Key Words Flashcards
Alternate hypothesis
The statement of what is expected in a study
Authoritarian personality
People rigid in their thinking, liking rules in society and obeying those rules
Construct validity
The questions measure what the hypothesis or research question needs
Deindividuation
The idea that people can become unidentifiable as individuals in certain situations, such as when wearing a uniform
Internal validity
The extent to which a piece of of evidence supports a claim about a cause and effect
Moral strain
The pressure of doing something against ones moral code
Null hypothesis
The statement that the difference or relationship predicted to happen in a study will not happen
Operationalisation
Making the variables of interest measurable and testable
Pilot study
A small scale practice run of a task or survey to find out any problems and put them right before the real thing
Predictive validity
When a study’s results predict real life behaviour/results of another study
Researcher effects
Where some aspect of the researcher affects data such as their age, the way they dress or how they ask questions
Response bias
Factors in the question or task giving a bias such as tending to suggest the answer yes and therefore getting that answer regardless
Situational variables
Factors in the environment that can impact an individual
Social categorisation
A process of accepting oneself as being part of an in group
Social comparison
The process of comparing ones in group with the out group and thinking of the in group as better in some way to increase the individuals self esteem which can lead to prejudice
Social desirability
The tendency we have to say what we think we ought to say or do in a given situation
Standard deviation
A measure of dispersion that shows how far the scores fluctuate around the mean
Internal locus of control
When someone thinks that they are in control of their own actions and believes that what happens is something they have caused
External locus of control
When someone believes that what happens to them comes from outside of their control
Case study method
An in depth investigation of an individual, group event or community. The researcher collects data through interviews, observations, psychological tests or examination of documents and records
