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PSYC 217 > Midterm 2 - Chpt. 9 > Flashcards

Midterm 2 - Chpt. 9 Flashcards

1
Q

How do we design an experiment to maximize the chances that we’ll be able to conclude that the IV caused changes in the DV?
Detect an effect if it’s there? (2 methods)

A

Experimental control:
- Ensuring only the IV changes across conditions
- Avoiding alternative explanations: experimenter expectancy effects, demand characteristics

Optimizing our operational definitions of the IV and the DV
- Avoiding ceiling and floor effects
- Having an appropriate pairing of strong IV and sensitive DV

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2
Q

Experimenter expectancy effects

A

A cognitive bias that occurs when a researcher knows what condition participants are in and therefore intentionally or unintentionally manipulates an experiment, thus impacting the findings. (EX: Clever Hans)

Experimenter treated Ps/data differently because they knew the expected outcome of the study

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3
Q

Experimenter Expectancy Effects are a threat to…

A

Internal validity

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4
Q

Solutions to Experimenter Expectancy Effects

A

1) a “double blind” study
2) automated instructions
3) all conditions run simultaneously

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5
Q

Demand Characteristics

A
  • “A demand characteristic is any feature of an experiment that might inform participants of the purpose of the study.” - Cozby
  • Threat to internal validity
  • THUS, Participants might try to help/hurt you
  • Be the “good participant”
  • Mess up the results
    ₋- Socially desirability
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6
Q

When is deception needed?

A

To control demand characteristics

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7
Q

Straightforward Manipulation

A

Simple and easy - present p’s with something for the IV that will influence the DV

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8
Q

Staged Manipulation

A

1: Try to elicit a state (ex - frustration with a hard task)
2: Put participants into a situation where they actually feel part of it

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9
Q

Deception:

A

often, we deceive subjects about the real purpose of a study

  • “Unrelated tasks” (filler tasks)
  • Use of confederates or cover story
  • Attempt to avoid demand characteristics
  • NOT minimal risk (more on this later!)
  • Participants can get suspicious
    (Critical to debrief!!)
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10
Q

Pros of Straightforward Deception:

A
  • PRO: Simple
  • PRO: Cheap
  • PRO: Very common
  • PRO: Easy to pull off
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11
Q

Pros of Staged Deception:

A
  • PRO: high experimental realism
  • PRO: can often avoid demand characteristics
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12
Q

Cons of Straightforward Manipulation:

A
  • CON: sometimes quite
    artificial…might not really
    simulate the “real world”
    experience (low mundane
    realism)
  • CON: demand characteristics
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13
Q

Cons of Staged Deception:

A
  • CON: Tricky to pull off
    • Ps Suspicion
    • Hard to replicate?
  • CON: Lots can go wrong
  • May be costly
  • Ethical?
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14
Q

Measuring Variables - types of DV in experimental designs:

A

○ DV in experimental designs
1. Self-report
2. Behaviours & Responses
3. Physiological

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15
Q

Ceiling Effect

A

Ps are all at maximum performance on the DV, so can’t see effect of IV

EX: question is too easy

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16
Q

Floor effect

A

Ps are all at minimum performance on DV, so can’t see effect of IV

EX: question is too hard

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17
Q

A strong IV…

A

Can cause big differences in levels of manipulation

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18
Q

A weak DV…

A

Causes little differences in levels of manipulation

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19
Q

Tough DVs are…

A

□ Resistant to change (takes a lot for people to switch their opinions)

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20
Q

Sensitive DVs…

A

Change easily

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21
Q

Studying an unknown topic - When would you use one over the other?

A

strong IV, sensitive DV

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22
Q

Finding a large effect - When would you use one over the other?

