Lecture 1 Flashcards
What is a Discrete variable?
A set number of values and no intermediate values exist between adjacent values.
Psychologists measure variables
A characteristic of interest about each individual element of a population/sample that can change or vary.
Variables can be qualitative -descriptive (e.g, gender, eye colour)
or quantitative - numbers (e.g. Height, weight, income).
What is a dichotomous variable?
A type of discrete variable. It has 2 possible values. E.g. Yes or no
What is a continuous variable?
Continuous variables have an infinite number of values between adjacent units in the scale. E.g. A weigh scale - you can weigh 53.5kg.
Measurement and constructs
In psychology we often measure things that cannot be directly observed (constructs)
-mental states (love, hunger, anxiety, intelligence).
How do we measure a construct?
By creating an operational definition: measuring qualities thought to be connected to underlying construct. E.g. How to measure depression? By measuring things related to depression. Ask people on a scale of 1 to 5 how depressed they feel atm, or how well they have been sleeping or how stressed they feel or how sociable have they been recently.
How to measure qualities?
- Self report - what you say you do
- Behavioural - look at your behaviour
- Physiological - how your body actually functions e.g. Look at your sleep rhythms or look at the eye dilation because when we are interested in things our pupils dilate
Self-report
Focus on what people say they do, feel, believe etc.
Disadvantage:
1.They might not know or understand
2. They may misrepresent themselves - subject to bias
Advantage:
Get your opinions
Behavioural
Focus on what people actually do (e.g. Type of frequency of behaviours, accuracy, response speed)
Physiological
Focus on aspect of involuntary bodily processes thought to reflect underlying construct.
What is a case study?
A case study is when researchers are interested in a single person, for instance when someone presents interesting characteristics or when he or she needs a full assessment for further treatment.
What is the population?
The population is the entire group of people about whom we want to make a statement.
What is the sample?
The sample is the subgroup of persons, who actually take part in the research.
In psychology we study a sample of people in order ti make claims about the population.
What is a systematic observation?
A method to collect information about a phenomenon by observing it carefully and taking notes about these observations. There are 2 types; naturalistic observation and archive research.
What is a naturalistic observation?
A type of systematic observation. It is when observations are taken place in real life, when the observer watches the daily behaviour if the participants.
