Chapter 2 - Methodology Flashcards
How do social psychologists develop hypotheses and theories?
- Inspiration from previous theories and research
- Hypotheses based on personal observations
What is the Hindsight Bias
The tendency for people to exaggerate, after knowing that something occurred, how much they could have predicted it before it occurred.
Name the 3 different kinds of research methods used in social psych, their focus, and what question they answer
- Observational - descriptive focus, answers what is the nature of the phenomenon?
- Correlations - predictive, answers from knowing X, can we predict Y?
- Experimental - causality, is variable X a cause of variable Y?
Describe observational method
The technique whereby a researcher observes people and systematically records measurements or impressions of their behaviour
What is ethnography?
An example of the observational method where researchers attempt to understand a group or culture by observing it from the inside with out imposing preconceived notions they might have about the group.
Archival Analysis?
A form of the observational method – looking at accumulated, archival documents of a culture
What are the limits of the observational method?
can observe particular behaviours/patterns occurring but no information around why they might be occurring
Describe the correlational method
the technique whereby 2 or more variables are systemactially measured and the relationship between them is assessed. (ie. How much one can be predicted from the other)
What is the correlational coefficient?
A statistical technique that assesses how well you can predict one variable from another – eg. How well you can predict one persons weight from their height.
What is random selection?
A way of ensuring a sample is representative of a population by giving everyone in the population equal chance of being selected in the sample
What are the types of correlations and describe them
- Types of correlations:
- positive
- No correlation
- Negative
Describe the experimental method (including IV and DV)
Experimental Method – Participants randomly assigned to different conditions ensuring the identical conditions except for the independent variable
Independent Variable – The variable a researcher measures to see if it has an effect on some other variable
Dependent variable – The variable a researcher measures to see if it is influenced by the independent variable. Hypothesis is that the DV will change depending on level of IV
What is triangulation?
the use of multiple methods at the same time
What is INTERNAL VALIDITY
Keeping everything the same in an experiment except for the independent variable.
- This is accomplished by controlling all extraneous variables and by randomly assigning people to different experimental conditions.
- When internal validity is high, experimenter can judge whether the independent variable causes the dependent variable.
What are some advantages and disadvantages of surveys?
Questionnaires - efficient standardies
interviews - expensive, easy for data to become contaminated, problem of social desirability effects.
What is external validity?
Generalisability of effect beyound research setting (situation) and specific people tested
Social desirability effects?
Participants adjust behaviour to be seen in a positive light
What is external validity? and how is it accomplished?
Generalisability of effect beyound research setting (situation) and specific people tested
- is accomplished by increasing the realism of the experiment, particularly its psychological realism (the extent to which the psychological processes triggered in the experiment are similar to those triggered in everyday life). It is also accomplished by replicating the study with different populations of participants.
Unobtrusive measures
participant is not aware of the measure ( a way of getting around demand characteristics).
Ethical Principles of scientific research
- Respect for participants.
- Informed consent.
- No coercion.
- Protection of confidentiality.
- Only use deception if completely necessary to the study.
Explain Probability Level (p-value)
How likely is it that the results obtained have occurred by chance. If p<0.05 there is a less than 5 in 100 probability that the results have occurred by chance (ie. It is likely that the results obtained are due to the independent variable – P<0.05 is statistically significant.)
Psychological Realism
The extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to psychological processes that occur in everyday life
What is a field experiment and example of this type of study
Field Experiments – Experiments conducted in natural settings rather than in the laboratory
Eg. Latane and Darley (1970) – tested hypothesis on group size and bystander intervention outside a convenience store in NYC with 2 robbers.
What is the basic dilemma of a social psychologist
Trade off between internal and external validity.
Explain cross-cultural research
Research conducted with members of different cultures to test whether psychological processes of interest are present in both cultures
Who sits on an institutional review board?
at least one scientist, one nonscientist, and one person unaffiliated with the institution.
A researcher conducts a study with participants who are college students. The researcher then repeats the study using the same procedures but with members of the general population (i.e., adults) as participants. The results are similar for both samples. The research has established ________ through ________.
external validity, replication
Professor X wants to make sure his study of gifted youngsters will get published, but he’s worried that his findings could have been caused by something other than the independent variable, which was a new teaching method he introduced. He is concerned with the ________ his experiment.
internal validity
Explain Social Neuroscience
Social psychologists have become increasingly interested in the connection between biological processes and social behavior. These interests include the study of hormones and behavior, the human immune system, and neuro- logical processes in the human brain.
Difference between basic and applied neuroscience
basic research experiments (designed to answer basic questions about why people do what they do), whereas others are applied studies (designed to find ways to solve specific social problems).
Reliability versus Validity?
Reliability is consistency across time (test-retest reliability), across items (internal consistency), and across researchers (interrater reliability). Validity is the extent to which the scores actually represent the variable they are intended to. Validity is a judgment based on various types of evidence.