A

weaker IV, strong DV

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23
Q

READINGS

A
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24
Q

After stating hypothesis, deciding research designs, the next step is to…

A

operationalize variables and create an experiment for your participants

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25
Q

Turning hypothesis into a set of operations:

A

specific instructions, events, and stimuli to be presented to participants

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26
Q

2 Options for Manipulating the IV in Experiments:

A
  • Straightforward manipulation
  • Staged manipulation
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27
Q

Straightforward manipulation

A

operationalize IV using instructions and stimulus presentations
Stimuli may be presented verbally, in written form, or via video

EASIER TO INTERPRET RESULTS

28
Q

Straightforward Manipulation - Whenever tasks involved in a study mimic experiences and conditions present in everyday life, the study is said to have…

A

high mundane realism

29
Q

Staged Manipulation

A

sometimes, it’s necessary to create a series of events that occur during the experiment to manipulate the IV successfully

Can involve actors, or take the form of a cover story - ALL INVOLVE DECEPTION

30
Q

Why would staged manipulation be used? (2)

A

Researcher may be trying to create a certain psychological state in participants, such as frustration, anger, or a temporary lowering of self-esteem

  • SM can be used to stimulate situations that occur in the real world
    - EX: an actor engaging in conversation with a driver
31
Q

Staged Manipulations - Confederates

A

aka accomplice
Can be in different ways
Typically introduced as another participant in the experiment
May be used to create a particular social situation or administer the IV
When a study engages and involves participants in this deep way, the study is said to have experimental realized
Different from mundane, doesn’t resemble real-world experiences, but can still engage participants in a meaningful way

Allow for a great deal of subtle interpersonal communication that is hard to put into words

32
Q

3 Additional considerations when manipulating the IV:

A
  • Strength of Manipulation
  • Cost of manipulation
  • Manipulation checks
33
Q

Strength of Manipulation

A

When operationalizing, researchers must consider manipulation strength

In general, it’s a good idea to make the manipulation as strong as possible
Making the levels of IV maximally different, while keeping everything else between the two groups the same
However, the strongest manipulation possible can sometimes be ethically problematic
◊ EX: 10 drinks instead of 2 in an alcohol condition

34
Q

Cost of manipulation:

A
  • Some receive grants
  • Straightforward manipulations are often much less costly than complex, staged, experimental manipulations
35
Q

Manipulation checks - WHY?

A

Often a good idea to include a manipulation check to directly measure whether the manipulation of the IV was successful, inducing the intended psychological state among participants

36
Q

Why are manipulation checks difficult to implement?

A

Can be difficult to decide when to administer, as it might distract participants or inform them about the purpose of the experiment
◊ If the effects of the IV are expected to last long enough, manipulation checks can be placed after measuring the DV

37
Q

2 Advantages of Manipulation Checks

A

If used in an early pilot study and reveals that your manipulation is not effective, you can change the procedures before running the actual experiment
- AKA, you can inc. the strength of your manipulation for the IV
The manipulation check is advantageous if the results show no effect of the IV on the DV]
- To conclude that your IV doesn’t truly affect your DV, you first need to rule out the possibility that you failed to manipulate the IV at all
- You know at least that the results were not due to a problem with the manipulation; reason must lie elsewhere

38
Q

3 options for measuring variables:

A
  • Self-report
  • Behavioural
  • Physiological
39
Q

Self-report measures:

A

can be used to measure many different aspects of human thought and behaviour, including:
- explicit attitudes, judgements about someone’s personality characteristics
- intended behaviours
- emotional states
- confidence in one’s judgements
Using a published scale is preferred

40
Q

Behavioural Measures

A

direct observation of behaviours

Record when behaviour happens, repeats within a period (rate), reaction time to a certain stimulus, duration

41
Q

Physiological measures:

A

recording of a response of the body
Most popular: galvanic skin response (GSR): electrical conductance of the skin, which changes when sweating occurs
Often used to measure general emotional arousal, anxiety, or stress
◊ EMG measures muscle tension
◊ ECG measures heartbeat regularity and rate
◊ EEG measures the electrical activity of brain cells
} As learning occurs, or during different phases of sleep
◊ MRI captures images of brain structures
} fMRI measures blood flow to the brain

NOTE: the same variable can be measured using more than one category of measurement

42
Q

3 Additional Considerations When Measuring Variables

A
  • Sensitivity
  • Multiple Measures
  • Cost of measures
43
Q

Sensitivity:

A

important when using behavioural measures of performance
Different ways of measuring can be of different difficulties
Ceiling effect
- Leads to issues interpreting results
- Floor effect
To diagnose a potential ceiling/floor effect, look for average values close to the minimum or maximum possible score

44
Q

Multiple Measures:

A

Because any variable can be measured using various operationalizations, researchers sometimes include multiple measures of the same variable
◊ Producing various DVs; can let us know if the same IV can affect some measures of a DV, but not others

  • Important to include all studies in the research report
    ◊ Unethical to only report the ones that worked
45
Q

How should you sequence multiple. measures?

