Cognitive Research Methods Flashcards
What are field experiments?
Conducted in natural settings but still involve the manipulation of variables.
What are laboratory experiments?
Conducted in controlled environments, allowing manipulation of variables.
What is observational studies?
Involves watching and recording behaviour without manipulation, can be naturalistic or controlled.
What are case studies?
In-depth examination of a single individual or small group, providing qualitative data.
What’s quantitive data?
Numerical data that can be analysed statistically (eg: reaction times//scores.)
What is qualitative data?
Descriptive data (eg: interviews, open-ended questions).
What is random sampling?
Every member of pop has equal chance of being selected, reducing bias.
What is stratified sampling?
Pop divided into subgroups, samples drawn from each to ensure representation.
What is opportunity sampling?
Ppts selected based on availability, could introduce bias.
What is volunteer sampling?
When people choose to participate in the study and volunteer themselves for it.
Ethical Considerations
- informed consent
- deception
- confidentiality
- right to withdraw
Internal Validity
Extent to which study accurately measures what it intends to measure, free from confounding variables.
- Construct validity
- Concurrent validity
External Validity
Extent to which findings can be generalised to other settings//pops//times.
- Ecological validity
- Mundane Realism
What is demand characteristics?
Ppts may change their behaviour based on cues from research environment.
What was the aim and key findings of Baddeley’s experiment on memory?
- To investigate the effects of semantic similarity on short-term and long-term memory recall.
- Ppts struggled to recall semantically similar words compared to dissimilar, phonological coding used in STM
- Semantically similar words more difficult to remember in LTM, semantic coding more dominant
What is counterbalancing and why is it used in research?
Counterbalancing is a technique used to control for order effects in repeated measures designs. It involves systematically varying the order of conditions or treatments across participants.
What are order effects in psychological research?
Order effects refer to the influence that the sequence of conditions or tasks can have on participants’ responses in a study, particularly in repeated measures designs.
What are extraneous variables?
- Extraneous variables are any factors other than the independent variable that could affect the dependent variable.
- Eg: ppt traits like age or mood//env factors like noise or lighting.
What is the acronym Dairy Milk Ice Cream
Dependent Measure
Independent Control
What are confounding variables?
- Confounding variables are factors that can confuse the results of a study by affecting both the independent and dependent variables.
- EG: If more study time leads to better test scores, but students with more study time also have better prior knowledge, the prior knowledge is a confounding variable.
- Can be fixed by using matching groups or random assignment
One-tailed hypotheses
A hypothesis that predicts the direction of the effect or difference. It tests for an effect in one specific direction.
- EG: “Students who study in groups will have higher test scores than those who study alone.”
Two-tailed hypothesis
A hypothesis that predicts a difference but does not specify the direction. It tests for any effect, whether positive or negative.
- EG: “There is a difference in test scores between students who study in groups and those who study alone.”
