Doing Psychology

Question 1

benefits of interviews

Answer 1

ppts own lang, allows analysis of lang and meaning
richness of life stories
discover what ppt wants to talk about
can open unanticipated areas of research
pick up cues outside of speech e.g photos, possessions tidyness
empowering participants giving them a voice

Question 2

what type of person benefits most from being empowered

Answer 2

minority groups

Question 3

describe a structured interview

Answer 3

known as quantitative interview
interview schedule w fixed set of questions
short specific q w corresponding predetermined categories w set of possible answers
sometimes free response later categorised
fixed order
no prompting/improvisation can only repeat question
formal rapport
data analysed quantitatively

Question 4

describe a semi structured interview

Answer 4

qualitative interview
interview schedule but only guides it
interviewer has topics to cover but can enter into world of ppt to develop unexpected themes - can ask non listed questions
order of q not as important
there is probing
relatively informal
data transcribed and analysed qualitatively

Question 5

describe an unstructured interview

Answer 5

qualitative interview
interview schedule but not strictly followed
order of q not important
topics to cover but want ppt to talk at length about themselves and their history in own words
probing + follow up qs
attempt to create closer relationship

Question 6

when is an unstructured interview commonly used

Answer 6

w ignored/misrepresented voices or sensitive topics

interviewer may need to develop counselling skills e.g empathy honesty and support

Question 7

qualitative interviews are on an individual basis, are focus groups?

Answer 7

no they include a group of people and are sometimes referred to as group interviews

Question 8

what is the process in a focus group

Answer 8

researcher acts as a facilitator of a small group discussion
group share a common characteristic and experience
flexible question schedule of q and can include stimulus material

Question 9

what is the general process with carrying out any research interview from start to finish

Answer 9

planning and preparing - select topic + research q, decide sort of interview, design int schedule, sample, get ethical approval

conduct interview

transcribe

analyse and write up results

Question 10

how to know if the interview schedule is a good one

Answer 10

can only know after tested it on a ppt

Question 11

what are the general guidelines for a semi structured interviews schedule (creating it)

Answer 11

base it off the research q 
look at literature 
decide on themes and broad areas 
sequence them in logical order 
for each theme design several questions and order them 
leave sensitive questions to the end

Question 12

guidelines for the questions in a semi structured interview schedule (question specifics)

Answer 12

start w opening up questions (general e.g demographics)
more specific questions follow
open ended q w probes
prepare prompts for q you anticipate difficulties w answering
cues as continuers e.g hmm i see
avoid jargon questions
non leading, no two in one questions, non threatening questions
close w a clean up question to allow ppt to raise issues about topic missed

Question 13

in general how do you sample qualitative interviewing

Answer 13

small sample carefully selected for research

not representative of general public

Question 14

what are three examples of non representative sampling

Answer 14

purposive sampling
snowballing
convenience

Question 15

describe purposive sampling

Answer 15

selecting people based on relevance to research question theoretical position and analytical framework

Question 16

snowballing sampling

Answer 16

word of mouth
networks to locate people who fit certain criteria
often only way to locate an otherwise invisible group

Question 17

convenience sampling

Answer 17

locating a group of people as quickly as possible in order to maximise convenience and minimise the cost - as friends colleagues students etc

Question 18

ethics - what information do you need to give about the research for ethical approval

Answer 18

the researcher, project, interview q, level of intrusion in private spheres, sensitive topics. how long
right of interviewee not to answer and withdraw at any time
what happens to info - writing findings up
level of confidentiality
benefits of the project

Question 19

who do you need approval from for the research to go ahead

Answer 19

interviewee 
parents or guardians 
research community
review board
institute operating under

Question 20

how do you obtain approval from the participant

Answer 20

informed consent form
get agreement to take part
establish confidentiality anonymity storage and data protection

