Cream Pack 1

Question 1

What is a confederate?

Answer 1

A Confederate is a person who takes part in the research but is not a true participant. Confederates are working with the researcher and are simply playing a part.

Question 2

Why do we consider Ethical issues in Psychological Research?

Answer 2

a) To safeguard the interests of the participants.
- In psychological research there is a clear need to protect human participants from physical or mental harm.

b) Society in general has expectation of high standards of moral behaviour in scientists.

c) The professional reputation of psychology is at stake.
- A good reputation is essential for research in psychology to attract research grants and participants.

Question 3

What is the aim of the BPS code of Ethics and Conduct (2009)

Answer 3

The aim of the code is that it should provide ethical standards which apply to all psychologists.
‘Do unto others as you would be done by’

Question 4

Identify the four main ethical principles of the BPS code of Ethics and Conduct (2009)?

Answer 4

• respect
• competence
• responsibility
• integrity

Question 5

Define the ethical principle respect:

Answer 5

Psychologists value the dignity worth of all persons with particular regard to peoples rights including those of privacy and self determination.

• Respect individual, cultural and role differences
• Avoid practices that are unfair or prejudiced

Question 6

Define the ethical principle Competence:

Answer 6

Psychologist value the continuing development and maintenance of high standards in their professional work

• have an awareness of professional ethics
• use ethical decision making when planning research

Question 7

Define the ethical principle responsibility:

Answer 7

psychologist value their responsibilities to the clients to the general public and to the profession and science of psychology.

• avoid harming clients
• eliminate potential harm to psychological well-being, physical health, personal values or dignity.

Question 8

Define the ethical principle Integrity:

Answer 8

psychologist value honesty accuracy clarity and fairness in their interactions with all persons.

• be honest and accurate and convey professional conclusions, opinions and research findings.
• Challenge colleagues who appear to have engaged in ethical misconduct.

Question 9

Describe the ethical issue informed consent:

Answer 9

•Psychologist should ensure that participants are given ample opportunity to understand the nature, purpose and anticipated consequences of any research participation so that they may give informed consent to the extent that their capabilities allow.

Question 10

Describe the ethical issue deception:

Answer 10

•Psychologists should Avoid intentional deception unless:

• deception is necessary in exceptional circumstances to preserve the integrity of research.
• The nature of deception is disclosed to participants at the earliest feasible opportunity.

Question 11

Describe the ethical issue Right to withdraw:

Answer 11

Psychologists should:
•Ensure that participants are aware of the right to withdraw any time from research participation.
•Comply with requests by participants who are withdrawing from research that any data which they might be first identified be destroyed.
•Inform research participants that their right to withdraw at any time is not affected by the receipts off of any financial compensation or other inducements for participation.

Question 12

Describe the ethical issue protection of participants:

Answer 12

Psychologists should:
•Avoid harming participants
•Consider all research from the standpoint of research participants for the purpose of eliminating potential risks to psychological well-being, physical health, personal values or dignity.
•Refrain from using financial compensation or other inducements for research participants to risk harm beyond that which they face in their normal lifestyles.

Question 13

Name two advantages of following ethical guidelines:

Answer 13

1) participants are likely to be protected from physical and psychological harm when ethical guidelines are followed. Therefore meeting ethical standards is morally the thing to do.
2) applying high ethical standards at all times maintains the high reputation of psychology this must be high for practical reasons.

Question 14

Name two disadvantage of following ethical guidelines:

Answer 14

1) The understanding of human behaviour is restricted. Researchers are not able to do a covert observation of private behaviour that that is behind close doors as it becomes impossible to do as ethical guidelines are applied.
2) ethical guidelines constrain research in psychology and therefore reduce its validity
3) difficult to study controversial topic areas in a lifelike manner. This can reduce credibility as research situations are not realistic (lacking ecological validity)

Question 15

Give one ethical reason why animals should be use in psychological research:

Answer 15

Ethical reasons- many experiments are deemed unethical for human testing but important enough to be justified for animal testing.
So animals are used as a substitute.

