Key Terms Flashcards
Participants
People that take part in psychological research.
Sample
The group of participants we use in any given research.
Our aim is to make our sample __________ (definition)
Generalisable- applicable to the general public.
Sampling method
How do we find our participants
Opportunity sampling
A+D
When we obtain participants that are easy to find at the time of the research (finding people on the street).
Not much prep + easy to obtain. More accurate results as participants aren’t expecting anything.
Participants may be unwilling+ small sample could lack generalisation.
Self selecting sampling
A+D
When participants volunteer to take part in response to an email/ poster/ letter you have posted. Some researchers pay their participants.
Willing participants
Too many of the same type of person so results aren’t generalisable.
Laboratory experiments
A+D
Experiments taking place in a controlled environment.
Researchers could make sure the result is fair by keeping the control the same- consistent results.
Participants may respond to demand characteristics of experiment.
Controls
Something you keep the same for each participant.
Independent variable
The aspect we manipulate or change between conditions/groups.
Dependent variable
The factor being measured as a result of the independent variable.
Quantitative data
A+D
Data represented by numbers.
A: easy comparison to be made between participants.
No researcher bias.
Easy to summarise.
Easier to establish reliability of results.
Can be drawn on graphs+ easy to analyse.
D: low ecological validity (not representative of participants everyday behaviour).
Doesn’t tell us why.
Not as much detail + unexpected behaviours may not be counted.
Qualitative data
A+D
Data represented by words.
A: richer data to improve validity of results.
More detailed about participants experience + unexpected behaviours captured.
D: Harder to compare participants.
Can’t be plotted on graph+ not as accurate/ open to interpretation.
Harder to analyse.
Confederate
Someone who behaves as instructed by the experimenter (actor).
Ethics + give guidelines
Guidelines which must be kept to ensure the wellbeing of the participants in the research.
- informed consent
- confidentiality
- debriefing (told aim of experiment + councillor details).
- deception (participants must not be tricked).
- right to withdraw (without having to say why).
- protection from harm (physical and mental)
Ethnocentrism
When research cannot be generalised to other cultures due to only focussing on one.
Reliability
Consistent (not a fluke).
Internal reliability
The procedure being standardised (same for all participants) and replicable.
External reliability
The sample being large enough to suggest a consistent effect.
Standardised
The experience was the same for all participants.
Validity
Accuracy (not false).
Internal validity
Was the study testing what it was meant to? Could there be any other reason for the results?
External (population validity).
Can the findings be generalised to the wider populations based upon the sample?
External (ecological validity).
Was the scenario true to everyday life?
Bystander apathy
Piliavin
Observer lack of help or interest
Diffusion of responsibility
Piliavin
Not acting because they believe someone else will.
6 ethical guidelines
Consent Deception Protection from harm Withdrawal Confidentiality Debriefing
Field experiment
An experiment which takes place in a real life setting.
Extraneous variables
Variables that weren’t controlled for that may influence DV (instead of being as a result of IV).
Experimental condition
A group of participants that have been exposed to the IV.
Control condition
A group of participants not exposed to the IV. Used to find a baseline measure.
Quasi experiments
When the IV is naturally occurring/ not directly manipulated by the researcher.
Experimental design: repeated measures design
The same participants take place in both conditions.
Experimental design: independent measures design
Involves different people in each condition.
Experimental design: matched participants design
There are different people in each condition however the experimenter tries to ensure that participants in each group are matched on certain characteristics (ideally one that influences the findings).
Participant variables
Different characteristics of the participant that may influence the results.
Environmental variables
Results are influenced by the environment.
Demand characteristics
Participants may act in a certain way to support the aim/ hypothesis of the study.
Order effects
Participants may be more / less skilled in the second condition due to participating in the first.
Situational variables
When a feature of the research situation influences the participants behaviour.
Counter-balance
When the order of the conditions is different for each participant to balance out order effects.
Cause and effect
When one variable causes change in another (the IV on the DV)
Researcher bias
The effects of the researcher on participant behaviour.
Single bind procedure
When the participants are unaware of the aim of the study.
Double blind procedure
When the participants are unaware of the aim/ hypothesis of the study and an independent researcher is used.
Alternative hypothesis
The IV will significantly affect the DV
‘There will be a significant difference between…’
Null hypothesis
The IV will have no significant effect on the DV. Any difference will be due to chance factors.
‘There will be no significant difference between… any difference will be due to chance factors’
Direction of hypothesis: one tailed
The IV will affect the DV in a certain direction.
