Intro to Psych and Research Methods Flashcards
Difference between positive and negative correlation
positive - variables increase together
negative - as one increases the other drops
REMEMBER CORRELATION ≠ CAUSATION
What is the sample
a group chosen from a population, info from sample applied to whole population
What is a population
A group of people, animals, objects that share a common factor
What are the 4 different types of variables
Extraneous – other variable apart from IV that could influence DV
Confounding – other variable that affects DV in systematic way
Independent – what is controlled or changes
Dependent – what is measured or recorded
What is the difference between a directional and non-directional hypothesis
directional predicts direction of relationship between IV on DV (eg what will do better)
non-directional predicts a relationship but you don’t know the difference difference (difference between variables, not what the difference is)
What is the null hypothesis
Prediction that there is no relationship between key vairables, the first prediction, accept alternative hypo if proven false
What are the 2 types of data
Quantitative and Qualitative
What are the 5 types of hypothesis and define them
Null hypothesis - no relation
Alternative - opposite of first hypo that is proven wrong
Directional - predicts a difference and what the difference is
Non-directional - predicts a difference without the difference explained
Operational - directional hypo involving population, method, DV, IV
Mode, Mean, Median and Range?
Mode - features the most
Median - middle
Mean - average
Range - max value-min value
What are the 7 steps of psychological research
- Identify research problem
- Hypothesis
- Design the method
- Collect the data
- Analyse the data
- Interpret your results
- Report findings
What are the 4 types of sampling and describe them
- Random sampling - Everyone has equal chance, increase likelihood of representative sample (names out of a hat)
- Systematic sampling - random sample, with a fixed periodic interval, is selected from a larger population.
- Stratified sampling - Divide population into groups, then select separate sample from each group
- Self-selecting sample - volunteers
What is the difference between validity and reliability
validity - does it measure what its supposed to
reliability - does it consistently measure what its supposed to
what are 6 types of validity
- Face/content – does the test measure what we want it to measure
- Construct – whether scores on a test are consistent with the trait being measured
- Concurrent – how the test correlates with other tests
- Predictive – performance of the test - predicts later performance
- Internal – if the experiment shows that it was the IV that had an effect on the DV and not anything else
- External – findings can be generalised beyond the experiment setting
What are the ethical responsibilities of the experimenter
Protect PP’s - psychological and physiological
Remain objective
What are the participants rights
Informed consent Voluntary participation Privacy Confidentiality Anonymity Withdrawal rights Deception must be approved by ethics committee Debriefing of nature of experiment and must ensure no damage has been done
What is deindivisualisation?
Become so immersed in the norms of the group that you lose your sense of identity and personal responsibility.
Give up individual responsibility for actions and sees behavior as a consequence of group norms and expectations.
Acting less self conscious and inhibited and not think about potential consequences
What was Johnson and Downing 1979 experiment ?
PPs put in KKK uniform or nurses uniform and became deindivisualised. They administered shock to other partner.
Findings- people respond to normative cues associated with social context they find themselves in, thus making it easier to deviate from norms
Factors that influence obedience
- Social proximity- the further away the person having the negative action is from the aggressor obedience is decreased
- Legitmecy of authority - the more legitimate or prestigious the authority figure seems, obedience is increased
- Group pressure- when another person refuses to follow orders obedinde is reduced
Raven and French 1958 and social power
Social power is linked with status and may be literal or implied.
- Legitimate - position/role e.g. teachers in charge
- Reward - ability to give rewards e.g. verbal praise
- Coercive - ability to punish e.g. detention
- Expert - having superior knowledge e.g. already know what you teach
- Referent - perceived as caring e.g. best interest of students
What was Zimbardo’s Standford prison experiment?
24 males from Standford University and randomly allocated as prisoners or guards. Prisoners were collected from homes, sprayed for lice, and stripped of any individuality
Conclusion- staus given to people is internalized
What is the Bystander Effect and what is a famous case?
People who see an event, feel less responsible to intervene, and the bigger the group the less likely to intervene.
Kitty Geneve was murdered in a busy apartment complex in Queens 1964 with multiple witnesses
What is diffusion of responsibility and what does it lead to?
The tendency to divide personal responsibility to help by the number of bystanders present.
Less likely to intervene in emergency situations as the size of the group increases, as they feel less personal responsibility. It leads to the Bystander Effect
What was Milgram’s Obedience study (1963) about and what was the key findings?
Learner and PP were placed in a room with a lab-coated man (authority figure) and the teacher had to give shocks to the learner if incorrect. 65% went up to deadly shock.
Key findings- Diffusion of responsibility was found where responsibility was passed on to the authority figure
What is the difference between conformity, obedience, and compliance?
Compliance involves changing behavior at the request of another person, conformity which involves altering your behaviour on order to go along with the group while obedience involves altering your behaviour because a figure of authority told you to
What is obedience?
Obedience is a form of social influence that involves performing an action under the orders of an authority figure
Social explanation on why we conform? (Turner 1991) and (Deutch and Gerard 1955)
Turner 1991 -
Conform to groups we believe we are a part of
Deutsch and Gerard 1955 -
Avoid conflict with the majority
Need for social approval
Avoid being embarrassed and publicly agree with the group but privately disagree
What is Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory?
We have an innate need to compare ourselves to others
Two ways:
1. Upward comparison: we look at groups better than us and use them to evaluate our skills/worth
2. Downward comparison: we look at people less than us and use them to feel confident about our abilities
Crutchfield (1995) why do we conform?
Believed those who conformed were - less intelligent - less ego strength - less leadership skills - more narrow-minded Widely disproven
What was Asch’s study for the theory of conformity and how can conformity be influenced?
Lines were presented to PPs and asked to state which one matched the length of others
- Provide friend = decrease conformity
- Make task harder = increase conformity
- Written response not oral = decrease conformity
What are the three types of conformity?
Kelman (1958)
- Compliance - change in behavior without changing opinion
- Internalisation - a change in behavior an opinion
- Identification - a change in behavior and opinion and now identifies with influencing group
What is conformity?
Observing group pressure and pressure can be real or implied
What is the theory of Reasoned Action?
Our intention to behave in a certain way is influenced by:
- our social values
- our own personal attitudes towards the behavior – evaluation of cost and benefits of engaging in that behavior
What is a Just world phenomenon and an example?
The tendency to believe that the world is just and that people get what they deserve
E.g. Homeless people put themselves in that situation and they are lazy and hopeless
What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?
When a stereotype directly or indirectly becomes true of a person due to positive feedback from others on belief or behavior
What three ways do you learn to socially categorize?
- Personal interactions
- Learning from others
- Learning from media