Question 21

what does the planning stage of a qualitative interview involve

Answer 21

testing interview schedule before the interview - practice delivering the questions with people
you never know if you will get a good schedule until its been tested - dependent in interviewee and interaction
decide where to do it, public or private but needs to be quiet
how recording it

Question 22

guidelines for starting the interview

Answer 22

provide info about the research, establish consent, confidentiality how long it will take etc. establish rapport put ppt at ease
ensure no interruptions
place recorder within ppt reach (they can stop it if want)
open up questions then interview questions
ask one at a time

Question 23

things to do when in the middle of the interview

Answer 23

listen to them do not interrupt
after exploring each them, think quickly ask questions related to research aim/question
monitor their behaviour - effect of questions, uncomfortable or bored?

Question 24

what to do at the end and after the interview

Answer 24

discuss the process with the interviewee
thank them
make notes about clues beyond conversation e.g appearance facial expressions
make methodological notes
transcribe within 12 hours to maximise recall

Question 25

what is transcribing

Answer 25

produce a written representation of audio (and video) recording
focus groups can also give video recording which might be transcribed
emails dont have to be transcribed

Question 26

what are the two types of transcription and the different methods under them

Answer 26

Orthographic transcription:
thematic analysis 
grounded theory
interpretative phenomenological analysis
narrative analysis

Jefferson transcription:
Discursive psychology
conversation analysis

Question 27

describe orthographic transcription

Answer 27

word for word
w or w out punctuation 
identification of each speaker in turn 
no non linguistic cues
can have very basic ones e.g pause, stress or laugh

Question 28

describe non linguistic transcription

Answer 28

includes non linguistic cues
pauses mms stresses laughs,
identify speaker
indication of extra linguistic features such as gestures expressions direction of gaze etc.

Question 29

important things to remember about transcribing

Answer 29

transcribe but preserve anonymity (invent code name)
very time consuming so set enough aside
check against the recording produce a reliable transcription of the recorded interviews

Question 30

how to analyse qualitative interview data

Answer 30

thematic analysis
grounded theory
conversation analysis/ discursive psychology(may be fine)

Question 31

if data in qualitative interview describe significant experiences which transcribing method should i use

Answer 31

interpretative phenomenological analysis

Question 32

if data is narrative in character what transcribing method use

Answer 32

narrative analysis

Question 33

what is the background information for thematic analysis

Answer 33

method of qualitative data analysis not a methodology
very flexible can analyse any qualitative data
aim to find relevant themes
themes reflect existing theories (deductive) or can be generated from the data (inductive)

Question 34

what is the sample for thematic analysis and the transcription method and the analysis type

Answer 34

sampling is usually purposive (or convenience)
small and big data sets

transcription = orthographic of what is said

analysis = step by step from coding to identifying themes

Question 35

what other methods does thematic analysis provide a foundation for

Answer 35

interpretative phenomenological analysis
narrative analysis
grounded theory
all rely on thematic coding

Question 36

what are the steps for thematic analysis

Answer 36

familiarise with data - rereading data, note initial ideas

generate initial codes - systematically note interesting things

search for themes in related codes

review themes - check against coded extract and entire data set

defining and naming themes - clear definition and name for each

Producing the analysis - writing about each theme and supporting the writing with compelling extract and connecting the analysis to research q

Question 37

what are the basics of grounded theory

Answer 37

qualitative methodology
aim to develop theory grounded in the data (inductive development of theory)
develop middle range theory that seeks to understand interpersonal behaviours and processes
researcher involved in generating data

Question 38

how to establish a research question for grounded theory

Answer 38

end up with specific research question through an active research process
any type of research question any topic

Question 39

how to choose data in grounded theory

Answer 39

data of ppts views and experiences of topic of interest
theoretical or purposive sampling (choosing ppt on basis of theoretical quesiton)
rich data from intensive qualitative interviews
small and big data sets

Question 40

what are the key characteristics of intensive interviewing

Answer 40

ppt w first hand experience of the topic
in depth exploration of experiences and situations in order to understand them
reliance on open ended q
objective of obtaining detailed response
follow up on unanticipated areas of inquiry

