Flashcards
what is an aim?
An aim is a general statement that describes what a psychologist intends to investigate.
what is a hypothesis?
Testable statements making predictions about what will happen in an investigation.
what is a null hypothesis?
A hypothesis that predicts no difference in a variable or no correlation between variables
what is an independent variable?
An independent variable (IV) is a variable directly manipulated by the researcher (THING YOU CHANGE!!)
what is the dependent variable?
The dependent variable (DV) is the
variable that is affected by changes
in the independent variable
THING YOU MEASURE!!!
what is a directional hypothesis?
tends to be used when there has already been a range of research carried
out which relates to the aim of the researcher’s investigation. The data from this previous research
would suggest a particular outcome
- “The more sleep a participant has the better their memory performance.”
what is a non directional hypothesis?
if there has been no previous research carried out which relates to the study’s aim or the research is contradictory than a non-directional hypothesis is appropriate
what is operationalisation?
clearly defining the variables in terms of how they are being measured
