critical thinking

Question 1

acronym for critically evaluating a study

Answer 1

Generalization

Replicability, reliability and research method

Alternative explanations

Validity

Ethics

Question 2

generalization

Answer 2

• the ability to relate your sample of people to other people outside of the study
• sometimes on a national or global scale

Question 3

alternative explanations

Answer 3

• although it may seem like X variable is impacting Y variable, it could be totally random or the cause of a third factor
• maybe the culture of a certain place and would need to be replicated in another country to create a higher generalization

Question 4

replicability and reliability

Answer 4

• replicating studies already done with slightly different sample characteristics
• if the same results are found repeatedly then the results are reliable
• if results are the same across cultures and countries then the behaviour could be universal if not it could be culture dependent

Question 5

ecological validity

Answer 5

• the extent in which results from a study can be generalized to real-life settings
• situations in studies can be very different to real life and therefore not representative
• sometimes experiments would be unethical to do with ecological validity

EX: gun violence against minorities by police officers would be unethical to reproduce with ecological validity

Question 6

ethical concerns

Answer 6

• psychologists have carried out experiments that were traumatic and extremely stressful for participants which is unethical

Question 7

ethical guidelines - informed consent

Answer 7

• participants giving consent to take part of the study
• given information about the aim
• what they will have to do
• how long it will take
• any potential risks
• implemented by giving a consent form

Question 8

ethical guidelines - protection from harm

Answer 8

• participants should not be harmed in any way including mental, physical and emotional

Question 9

ethical guidelines - right to withdraw

Answer 9

• participants can leave the experiment whenever they choose and allow for the data that has been collected to not be used

Question 10

ethical guidelines - confidentiality and anonymity

Answer 10

• nobody outside of the experiment should know the names of the participants or the individual results from each participant
• fake names, numbers or pseudonyms should be used and data should be kept in a secure location

Question 11

ethical guidelines - deception and debriefing

Answer 11

• deception is lying and/or misleading participants, useful to avoid demand characteristics
• shouldn’t be done as they may be uncomfortable and in a situation they didn’t give consent to
• some circumstances where is is justified
• must be necessary, minor and not cause any distress
• after the deception they should be debriefed on the true aim of the study and any information that was withheld from them

Question 12

theory

Answer 12

• a theory is a model for understanding people’s thoughts, behaviours and emotions
• predicts how someone may behave in the future
• built on constructs that may not be observable like schema theory

Question 13

acronym for evaluating theories (pear)

Answer 13

Predict
testable predictions about human behaviour?

Explain
convincing explanation about behaviour?

Applicability
useful? able to be applied to help people?

Research evidence
credible research in support of the theory?