Aims, Hypotheses, Variables Flashcards
What is an aim
An aim identifies the purpose of an investigation
What is an alternative hypothesis
A precise testable statement that predicts a difference or relationship will be found in an investigation
What is a null hypothesis
A statement that predicts there will be no relationship or difference found in an investigation
What’s the difference between a directional and non directional alternative hypothesis
Directional: states the direction of the predicted relationship/ difference
Non directional: states that there will be a relationship/ difference, but not what they will be
Describe the structure of a directional hypothesis
Participants who ___ (IV)
… DV operationalised and Directional word…
Than those who ___ (IV)
Eg. Participants who complete work in the morning will produce more pages of work than those who complete work in the evening
What is the structure of a non- directional hypothesis?
There will be a difference between ___ (IV) and ___ (IV)
And the ___ (DV)
There will be a difference between the presence of an audience and no audience and the amount of pollen collected by bees
What is a dependent variable
The variable measured by the researcher
What is an independent variable
The variable manipulated by the researcher, in order to see if it has an effect on the dependent variable
What is operationalising
Making it clear the key variables are manipulated/ measured
This means all psychologists will test in the same way
Eg. Lack of sleep affects concentration:
Participants who sleep for more than 7 hours will complete the puzzle within less time than those who sleep for less than 7 hours
What is an extraneous variable
Variables other than the independent variable that could affect the dependent variable if left uncontrolled
What is a confounding variable
Uncontrolled extraneous variables become confounding variables, as they ‘confound’ the results