Question 41

what are the grounded theory transcription methods

Answer 41

orthographic transcription

can be supplemented with transcription of basic non linguistic cues

Question 42

how to code for grounded theory

Answer 42

open coded data (line by line in vivo)
focused/selective codes
axial codes - pull several codes together in meaningful categories = themes
theoretical codes = get codes to add up to something that explains the some deeper meaning in the data

start analysis early
use what is gleaned from initial analysis to form more questions to include in the next interview

Question 43

what is the active research process for grounded theory

Answer 43

collect data
line by line coding
compare codes across interviews and same interview
axial coding - build up categories
develop new interview q for next ppt
repeat until satisfied with analysis and are ready to write about categories and what they say about the ppt and meaning for topic

Question 44

what is memo writing in grounded theory

Answer 44

explaining the category by writing narrative statments which explain the properties of the category
specify conditions under which the category arises
show how it relates others

after done this provide empirical evidence to support this definition of the category

Question 45

how does memo writing lead to more data collection

Answer 45

leads to theoretical sampling
go back to previous ppt ask more focussed q and interview new ppt
discover variations and gaps in categories
stop when categories are saturated (when new interviews dont find more data)

Question 46

how are objects of psychological knowledge described

Answer 46

using terms and definitions in line with certain theoretical and methodological assumptions which are measured in a certain way.
it is determined by what is being studied and relevant at the time.

Question 47

how does the discipline change as new things are discovered

Answer 47

new terms are made to describe fields as they emerge

example = human knowledge of innate/learned

Question 48

what was the term for learning before it became a fundamental psychological term

Answer 48

acquisition of knowledge
with only a few people using the term learning
e.g applied psychologists studied training in relation to the acquisition of new technical skills but they sometimes called it learning

Question 49

how did Ebbinghaus contribute to using the term learning

Answer 49

studied the ability to memories lists, used the term learning to refer to the initial part of memorisation process
after this psychologists had studied learning techniques but at this point only related to learning as a concious mental process not a formal concept

Question 50

how did learning start to be seen in the second decade of the 20th century

Answer 50

learning began to mean more of a fundamental process. , it became a general psychological category that encompassed various instances of ‘learning’

Question 51

what did R.S woodworth say in 1934

Answer 51

‘the work of psychology must consist very largely in the investigation of learning’ (cited in Danziger, 1997, p.108). meaning it was now a fundamental psychological category, but it no longer referred to a conscious process.

Question 52

how was learning as a fundamental psychological concept was tied to the rise of behaviourism

Answer 52

behaviourism = not the understanding of the mind but the prediction and control of behaviour. This became the dominant approach within American psychology in the first half of the twentieth century and was primarily concerned with adaptations in behaviour. In this context, then, ‘learning’ referred to adaptive behaviour, not to a mental process. As a single category that covered adaptive behaviour in both humans and animals, experiments in animal ‘learning’ were used to identify laws that also governed human ‘learning’: it was assumed that the rat, the child and the adult ‘learned’ according to the same rules, and these rules related to behaviour, not the mind.

Question 53

what were behaviourists studying when they referred to learning

Answer 53

they are talking about changes in behaviour not the acquisition of knowledge nor the ability to remember information nor the attempt to gain new skills
The term ‘learning’ provided a lens through which very different kinds of behaviour (in animals and humans) could be seen as essentially similar, by assuming that ‘learning’ was a thing that both animals and humans did. At the same time, by ignoring mental processes, it excluded other ways of gaining knowledge.

