Experimental part 2 ( p1 included in approaches deck)

Question 1

What is the difference between extraneous and confounding variables ?

Answer 1

An extraneous variable is one which is outside the independent variable which affects the study. A confounding variable is one that is within the independent variable that affects the study ie if the effect of caffeine is being measured a confounding variable might be the amount of caffeine or concentration.

Question 2

What is a two tailed hypothesis ?

Answer 2

A non directional one

Question 3

What is a way of dealing with imitations of matched pairs as an experimental design

Answer 3

Conduct a pilot study to consider key variables. Pilot study is a pre- study before the actual research takes place. Anything that goes wrong in the pilot study will be amended in the actual study.

Question 4

What is the difference between a natural experiment and a field experiment

Answer 4

• natural experiment is based on observation, there is no strict control of variables
• field experiment is when variables are controlled but it doesn’t take place in a lab or very strict setting.

Question 5

What is internal validity ?

Answer 5

a measure of whether results obtained are only affected by manipulation variable ( IV) or other variables ( extraneous variables)

internal validity considers other variables which may have affected DV and whether the researcher tested what they intended to test.

Question 6

What is external validity ?

Answer 6

a measure of whether data from the experiment can be generalised to other situations outside of the research situation they were gathered in.

external validity considers the degree to which study can be generalised to other settings ( ecological validity) , the people who were studied and the historical period study was conducted in

Question 7

What is the difference between internal and external reliability

Answer 7

internal reliability describes the internal consistency of a measure- such as whether the different questions in a questionnaire are all measuring same thing.

The extent to which a measure of something is consistent over time ie do we get the same result doing the same test multiple times?

Question 8

What are self report techniques ?

Answer 8

participant reveals personal information about themselves ie emotions, experiences, beliefs in response to questions.

Question 9

What are two different self report techniques ?

Answer 9

interviews and questionnaires

Question 10

open vs closed questions

Answer 10

question is phrased in a way that partcipant can answer in any way they choose. produced qualitative data

closed questions- participant has a limited number of response options ie “how much do you like x on the scale of 1-7 ? “

Question 11

What is the advantage and disadvantage of closed questions ?

Answer 11

• easier data analysis between large number of participant responses making it easier to spot patterns in data set
• less valid responses due to fixed number of options. may not be a reflection of how ps really feel.

Question 12

What things should be considered when designing an interview/ questionnaire ?

Answer 12

• avoiding complex terminology ie scientific words that everyday participants may not know
• rewording questions. this can only be done in an interview not a questionnaire with a skilled interviewer
• avoiding leading questions which promote interviewer bias
• piloting questionnaire: running a questionnaire with a small num of participants to improve the questions
• filler questions “ small talk” qs not related to aim of investigation to make interviewee feel at ease.

Question 13

Structured interview. What is it ? and pros and cons ?

Answer 13

the interviewer reads out a list of prepared questions as they are written.

interviewer doesn’t have to be highly trained, interview responses are easier to compare, responses of ps can’t be followed up with additional questions.

Question 14

Unstructured interview. What is it and pros and cons ?

Answer 14

no set list of questions, an open conversation about a topic

rapport between interviewer and p is more likely, p may be more comf to answers qs bc of this, add qs can be asked to follow up, highly trained interviewer needed, responses less easy to compare

Question 15

semi structured interview. What is it ? and pros and cons?

Answer 15

combination of prepared questions with ability to ask extra qs. both adv of structured and unstruc interviews but still skilled interviewer needed to think of good qs on the spot.

Question 16

Why are self report techniques useful ?

Answer 16

• when same set of qs are used they are very easy to replicate. use of open qs gives p more freedom to report in more detail/ elaborate - higher validity answer

Question 17

Potential bias in self report techniques ?

Answer 17

demand characteristics - can be easy to work out aim of qs so p may answer in a way they think researcher expects

researcher bias- researcher can unintentionally/ intentionally interpret responses to open qs in a way hat confirms their researcher hypothesis

investigator effects - the body language or characteristics used by investigator influencing responses by ps. ie folding arms and leaning back - disinterested. interrupting too often can also put p off answering qs.