Direction of hypothesis: two tailed
The IV will affect the DV but no direction is given.
Operationalising
Making variables able to be measured or tested physically.
Random sampling
A technique in which each member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected.
E.g. by placing all the names of a given population into a hat and selecting the required number of names from it at random.
Snowball sampling
When participants are asked to contact their friends and family to ask them to also take part in research.
Primary data
When the researcher collects the data directly.
Secondary data
When the data is obtained from an external source.
Variance definition
Measure of dispersion that shows the spread of data from the mean score in each condition.
How to calculate variance.
- Calculate the mean score per condition in the experiment.
- For each participant you subtract the mean score from their score. This is the d (difference).
- Square each d score (d ^2)
- Add all of the d^2 scores together to get the sum of the difference squared.
- Calculate the mean of the d^2 scores added together by dividing this figure by n-1 (by the number of participants in the sample -1).
How to calculate the standard deviation for each condition.
The square root of the variance.
Standard deviation definition.
Measure of spread around the mean of all data. Calculated by the square root of variance.
Variance definition
Measure of dispersion that shows the spread of data from the mean score in each condition.
How to calculate variance.
- Calculate the mean score per condition in the experiment.
- For each participant you subtract the mean score from their score. This is the d (difference).
- Square each d score (d ^2)
- Add all of the d^2 scores together to get the sum of the difference squared.
- Calculate the mean of the d^2 scores added together by dividing this figure by n-1 (by the number of participants in the sample -1).
How to calculate the standard deviation for each condition.
The square root of the variance.
Standard deviation definition.
Measure of spread around the mean of all data. Calculated by the square root of variance.
Classical conditioning
Learning through association.
Operant conditioning
Learning as a result of rewards and punishments.
Social learning theory.
Learning through observing and imitating behaviour of others.
Inter-rater reliability
Raters/ observers are in agreement with each other on what they are looking for.
Time sampling.
Observers record behaviours after a given period of time (e.g. every 20 secs).
Event sampling.
Observers mark every time a behaviour is recorded during the observational period.
Longitudinal
A research method that follows a number of participants over an extended period of time.
Cross cultural study
When research is conducted in several different cultures to evaluate different dimensions (moral development). The results are then compared between cultures.
Social desirability bias.
When participants behave in a certain way to appear better to the researcher.
Open question
Questions that require more than a one word answer. They often ask about emotions or opinions. Within a written questionnaire these require space underneath for answer. They produce qualitative data.
Closed questions
Participants have a set amount of options from which to answer with. These results can easily be transferred to quantitative data.
Standard response set
Giving the same answer to all questions without reading/ considering them.
Rating scales
A scale which requires the respondent to mark an appropriate point along a numerical dimension to indicate both the direction and strength of their attitude.
E.g. how much do you like marmite?
1.really dislike. 2.dislike. 3. Like. 4. Really like
Likert scales
Questions which require the respondent to indicate their agreement with a statement by marking the relevant box.
E.g. owning a pet gives support and happiness
Strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, strongly disagree.
Semantic differentials
Respondents are required to place their feelings towards a word between two polar opposite terms.
Structured interview
Asks the same questions to all participants in the same order. Often use closed questions.
Semi-structured interview
Interviewer will have a set of prepared questions but others may be developed in response to the interviewee’s answers.
Unstructured interview
Researcher has topics to discuss but no set questions or order. This is often more like a conversation.
Response rate
The amount of responses received after the questionnaires are sent to participants.
Leading questions
Questions that lead respondents to a certain answer.
Forced-choice questions
Respondents have a limited range of answers to choose from.
Split-half reliability
This is when the questions of a questionnaire are split in half and analysed separately. If the results are similar this shows high internal reliability. E.g. the scores for questions 1-6 are similar for 7-12.
Test-retest reliability
When the questionnaire is repeated with the same or very similar groups of people. If the results are similar there is high external validity.
E.g. college teachers are given a questionnaire on happiness levels in September and again in November.
Nominal data
Simple headcount of categories/ conditions. The lowest level of data.
E.g. the amount of people who hand in work online.
Ordinal data
Rank order
E.g. score out of 25 in psychology test.
Interval or ratio
Rank order that takes into account the spread between the results (meaningful gaps) e.g. thickness of psychology folder in cm.
Reductionism
When you reduce the explanation of a behaviour down to one factor.
Holism
When you look at the whole picture. More than one factor are looked at to explain the behaviour.
Case study
Research into the behaviour of a particular person or small group over a period of time.
