Approaches to Research and Understanding Behaviour Flashcards
Biological Approach
- relation between brain and behaviour
- hormones and pheromones on behaviour
- genetics and behaviour
Cognitive Approach
- emotions
- memory processing
- thinking and decision-making
Sociocultural Approach
- the individual and the group
- culture
- stereotypes
enculturation
Learning about one culture
Example: Growing up in a Christian family and going to a Christian college
acculturation
exchange of cultures
Example: A Mexican girl moves to Bulgaria and learns the language
comfounding variables
interfere with the relationship between IV and DV
Independent Variable
What is changed based on the experiment
Dependent Variable
What changes/ is measured in an experiment
controled variables
What stays the same in an experiment
extraneous variables
Anything that could influence the data of the experiment
demand characteristics
if a participant knows about the nature of the experiment and that influences their answers
Lab Experiment
Strenghts:
- cause and effect relationship established
- statistics for analyzing data
- study can be replicated
Limitations:
- lacks ecological validity
-demand characteristics
-internal validity is low
ecological validity
strict control over comfounding variables can create an artificial enviroment
internal validity
accurate measurements of correct thing
reliability
does it have consistent results?
Field Experiment
Getting data from a raw source, like a school
Strenghts:
-ecologically valid
- cause-effect relationship
-statistics used to analyse results
Limitations:
- internal validity low
- comfounding variables
Naturalistic & Quasi Experiments
There is no IV, the psychologist observes behaviour and takes data
Strenghts:
-allows comparison
- suitable is IV can’t be manipulated
- less chance of bias
Limitations:
- no control of participants
- replication can be difficult
- comfounding variables
Correlational Study
Looking at the correlation between things
Strenghts:
-easy to understand
-variables like gender and culture can be studied
Limitations:
- no cause-effect relation
correlation coefficient
a number between -1 and +1 that tells us how much two things depend on each other
triangulation of research
using different methods to study a topic
Interviews
Participants talking about POVs, feelings, opinions, etc
Strenghts:
-it is easy to do
-rich valid data
-flexible
Limitations:
-hard to replicate
-data difficult to analyse
-time consuming
- interviewers need special training
focus group
A group interview
Strenghts:
-opportunity to open up
-save time and money
Limitations:
-difficult to control
-introverts vs extroverts
case study
Focuses on an individual/ area/group for a long time
Strenghts:
-generate or modify theory
-triangulation of methods
-high ecological validity
- rich in data
Limitations:
-limited generalizability
-data difficult to analyze
-research bias
-harder to replicate
generalizability
can this say something about a bigger group?
research bias
the expectations of the study influence the results