Question 16

Give three reasons why animals should not be used in psychological research:

Answer 16

1) Ethical reasons- animals are harmed during research due to pain, suffering, frustration and boredom
2) Practical reasons- animals are not similar enough to humans so don’t allow a valid generalisation.
3) The benefits to humans are not proven and could be sought another way

Question 17

Explain the guideline for psychologist working with animals (BPS 2012) 3. Choice of Species:

Answer 17

psychologists must choose a species that is scientifically and ethically suitable for the intended use.

Question 18

Explain the guideline for psychologist working with animals (BPS 2012) 4. Number of animals:

Answer 18

psychologists must use smallest number of animals sufficient to accomplish the research goals.

Question 19

Explain the guideline for psychologist working with animals (BPS 2012) 7. Animal Care:

Answer 19

psychologists must ensure that the condition animals are being kept in when they are not being studied meet high standards.

Question 20

Explain the guideline for psychologist working with animals (BPS 2012) 5. Procedures:

Answer 20

psychologists should ensure that any scientific procedure involving a protected animal that may have affect of causing pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm is avoided.
Permission to perform such procedures requires a project license. Such a license is only granted after weighing the benefits of the proposed program against the costs (in welfare terms) to the animals that will be used in the work.

Question 21

What are the 3Rs in the Home Office guidelines and regulations on the use of animals in research?

Answer 21

• animals are REPLACED with non-animal alternatives where ever possible
• that the number of animals is REDUCED to the minimum needed to achieve the results sought
• and for those animals which must be used procedures are REFINED as much as possible to minimise this suffering.

Question 22

What are The three licenses required by the ASPA before testing on animals is permitted?

Answer 22

• a PERSONAL license for each person carrying out procedures on animals
• a PROJECT license for the particular program of research
• an ESTABLISHMENT license for the PLACE at which the work is carried out

Question 23

Give one advantage of the use of ethical guidelines in psychological research with animals:

Answer 23

Adhering to societies moral standards means people are comfortable with the research being carried out on animals ensuring a good reputation of psychological research.

Question 24

Give one disadvantage of the use of ethical guidelines in psychological research with animals:

Answer 24

Must use the smallest possible number of animals so generalisability and reliability of findings might be questioned.

Question 25

Give two practical reasons why animals should be used in psychological research:

Answer 25

•Similarities to humans- Some psychologists claim humans have evolved from other animals. As humans are just more complex animals it makes sense to study more simple organisms first and the generalise the results to humans.

•Animals are good participants-
they do not try to understand the purpose of the experiment & are more controllable. research with animals tends to be highly reliable because of the use of well-controlled standardised lab experiments which are easily replicated.

Question 26

Identify 8 ethical guidelines in the BPS guidelines for psychologists working with animals (2012)

Answer 26

1) Legislation
2) Replacing the use of animals
3) Choice of species
4) Number of animals
5) Procedures
6) Procurement of animals
7) Animal Care
8) Disposing of animals

Question 27

What is risk management is psychological research?

Answer 27

the forecasting and evaluation of ethical risks together with the identification of procedures to avoid minimise the impact.

Question 28

what is the risk management process for psychological research?

Answer 28

Identify the risk 
⬇️
Assess the risk 
⬇️ 
Plan response to the risk 
⬇️
Implement Response

Question 29

what is the cost-benefit analysis in risk management?

Answer 29

cost-benefit analysis is systematic process for comparing the benefits and costs of ethical decisions.

Costs are the potential negative consequences of research.

Benefits are the potential positive consequences to research.

In weighing up costs against benefits we ask you whether the ends justify the means.

Question 30

give a potential cost of psychological research for the participants involved.

Answer 30

physical or mental harm.

Question 31

give a potential benefit of psychological research for the participants involved.

Answer 31

learn something new about themselves or gain a new perspective.
Feel satisfaction for helping with the future/ development of science.

Question 32

what are two disadvantages of cost-benefit analysis?

Answer 32

• it involves subjective judgements about costs and benefits

* Consequences/outcomes of research weather in the form of high costs or low benefits cannot always be anticipated.

