Ch. 4 - Approaches to Psychological Measurement

Question 1

What three decisions must be made for observational approaches?

Answer 1

Will the observation occur in a natural or conceived setting? Will they know they are being observed? How will participants’ behaviour be recorded?

Question 2

What is naturalistic observation?

Answer 2

Observation of ongoing behaviour as it occurs naturally with no intrusion or intervention by the researcher.

Question 3

What is participant observation?

Answer 3

One type of naturalistic observation; the researcher engages in the same activities he/she is observing.

Question 4

What are two consequences of naturalistic observation?

Answer 4

May lose ability to observe and record objectively, may risk reactance.

Question 5

What is contrived observation?

Answer 5

The observation of behaviour in a setting that is arranged specifically for observing and recording behaviour.

Question 6

What is a partial concealment strategy?

Answer 6

When people are informed that they are being observed, but not told what is being observed.

Question 7

What are unobtrusive measures?

Answer 7

Measures taken without participants knowing that they are being studied.

Question 8

What are the four main categories of behavioural recording?

Answer 8

Narrative records, checklists, temporal measures, and rating scales.

Question 9

What are narrative records?

Answer 9

A full description of the participant’s behaviour. Includes field notes that summarize descriptions of behaviours. Not often used in psychological research.

Question 10

What are checklists?

Answer 10

The simplest structured technique of observation.

Question 11

What are essential for checklists to work?

Answer 11

Clear operational definitions.

Question 12

When are temporal measures used?

Answer 12

When the duration or time of a behaviour are of interest.

Question 13

What is reaction time?

Answer 13

The most commonplace measure of latency; the time that elapses between the presentation of the stimulus and the participant’s response.

Question 14

What is task completion time?

Answer 14

Another measure of latency; the length of time it takes participants to solve a problem/complete a task.

Question 15

What is inter-behviour latency?

Answer 15

The time that elapses between the performance of two behaviours.

Question 16

When are observational rating scales used?

Answer 16

When the quality or intensity of a behaviour is of interest.

Question 17

What is an issue with observational rating scales?

Answer 17

They can contain a certain degree of subjectivity, so the operational definition must be unambiguous and clear.

Question 18

What is inter-rater reliability?

Answer 18

The degree to which the observations of two or more independent raters or observers agree.

Question 19

What is neuroscience?

Answer 19

A broad, interdisciplinary field that studies biochemical, anatomical, physiological, genetic, and developmental processes involving the nervous system.

Question 20

What are the 5 psychophysiological measures?

Answer 20

Measures of electrical activity, neuroimaging, measures of autonomic nervous system activity, blood and saliva assays, and precise measurement of overt reactions.

Question 21

What is an electroencephalogram (EEG)?

Answer 21

A test to measure brain waves.

Question 22

What is an electromyograph (EMG)?

Answer 22

A test to measure electrical activities in the muscles and provide n index of physiological activity related to reactions involving muscular tension and movement.

Question 23

What are the two basic types of neuroimaging?

Answer 23

Structural and functional.

Question 24

What is structural neuroimaging used for?

Answer 24

To examine the physical structure of the brain. E.g., CAT scan, MRI.

Question 25

What is functional neuroimaging used for?

Answer 25

To measure the amount of oxygenated blood flowing to different parts of the brain. E.g., fMRI.

Question 26

What can blood and saliva assays tell us?

Answer 26

They can analyze hormone levels as well as assess the relationship between psychological processes and physical health.

Question 27

What are some examples of precise measurement of overt behaviours?

Answer 27

Attaching sensors to the face to measure blushing, measure blood flow to genitals.

Question 28

How important is phrasing items on a self-report measure?

Answer 28

Very important. Poor wording can doom a study.

Question 29

What are 6 guidelines for writing good questions and items?

Answer 29

Be specific and precise, write simply, avoid making unwarranted assumptions, conditional information should precede the key idea, do not use double-barelled questions, choose an appropriate response format.

Question 30

What are double-barrelled questions?

Answer 30

Questions that ask two questions but only provide an opportunity for one answer.

Question 31

What are the three response formats?

Answer 31

Free-response, rating scale, and multiple choice or fixed-alternative.

Question 32

What are the drawbacks to the free-response format?

Answer 32

Respondent must figure out what kind of response the researcher desires, as well as how extensive it must be.

Question 33

What is the most common form of the rating scale response format?

Answer 33

The 5-point scale.

Question 34

What is the most ubiquitous of all psychological measures?

Answer 34

The questionnaire.

Question 35

What are experience sampling methods (ESM)?

Answer 35

Methods that ask to report what the participant is thinking, feeling, or doing at the that time.

Question 36

What is the purpose of the immediacy of ESM?

Answer 36

To avoid memory biases.

Question 37

What was the first form of ESM?

Answer 37

Using a diary of questionnaires to fill out at certain points throughout the day.

Question 38

What is the more recent form of ESM?

Answer 38

Computerized experience sampling methods such as portable, handheld computers that are programmed to ask about experiences during everyday life.

Question 39

What are 6 ways to improve response quality during interviews?

Answer 39

Create a friendly atmosphere, maintain an attitude of friendly interest, conceal personal reactions to answers, order the sections of the interview to build rapport, ask questions the same way to all participants, and don’t lead the respondent.

Question 40

What 2 advantages do questionnaires have over interviews?

Answer 40

Less expensive and time-consuming, and can assure anonymity.

Question 41

What 3 advantages do interviews have over questionnaire?

Answer 41

Can be administered to illiterate persons, allows researcher to assure understanding of questions, and the ability for follow up questions.

Question 42

What are the 2 biases in self-report measures?

Answer 42

Social desirability response bias; the acquiescence and nay-saying response styles.

Question 43

How can the social desirability bias be reduced?

Answer 43

By wording items neutrally and assuring respondents of anonymity.

Question 44

What is acquiescence?

Answer 44

The tendency to agree with statements regardless of content.

Question 45

What is nay-saying?

Answer 45

Disagreeing.

Question 46

What is archival analysis?

Answer 46

Analyzing data from existing records, most of which had been collected for reasons other than research.

Question 47

What is content analysis?

Answer 47

A set of procedures designed to convert textual information into numerical data that can be analyzed.