Question 18

How can interviews be recorded?

Answer 18

audio recorded, video recorded or interviewer may make notes

Question 19

what are co-variables?

Answer 19

the two variables that are collected and compared by the researcher.

Question 19

What is the difference between an experiment and correlational study ?

Answer 19

experimental studies require the manipulation of IV and measure the effect on the DV.

correlational studies simply measure two co- variables and compare them and look for relationship between them.

Question 20

What is used to visually represent co-variables?

Answer 20

a scattergram

Question 21

positive correlation
negative correlation

Answer 21

as one co- variable increases the other one increases

as one co-variable increases, the other one decreases

Question 22

If there is no relationship between the values of the two variables what is this called?

Answer 22

zero correlation

Question 23

What is a correlation coefficient?

Answer 23

represents both the strength and direction of a relationship between 2 co- variables. number between -1 and + 1

Question 24

How can correlation coefficients be calculated ?

Answer 24

using statistical tests such as Spearman’s rho or Pearson’s. 0.8 + judged to be a strong correlation.

Question 25

Disadvantage of correlational studies

Answer 25

correlation doesn’t show causation. strong correlation may highlight a relationship between two variables but doesn’t consider which variable caused the change in other covariable or if a third variable comes into play to change both co-variables

Question 26

Advantages of correlational studies

Answer 26

can highlight POTENTIAL causal relationships. these can be tested experimentally to discover cause and effect relationships.

often co- variable data alr exists and is easily accessible, so no ethical issues of data collection

correlation coefficient is a useful tool to find strength and direction of correl.

Question 27

Observational technique what does it refer to ?

Answer 27

researcher watches and records the spontaneous/ natural behaviour of participants without manipulation levels of IV.

Question 28

what is controlled observation

Answer 28

aspects of the environment are controlled, to try to give all participants the same experience. often carried out in a lab setting.

Question 29

pros and cons of controlled observation

Answer 29

• controlled setting reduces likelihood of extraneous variables
• more reliable results due to same standardised procedures
• artificiality of the observational environment may result in unnatural behaviour

Question 30

what is naturalistic observation

Answer 30

takes place in real world places the participants are likely to spend their time such as school, work etc

Question 31

pros and cons of naturalistic observations

Answer 31

• high realism, so participants more likely to show more naturalistic behaviour
• external validity: behaviour is more likely to be more generalisable to other situations
• uncontrolled extraneous variables may be responsible for observed behaviour. lower internal validity

Question 32

What is an overt vs covert observation ?

Answer 32

overt observation is when participants are aware that they are being watched. covert observation is when participants are not aware of being observed, can’t see researcher making notes on them for exmpl.

Question 33

pros and cons of overt observation

Answer 33

• no ethical issues raised about the concept of informed consent
• demand characteristics are likely

Question 34

What is mundane realism ?

Answer 34

how an experiment mirrors the real world
if an experiment lacks mundane realism may not be very accurate in explaining real world behaviour

Question 35

When would a psychologist use a directional hypothesis and when would they use a non directional one ?

Answer 35

• directional used if there is past research to suggest that the findings will go in a specific direction
• non directional used if no past research or if past research is contradictory

Question 36

What is a pilot study ?

Answer 36

small scale trial run of a study to test any aspects of a design with a view to making imporovements

Question 37

What is a lab experiment ?

Answer 37

experiment can be conducted in an special environment where variables can be carefully controlled

Question 38

What are the strengths of lab experiments

Answer 38

• high in internal validity because the extraneous variables can be controlled ( so we can be sure that change in DV is due to IV)

Question 39

What are the weaknesses of lab experiments ?

Answer 39

• partcipants are usually aware that they are being watched so may alter their behaviour. may also try to guess aims of experiment and change behav based on what they feel is expected of them
• lab experiments tend to lack mundane realism
• low ecological validity ( measure of how much results can be generalised) due to lack of mundane realism and artificial environment which may change behav of participants