Chapter 9 Flashcards
Are there any rules for operationalizing conceptual variables?
No, it depends on the variable. cost, practicality, ethical concerns. and researcher’s creativity
How can we implement experimental control/
(1) Ensuring only the IV changes across conditions (2) Avoiding alternative explanations such as demand characteristics and experimenter expectancy effects
How can we optimize the operational definitions of the IV and DV?
(1) Avoiding ceiling and floor effects (2) Appropriately pairing IV and DV
Demand characteristics
Any feature of an experiment that might inform participants of the purpose of the study or how he/she is expected to behave; a threat to internal validity
Hawthorne Effect
A participant is aware that he or she is being observed, thus performance is affected
Evaluation Apprehension
The anxiety that comes from being evaluated influences performance
What are the ways to avoid demand characteristics?
Single blind study, distractor/filler items, using deception or unobtrusive measures to disguise the actual purpose of the study, asking participants what they thought the research was about
Single blind study
Keep the participant blind to the hypothesis of the study and the treatment group they are part of
Distractor/filler items
Items included in a questionnaire measure that have little to do with the actual research question
Experimenter expectancy effects or Experimenter bias
Researcher knows what condition participants are in and intentionally or unintentionally manipulates an experiment in order to find the expected effect and confirm the hypothesis
Experimenter expectancy in police line-ups
Police may influence the eyewitness in choosing a certain suspect
Clever Hans effect
A horse named Hans taps out the answers to math equations but the experimenter provided involuntary cues through small head or eye movements for the answers
What are the ways to avoid experimenter expectancy effects?
double blind study and computer study
Double blind study
Keep both the researcher and participant blind to the hypothesis of the study or to the participant’s particular group or condition; Usually require an experimenter that administers the independent variable and another experimenter that administers the dependent variable
Computer study
Have a computer run the study to minimize the interactions between researcher and participant
Interaction effects
Various social components of the researcher/participant interaction may affect the results
Biosocial effect
characteristics of the researcher(s) can affect the behavior of the participant
Psychosocial effect
attitude of the researcher can affect the behavior of the participant
Ceiling effect
Majority of the dependent variable values approach the upper limit; The measure is too easy and everybody does well so it fails to detect difference; Little variability in scores and hard to see the effect of IV
Floor effect
Majority of the dependent variable values approach the lower limit; The measure is too hard and everyone does poorly so it fails to detect difference; Little variability and hard to see the effect of the IV
Strong vs. weak IV
(1) Strong IV is likely to generate a large change in the DV (2) Weak IV is unlikely to generate a large change
High vs. Low sensitivity DV (measurement of DV or DV itself)
(1) Highly sensitive DV changes easily, enables us to detect small differences (2) Low sensitivity DV is resistant to change
What are the two types of operational definitions of the IV?
Straightforward manipulations and staged manipulations
Straightforward manipulation of IV
Operationalizations that involve manipulating the independent variable using instructions or other stimulus materials in a simple and obvious way
Mundane realism
the extent to which the experiences in a study resemble closely an experience of everyday life
Staged manipulations
Operationalizations of an independent variable that involve creating a complex situation that participants experience; Deception is often used to conceal the fact that
the situation is a ruse
What are the two main reasons why staged manipulations are employed/
(1) Researcher may be trying to create a certain psychological state in participants (2) To simulate situations that occur in the real world
Confederate (or an accomplice) in staged manipulations
May be used to create a particular social situation or administer the independent variable; Usually introduced as another participant in the experiment
Experimental realism
The extent to which the experiences in a study are experienced by participants as impactful and engaging
Manipulation strength
degree to which levels of an independent variable differ from each other
Pros and cons of straightforward manipulation
Pros: simple and easy, very common; Cons: can be too artificial, demand characteristics
Pros and cons of staged manipulations
Pros: better simulation, can avoid demand characteristics; Cons: may arouse suspicion, can be difficult to proceed as planned
Manipulation check
a measure used to determine whether the manipulation of the independent variable has had its intended effect on a participant
What are the advantages of a manipulation check?
(1) You can change the procedures in the actual study if the manipulation is not effective in a pilot study (2) Can determine if the independent variable is the reason for an effect/no effect on the dependent variable
What are the ways to operationalize measured variables?
Self-report measure, behavioral measure, and physiological measure
Self-report measure
An operationalization of a variable that involves asking people to explicitly indicate something about themselves (e.g., personality, behaviour, attitudes, typically using rating scales with descriptive anchors
Behavioral measure
An operationalization of a variable that involves directly observing and precisely recording an aspect of behaviour (e.g. rate or number of times behavior occurs, duration, reaction time).
Physiological measure
An operationalization of a variable that involves observing and recording a response from the body (e.g. galvanic skin response, EMG, ECG, EEG, MRI, fMRI)
Sensitivity
the ability of a measure to detect differences or changes
How can you diagnose a potential ceiling or floor effect?
Look for average values close to the minimum or maximum possible score
What are the ways to avoid order effects from multiple measures?
(1) Present the most important measures first (2) Counterbalance the order of presenting measures or rely on complete randomization of order
Pilot study
A trial run where data is collected from a few participants before the actual study but not using it as part of the official data set
What are the advantages of a pilot study/
(1) Preliminary manipulation check (2) Ensure that all research team members know how the study works (3) Make minor adjustments before spending money or “real” participants
How can observational research minimize demand characteristics?
The observer is hidden and unobtrusive measures are used so people are not aware that an experiment is taking place or that they are being observed
Placebo effect
we are unaware whether or not the improvement in a participant’s condition is caused by the properties of the drug or by what he/she expected to feel after taking it
Placebo group
a control group given the expectation of improvement through treatment in order to control for the psychological effects of receiving a treatment (e.g. participants are given an inert or a harmless substance instead of a drug)
What are the 2 potential sources of experimenter bias?
(1) Experimenter may unintentionally treat participants differently depending on the condition they’re in (2) Experimenter can change the interpretation and record of behaviors for people in different conditions
