Key Terms Flashcards
Experimental condition/ group
The group that receive the experimental treatment/ IV
Control condition/ group
A group that is treated normally and allows comparison to experimental group
Operationalisation
Variable is defined by the researcher to make it measurable. EG- aggression is operationalised to kicking
Extraneous variable
Nuisance variable that cannot be controlled before experiment
Eg-Age
Confounding variables
Extraneous variable that vary systematically with IV so we cant be sure what caused the change in DV
Randomisation
Use of chance to reduce the researchers influence on the design of the investigation
Eg- flipping a coin
Standardisation
All Ptsps have the same instructions and experience
Demand characteristics
Ptps interpret cues from experimenter. They may change their behaviour to impress researcher and over preform
Participant variable
Individual difference
Eg- personality
Situational variable
Features of experimental situation
Eg-weather
Investigator effects
The effect of investigator in research outcome
Includes unconscious cues from researcher+ manipulating design to suit the hypothesis
Eg- leading questions in an interview
Counter balancing
Deals with order effects in repeated measures design by half ptsps follow condition A then B and the other half do B then A
Event sampling
Observer records number of times target behaviour occurs
Time sampling
Different time frames
Systematically
Eg every hour for 30 mins researcher records behaviour
Inter observer reliability
If behaviours are miscounted there may be a bias
To make it unbiased use 2 researchers
Calculated by correlating each pair of observation made and an overall figure is produced