Question 54

how did neo-behaviourists talk about learning in 1930

Answer 54

talk about cognitive aspects of learning and with the decline of behaviourism learning came to mean mental as well as behavioural phenomenon but here remains distinct from memory

Question 55

how did wundt view memory

Answer 55

not fundamental psychological concept

not a single mental activity but a product of several and memory was memory

Question 56

what did ebbinghaus study in terms of memory

Answer 56

as performance
the ability to memorise
using meaningless units of information made memory amenable to quantification and experiment

Question 57

how did frederic bartlett study memory

Answer 57

studied memory as a process of remembering
not a matter of quantity (in which something was either remembered or forgotten); rather, it involved qualitative changes over time.
process in which people remember and distort meaningful material

Question 58

what did frederic bartletts studies look at

Answer 58

did not use meaningless syllables (which had been used because they were ideal for quantification and experimental purposes) but rather meaningful narratives (which were closer to real-life events). In doing so, he showed that the process of remembering was part of a wider social context, which shaped what was remembered and how it was recalled: memories were reconstructed in line with cultural expectations and individual views.

Question 59

how did the bartlett memory differ from the behaviourists efforts

Answer 59

behaviourists didnt care about memory because was considered a mental process but learning was defined in terms of the effects of stimuli on the behaviour of animals and humans.

Question 60

in the second half of the twentieth century the cognitive revolution and the computer metaphor of the mind lead to a reduction on the popularism of behaviourism, what did this lead to

Answer 60

renewed interest in memory which was being viewed in terms of encoding storage and retrieval of information
stm to ltm defined
between kinds of memory e.g semantic
prompted questions about capacity of stm
all this lead to a theoretical shift

Question 61

alternative views of memory have since emerged what have they argued

Answer 61

memory cannot be reduced to an internal mental function - can utilise external world to remember as well e.g post it notes

discursive psychologists - described in talk to manage interactional concerns, it they say “as i recall” to remind people of the fallibility of memory

Question 62

what is the the Aristotelian concept of ‘intellect’

Answer 62

refer to the human capacity for logical and conceptual thinking, though it was linked to the soul (and, therefore, to the rational order of the world itself, not merely to knowledge about it).

Question 63

what is the early modern concept of ‘reason’

Answer 63

was considered in instrumental terms i.e. reason was seen as an instrument through which individuals could find the best means to an ends (regardless of the ends themselves).

Question 64

what might different methods refer to smartness with

Answer 64

many continued to speak of God as the ‘divine intelligence’. In short, different terms might refer to religious, political, moral, theoretical or practical intelligence.

Question 65

when did the modern psychological concept of intelligence emerge

Answer 65

early twentieth century. In 1901, the Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology did not have a separate entry for ‘intelligence’. The reader was referred to ‘intellect’, which was defined as ‘the capacity or faculty of knowing’

Question 66

how did galton view early mental tests

Answer 66

Galton had preferred the term ‘natural ability’, which referred not only to intellectual capacity but also to zeal and hard work.

Question 67

how did cattell view early mental tests

Answer 67

Cattell had coined the term ‘mental testing’ to cover a variety of basic sensory phenomena (which did not correlate with academic performance).

Question 68

how did binet view early mental tests

Answer 68

Binet’s test of ‘intelligence’ was not of a specific psychological entity: he used the term because it was ‘so vague’ that it covered ‘nearly all [psychological] phenomena’. His test was designed for a practical purpose (to distinguish between ‘normal’ and ‘subnormal’ children), not to measure a thing called ‘intelligence’.

Question 69

what else emerged at the start of the 20th century

Answer 69

, the notion of ‘intelligence’ as a core individual ability that was possessed in various degrees, and which could be measured by comparing performance on a test, emerged at this time.

Question 70

how did wilhelm stern contribute to mental testing

Answer 70

Wilhelm Stern introduced the concept of IQ in 1912 (to refer to a single age-independent number), though this was for convenience in the comparison of results (he did not think that a similar score reflected a single phenomenon).

Question 71

how did the stanford binet come about

Answer 71

In 1916, Binet’s work and the concept of IQ were translated (by Lewis Terman at Stanford) into the Stanford-Binet test, which was based on ‘normal’ children, and now treated IQ as an ability that was stable over time.

