Ch2: Research Methods Flashcards
What is a functional rship?
rship between changes in an IV and changes in a DV (cause and effect rship)
What is a stimulus?
any event that can potentially influence behaviour
What is a responce?
particular instances of behaviour
What is overt behaviour and what is covert behaviour?
O= potentially be observed by others not performing behaviour (external). C= can be percieved only by the person performing the behaviour (internal)
What is appetitive and aversive stimuli?
App= event that an organism will seek out, Av= event that an organism will avoid
What is a motivating operation?
any procedure that affects the appetitivness/aversivness of an event
What are the two types of motivating operations?
establishing operation (increased app/av of event) & abolishing operation (decreases app/av of event)
What does contiguity mean and what are the two types?
(closeness or nearness) temporal- extent to which events occur close together in time. spacial- extent to which events are situated close together in space
What is contingency?
a predictive (or functional) rship between two events, such that the occurance of one event predicts the probable occurance of another
What are behavioural definitions?
refers to some observable behaviour (unambiguous, clear, objective)
Describe intensity
force or magnitude of behaviour
Describe duration
length of time
Describe speed
from start to finish
Describe latency.
length of time required for a behaviour to begin (lag time)
Describe INTERVAL RECORDING
measurement of whether or not a behaviour occurs during each interval during a series of continuous intervals (no. of intervals in concern)
Describe time sample recording
measure of whether of not a behaviour occurs during each interval within a series of discontinuous intervals (spaced apart - time blocks)
Describe topography
physical form of behaviour (eg how rats press on lever)
What demonstrates interobserver reliability?
two or some independant observers for at least part of the assessment (no. of intervals during which observers agree ÷ total no. intervals
What is decriptive research?
gathering info about a behaviour and circumstances it occurs in (no manipulation of variables)
What is naturalistic observation?
one systematically observes and records occurance of a behaviour in natural environment
What are strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation?
rish and detailed info, but difficult to determine cause and effect and extranious variables