Question 33

in the BPS code of ethics and conduct (2009) what three things does the standard 2.2 on ethical decision making say a psychologist must do?

Answer 33

• recognise that ethical dilemmas will inevitably arise in the course of professional practice
• Accept they have responsibility to solve such dilemmas
• Be committed to the requirements of the code (BPS 2009)

Question 34

define the concept of reliability in psychological research

Answer 34

if a research findings can be replicated to produce similar findings consistently over a number of investigations then it can be considered reliable.

Question 35

define replication

Answer 35

Repeating a study to check it’s overall reliability is called replication

Question 36

What are standardised procedures?

Answer 36

standardisation procedures= A set of events that occur in the same way every time data is collected for a study. These are used to minimise variation in what each participant experiences and what each research it does.

Question 37

what is inter-observer reliability?

Answer 37

The extent to which different observers produce the same records when they observe the same sequence of behaviour

Question 38

what is the test-retest method?

Answer 38

A group of participants complete a test twice at different times. The first and second scores are correlated and a high positive correlation means the test produces reliable outcomes. (This method is not useful if the test is very memorable)

Question 39

What is a split-half method?

Answer 39

This measures the extent to which the different items on the test are measuring consistently. All participants take the test only once. Then their scores on one half of the test are compared with their scores on the other half of the test. A high correlation indicates that the test items are equivalent and consistent in the way that they are measuring the variable of interest

Question 40

Define validity

Answer 40

The extent to which a study has measured what it claims to measure. validity in psychology therefore is of concern with the accuracy of the measurement (or the operationalisation) Of the variables involved in the human behaviour.

Question 41

What does it mean to operationalise a variable?

Answer 41

The researcher needs to define in precise terms how we will measure it

Question 42

What are observable actions?

Answer 42

Any kind of behaviour that can actually be seen and or directly measured.

Question 43

What are mental processes and experiences?

Answer 43

human behaviour that’s is internal or hidden from view and cannot be directly observed

Question 44

What is an inference?

Answer 44

an inference is a logical conclusion which is based on available evidence.

Question 45

What is objectivity in psychological research?

Answer 45

Objectivity in psychological research refers to the ability to carry out an investigation and collect data without allowing personal interpretation or bias the influence the process at any stage.

Question 46

What is subjectivity in psychological research?

Answer 46

subjectivity in psychological research refers to a tendency to allow personal opinions and beliefs influence the way data is collected and how it is then interpreted.

Question 47

What are the two main ways of assessing the validity of psychological research?

Answer 47

1. Internal Validity

2. External Validity

Question 48

What is internal validity?

Answer 48

internal validity refers to the extent to which a test or measure of human behaviour actually measures what is supposed to. This is related to what actually happens in a study in particular procedure involved in collecting the data.

Question 49

Identify the 4 types of internal validity

Answer 49

1. Face validity
2. Concurrent validity
3. Predictive validity
4. Construct validity

Question 50

What is face validity?

Answer 50

Face validity refers to the extent to which a measure appears-on the face of it-at the surface to measure what it is supposed to measure.
It is probably the least sophisticated way of judging validity as it is a subjective assessment on whether or not a study appears to measure the behaviour it can claims is too. However if the judgement of face validity came from an expert in the field then it may be more worthwhile.

Question 51

What is concurrent validity?

Answer 51

Concurrent validity is a way of assessing validity by comparing the results of a measure with another already established measure for the same behaviour.
If the outcomes agree they have concurrent validity.

Question 52

What is predictive validity?

Answer 52

predictive validity refers to how well a test or measure predicts future behaviours.

Question 53

What is construct validity?

Answer 53

construct validity is a way of assessing validity by showing that the test is measuring a phenomenon on that actually exists.

Question 54

What is external validity?

Answer 54

external validity refers to the extent to which the results of the study can be generalised to populations and situations beyond the boundaries of the study.

Question 55

*what is ecological validity?

Answer 55

Ecological validity of piece of research refers to the extent to which a research finding obtained in one environment or situation can be generalised to a different environment or situation.

