Chapter 2- Research Methods In Psychology

Question 0

What is an independent and dependent variable ?

Answer 0

Independent variable- a condition or event that an experiment or varies/ manipulates in order to observe its impact on another variable
Dependent variable- a variable that is thought to be affected by the manipulation of the independent variable

Question 1

What are the 6 steps involved in experimental research?

Answer 1

1. Framing a hypothesis
2. Operationalising variables- converting abstract concepts to a testable form
3. developing a standard procedure
4. Selecting and assigning participants
5. Applying statistical techniques to data
6. Drawings conclusions

Question 2

What is experimental research?

Answer 2

Psychologists manipulate some aspect of a situation and examine the impact one the way participants respond to asses cause and effect.

Question 3

What is descriptive research?

Answer 3

Describes the phenomena as they already exist rather than manipulating variables. Unlike experiments, descriptive methods cannot unambiguously establish causation.

Question 4

What are the three types of descriptive research? Briefly explain each.

Answer 4

Case study- in depth observation of one or more people. Useful in her meeting a hypothesis and in exploring complex phenomena that are difficult to examine experimentally. Can not be repeated or generalized and cannot establish causation
Naturalistic observation- in depth observation of. Phenomenon in its natural setting. Useful for describing comped phenomena as they exist outside the laboratory. Cannot be repeated or generalized or establish causation
Survey research - involves asking a large number of people questions, generally about their attitude or behaviour through interviews and questionnaires. Cannot establish causation.

Question 5

What is correlation research?

Answer 5

Asses the degree to which two variables are related. Correlating two variables means to assess the extent to which being high or low in one measure persists high or low on the other. Correlation research can shed important light in the relationship among variables, but correlation does not imply causation

Question 6

What are the two types of correlation research? Briefly explain

Answer 6

Positive correlation- the higher the individuals measure predicts being high or low in the one variable, the higher they are likely to measure on the other.
Negative correlation- the higher the individuals measure on one variable the lower they will measure on the other

Question 7

What are the four characteristics of psychological research?

Answer 7

A theoretical framework- systematic way of organizing and explaining observations. Hypothesis that flows from the theory or an important question.
A standardized procedure- a procedure that is the same for all participants except where variation is introduced to test a hypothesis
Generalizability- sample that is representative of the population. Procedure is valid and relevant to circumstances outside the laboratory.
Objective measure- measure that are reliable and produce consistent results. Measures that are valid and asses the dimensions they purport to assess