Question 72

how have mental tests changed since then

Answer 72

a variety of intelligence tests have been created, which measure particular abilities that, depending on the psychologist in question, are seen as more or less related to a single core phenomenon

Question 73

where has the demand for more specific tests come from

Answer 73

New forms of testing were boosted by demand from the U.S. Army during World War I, when the introduction of mass conscription caused problems in personnel selection. Psychologists argued that their new intelligence tests could help, though they had not yet been used with adults.

Question 74

what are some of the key characteristics of the army tests

Answer 74

based on comparing individuals to adult mean
practically efficient for testing large numbers of people quickly
mcq to do this
created for illiterate and non english speaking people too

Question 75

how were intelligence tests expanded to be used

Answer 75

in schools. It also provided the basis of subsequent debates about racial differences in IQ. In other words, there was a wider societal effect. In the process, they helped to cement the idea of a specific thing called ‘intelligence’ that could be measured by an IQ test, based on individual differences in performance on such a test.

Question 76

describe the emergence of critical thinking being studied by psychologists

Answer 76

appeared in the inter-war period. wider concerns about the power of propaganda. ‘critical thinking’ was defined as an attitude as well as an ability, which could be improved (since, unless it could be improved, the concept had no practical value). Indeed, ‘critical thinking’ tests were used in schools to measure improvement before and after instruction. However, while different scholars described ‘critical thinking’ in terms of logical, scientific and reflective thinking, the latter was harder to measure via multiple choice items on a test. In practice, ‘critical thinking’ tests became largely tests of logical and (to some extent) scientific thinking. Thus, what ‘critical thinking’ was, and how it was measured, was also shaped by wider social and practical matters.

Question 77

when did the concept of attitudes emerge

Answer 77

in the US during the inter war period
before this the meaning was primarily physiological
used in theatre to refer to bodily expression of inner state

Question 78

how did darwin and some psychologists use the term attitude

Answer 78

describe physical expressions of emotions

some psychologists used it to refer to motor responses

Question 79

when was attitude made into a mental term

Answer 79

1909
in 1920 barely in any textbooks
1930 became widespread term

Question 80

in 1930 what was an attitude seen as

Answer 80

basic psychological concept, which referred to any kind of mental disposition. It no longer referred to observable behaviour but rather to mental phenomenon that (it was assumed) caused behaviour and was acquired (so, unlike innate physiological phenomena such as the reflex, could be modified).

Question 81

when did the measurements of attitudes begin

Answer 81

1920s but there was wide variety of what attitude meant and many diff forms of measurement
already surveys of public opinion but these were to gauge collective opinion about social issues not individual dispositions

Question 82

what assumption did thurstone claim to measure attitudes scientifically

Answer 82

opinions were expressions of (underlying) individual dispositions (‘attitudes’). If this was assumed, he argued, then the former could be used as a measure of the latter.

Question 83

what measure did thurlstone create for attitudes

Answer 83

subjects respond to stimuli of relative quantity
list of opinions ppt indicate a pro or against attitude
in doing so defined attitudes as pro or anti a particular issue

Question 84

what did thurlstone assume in his measurement of attitudes

Answer 84

people interpreted the opinion statement in the same way, the only variation being in how much they were ‘for’ or ‘against’ it. By constructing a linear scale of ‘attitudes’ in this way, measurement of ‘attitudes’ was possible.

