Aims, Hypothesis And Variables Flashcards
What is an aim
A general statement that describes the purpose of an investigation and outlines what is being studied
Eg.
-‘to investigate the effect of caffeine on memory
-‘to investigate the extent to which social facilitation affects sporting performance’
What is an experiment
An experiment involves the manipulation of an independent variable to see what effect it has on the dependent variable.
What is a variable
Something that can vary or change
What is an independent variable
The variable you manipulate
What is a dependent variable
The variable you measure
What is a hypothesis
a precise, testable statement of what the researchers predict will be the outcome of the study
what is a null hypothesis
A null hypothesis says that there will be no difference between conditions and any difference will be due to chance not manipulation of the IV
Eg
- There will be no difference in the number of correctly recalled items out of 15 depending on whether participants have drunk 200ml of caffeine or 200ml of water before taking a memory test
What is an alternate hypothesis
A testable statement which predicts how one variable will effect another: it is a statement which predicts a difference between conditions in an experiment
What are the two types of alternate hypothesis
Directional - predictions that state the direction the results will go in.
E.g. People who have consumed alcohol will concentrate less well than those who have not consumed alcohol.
Non-directional - predictions that do not state the direction the results will go in.
E.g. There will be a significant difference in concentration levels after consuming alcohol
What is the control condition
When there is no manipulation of the IV
What is the experimental condition
Where you have manipulated the IV
Operationalisation of variables
Stating a clear way how the independent variable is going to be manipulated and how the dependent variable is to be measured
Eg. Changing “morning” to “10 AM” or “better memory” to “recall a higher number of words correctly on a memory test out of 20”
What is a control
Something that is kept the same for each participant doing the experiment
What are extraneous variables
Variables that need to be controlled, if they are not kept the same for every participant it may affect the results
What are the two types of extraneous variables
Situational - heat, light, time of day, demand characteristics participant - gender, age, personality
What is a confounding variable
A variable that is not controlled throughout the experiment and has an effect on the results (DV)
