approaches - key terms Flashcards
independent variable
the variable that is changed/ manipulated by the experimenter
psychodynamic approach
focuses on unconscious mind processes and unresolved past conflicts as influences on behaviour
Opportunity sampling
Using readily available participants at the time
Free will
The idea that we can play an active role and have a choice in how we behave
Cultural bias
Tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions
Validity
Whether a test measures what it has set out to measure
Behaviourist approach
Approach that all behaviour is learned from the environment
Ecological validity
How well a study’s results can be applied to real life
Holism
An approach to understanding the human mind and behaviour that emphasises the interconnectedness
Reliability
Refers to the consistency of measurements in which multiple investigators should get the same or similar results
Social learning theory
theory that people learn through observing, imitating and modelling others behaviour
Internal validity
Questions whether a researcher has measured what they set out to measure
Beta bias
Ignore or minimise the differences between genders
Dependent variable
The variable that the experimenter measures
Cognitive approach
Focuses on how our mental processes e.g. thoughts and perceptions affect behaviour
Random sampling
Where participants have an equal chance of being selected
Soft determinism
All human action has a cause but people have mental control over behaviour
Extraneous variables
Anything that could affect the dependent variable in which reduces internal validity
Humanistic approach
Claims that human being are self-determining and have free will
volunteer sampling
Where people put themselves forward
Biological approach
Behaviour has a physical basis in which we must look at biological structures and processes to explain nehaviour
Hypothesis
A testable statement that is a general prediction about what the researcher expects in an investigation
Alpha bias
When a theory assumes that gender is profoundly different and exaggerated these differences
Hard determinism
View that forces outside of our control shape our behaviour