Question 85

what was the problem with Thurlstones measure

Answer 85

does it actually capture what they think, attitude too concept to captured by a single index
but it did provide a scientific framework to build on top of

Question 86

who carried on thurlstone work and simplified it

Answer 86

Rensis Likert 1932

Question 87

what prompted the creation of attitude measurement scales

Answer 87

demand for knowledge about social attitudes
US 1920 prohibition was an issue
racial, religious prejudice problems
measurement of attitudes interest to governments and businesses

Question 88

how did the second world war want information about attitude

Answer 88

military and civilian morale
effects of propaganda help establish attitude measurement as tge definitive approach to understanding attitudes as discrete individual mental entities

Question 89

were beliefs studied in 1920

Answer 89

conducted research on judgement and belief
Judgement = in terms of accuracy but also in terms of preferences

belief = studied psychology of belief, degrees of conviction while psychologists became concerned with widespread superstitious beliefs (false ones) 1925 new measure of superstitious beliefs made

Question 90

how to choose which term to use when measuring what people think

Answer 90

wide variety
lots of practical aims
depending on context could be described using any of the terms and some psychologists treat them interchangeably or as discrete phenomena

Question 91

how do concepts and measure reflect certain assumptions

Answer 91

1970s psychology of paranormal belief became popular due to growing interest in ghosts from the public

Question 92

what was the problem with the way psychologists studied paranormal beliefs

Answer 92

aim to find out why people believe in ghosts and change their mind.
measures used reflected their scepticism
included scales related to other mystical things not ghosts, these measures were therefore testing different beliefs.

Question 93

is there a simple definition of emotion

Answer 93

no

Question 94

what demonstrates the variability in definition of emotion

Answer 94

one survey of the literature found 92 separate psychological definitions of emotion

Question 95

do people agree what the primary emotions may be

Answer 95

no they dont, fear and anger usually included but others vary hugely
some view surprise and interest as cognitive states rather than emotion.

Question 96

what is the assumption that surprise and interest are cognitive states based on

Answer 96

that emotions are valenced and that surprise and interest are neutral (many have rejected this tho)

Question 97

how was emotion referred to before the early nineteenth century

Answer 97

barely used except to refer to physical movement

feelings were described in terms of passions affections sentiments which related to will and morality.

Question 98

what did passions and affections used to be referred to before the early 19th century

Answer 98

passions were considered to be involuntary and in need of rational control, while affections (and sentiments) were thought to be rational preferences (or opinions). They also had a moral basis, some being considered virtuous (e.g. love, faith, hope, charity) while others were regarded as vices (e.g. anger, envy and pride).

Question 99

what did descarte see as primary passions

Answer 99

they were moral

included love, hatred but not fear and anger

Question 100

what did david hume and adam smith view sentiments as

Answer 100

according to David Hume and Adam Smith, sentiments were fundamental to human nature and well-being.

Question 101

how did the modern concept of emotion emerge

Answer 101

early 19th century
Thomas Brown
grouped all sentiments affects etc. into one single category of emotion, distinguishing them from intellect

Question 102

how did darwin write about emotions

Answer 102

of humans and animals in terms of evolutionary theory. He defined the emotions as biological phenomena that, when triggered, caused physiological changes that could be observed in expressions (e.g. a laugh, a pout, a shrug).

Question 103

what did alexander baines study of emotions define them as

Answer 103

in terms of both physiology and subjective experience.

Question 104

how did william james define emotions

Answer 104

experience of physiological changes

Question 105

wundt and behaviourists considered the subjective experience of emotion but didnt study it, what has happened since the cognitive revolution

Answer 105

in the second half of the twentieth century, psychologists increasingly studied emotion as something that included cognitive processes.

Question 106

what did paul ekman define emotions as

Answer 106

as biological phenomena, which could be seen in facial expressions. When people expressed, say, fear or anger, their expressions were remarkably similar: they were recognizable in different cultures and seemed to be universal

Question 107

what did ekmans definition of emotion say about emotions

Answer 107

emotions such as fear and anger were basic to all humans and the product of evolution. These ‘basic emotions’ were considered separate from the various kinds of behaviour and subjective experiences that were associated with them, and from more complex emotions that were shaped by social norms and understood via various languages.

Question 108

what did cognitive psychologists prefer

Answer 108

a broader definition
emotion bound with cognition
emotions not merely biological phenomenon but involved an appraisal of the situation. emotion depended on the individual, some scared when others aren’t - intentional state