The most frequent application of this concept is concerned with the extent to which research findings from a lab (a setting that has been created by the researcher) can be applied to real life.

Question 56

what two factors have an impact on the ecological validity?

Answer 56

• the setting

* the task

Question 57

define generalisability

Answer 57

generalisability refers to the extent to which findings of a piece of research can be applied beyond the research itself.

Question 58

various factors influence how generalisable research finding is list these factors:

Answer 58

GENERALISABILITY TO A POPULATION– this will depend upon how representative of the that target population the sample is. In addition individual individual differences in behaviour often prevent psychologists from taking blanket generalisations.

GENERALISABILITY TO OTHER AGE GROUPS- we need to take into account the developmental differences in behaviour.

GENERALISABILITY FROM HUMANS TO ANIMALS – how easy this is to do may depend on a number of factors such as the behaviour being studied and animals that were used.

GENERALISABILITY TO OTHER CULTURES will depend upon not only the sample but the way the research was done. All research is conducted in particular social and cultural context– it is usually difficult to interpret research findings as applying to people in all cultures.
Ethnocentric bias can happen in psychological research and is defined as the tendency to interpret human behaviour from a viewpoint of our own ethnic, social or other group.

GENERALISABILITY TO REAL LIFE- Artificial settings and tasks often mean that lab experiments like mundane realism i.e. they are not reflective of ordinary life. Therefore the participants may not be behaving as they normally do.

Question 59

What is quantitive data?

Answer 59

quantitive data is in the form of numbers and quantifies the behaviour being studied through measuring it on a numerical basis.

Question 60

what is qualitative data?

Answer 60

qualitative data is in the form of words and aims to give a complete account of what people think or feel based on what they say or what they write.

Question 61

give one advantage of quantitive data.

Answer 61

tends to be more reliable as the research producing this data tends to be easier to replicate.

Question 62

give one disadvantage of quantitive data

Answer 62

Reduces an oversimplifies complex behaviours to a set of numbers – such reductionism in measuring behaviour can reduce the validity as it does not provide an accurate reflection of the behaviour.

Question 63

give one advantage of qualitative data

Answer 63

rich and detailed information about the behaviour being studied – therefore represent the true complexities of human behaviour which increases validity.

Question 64

give one disadvantage of qualitative data

Answer 64

Can be difficult to analyse – it may be difficult to identify trends and themes in data and reach conclusions

Question 65

what is primary data

Answer 65

The data gathered by researchers themselves

Question 66

what is secondary data

Answer 66

The data gathered from already existing sources

Question 67

what is an advantage of primary data?

Answer 67

The key advantage of primary sources of data is that the researcher is in control of the quality of the research because they design the research and then collect and analyse the data themselves.

Question 68

List the characteristics of science

Answer 68

Scientific knowledge should:
•be empirical 
•be falsifiable 
•be replicable and reliable
•Science also tends to be reductionist

Question 69

What is empiricism?

Answer 69

Empiricism suggests that the only dependable source of knowledge comes to us directly from our senses.
Therefore in the sciences empiricism refers to an emphasis on those aspects of scientific knowledge that are gained from direct experience.

Question 70

What is falsification?

Answer 70

Falsification is the idea that we can only truly prove something is not the case. In science it is the act of providing empirical evidence that a theory or hypothesis is false were incorrect.

Question 71

What is reductionism?

Answer 71

reductionism is the idea that because different phenomena in the world are so complex it is more useful to study these phenomena by breaking them down into their component parts and study each of the parts separately.

Question 72

give one argument supporting psychology as a science

Answer 72

much research in psychology is replicable and reliable due to the use of standardisation even in non-experimental methods. This allows easy replication leading to higher reliability in the research findings

Question 73

give one argument against the idea that psychology is science

Answer 73

Psychology is not empirical as much of the subject matter that psychology is interested in is not directly observable – and therefore cannot be accurately measured using empirical research methods.

Question 74

Define credibility

Answer 74

when research is believable and convincing