A

Worried about order-effects
SOLUTION:
- Present the most important measures first, less important later
- Overall impact of study is minimized
- Counterbalance the order of presenting the measures, or rely on complete randomization of order

46
Q

Setting the stage:

A

Consider getting external feedback

Then, plan the experience from the participant’s viewpoint, AKA setting the stage

  • No rules other than ensuring the study’s setting is plausible to the participants
  • Prep informed consent form
47
Q

2 Advanced considerations for ensuring control:

A
  1. Eliminating as many alt. explanations as possible
  2. Controlling participant expectations:
  3. Controlling for experimenter expectations:
48
Q

Controlling participant expectations - Demand Characteristics

A

any feature of a study that might inform participants of the study’s purpose and consequently affect their behaviour

				Reason why researchers don't want to expose hypothesis - Participants who were informed had ended up acting in ways that confirm it
49
Q

How to control demand characteristics - 3 methods:

A

Use deception to mislead from the actual purpose
- Can use filler items/tasks
Asses whether demand characteristics are a problem by asking participants what they thought research was about
- If they don’t have an accurate view of the purpose of the study, they are unlikely to react to demand characteristics
Can be eliminated when people are not aware that an experiment is taking place or that their behaviour is being observed

50
Q

Controlling participant expectations - Placebo Effects

A

Not knowing whether improvements were caused by what participants expect to feel after taking a drug

51
Q

How to control placebo effects - 2 methods:

A

Placebo group can be added: participants receive a fake, ineffective version of the manipulation (EX: useless drug)
- Can occur in any context
- Sometimes used for ethical implications
Participant expectations can also be the primary focus
- Balanced placebo designs

52
Q

Controlling for experimenter expectations - Experimenter bias/experimenter expectancy effects::

A

Experimenter might unintentionally treat participants differently depending on what condition they’re in - can alter participant behaviour
- Words emphasized, smiling more
® Experimenters record participant’s behaviours, with subtle differences emerging in how the experimenter interprets and records behaviours for people in different conditions

53
Q

Controlling for experimenter expectations - 2 potential sources:

A

Experimenter might unintentionally treat participants differently depending on what condition they’re in - can alter participant behaviour
Words emphasized, smiling more
Experimenters record participant’s behaviours, with subtle differences emerging in how the experimenter interprets and records behaviours for people in different conditions

54
Q

Controlling for experimenter expectations - 3 potential solutions:

A

Experimental procedures:

  1. Run everyone’s conditions simultaneously, so that experimenter’s behaviour is exactly the same for all participants
    - Only under certain circumstances, EX: printed materials
  2. Single-blind study: participants are unaware of which condition they are in
  3. Double-blind: neither the participant nor the experimenter knows the participant’s condition
    - Requires 2 experimenters: one who administers IV, another who takes over and administers DV, without knowledge of the IV
55
Q

Before collecting data, researchers must seek approval from…

A

their institutions research ethics board

  • Who will examine procedure, materials, and informed consent form
  • Deception must be justified
56
Q

2 decisions that must be made by institutional ethics boards before applying for ethics approval:

A
  • Participant selection process
  • Debriefing procedures
57
Q

5 Requirements for Selecting research participants:

A
  1. Method must be justified by the REB or Animal Care Committee, and have intention for generalizing research from your sample to a population
  2. Samples may be drawn from any population using probability sampling
    - Important, as it informs whether we can generalize results to a population
  3. Benefits/burdens must be equally distributed
  4. Special procedures required for sensitive populations: Indigenous, people with mental illnesses, children, people living in poverty/institutions
  5. Inc. sample size = inc. in likelihood that you will find an effect
58
Q

Funnelled debriefing

A
  • Begin broadly, then narrow on a key deception
  • Can prove useful in diagnosing whether patients were behaving as they normally would, or if they were suspicious of the manipulated IV
59
Q

2 issues to keep in mind when collecting data:

A

Whether to complete a pilot study

The commitments that researchers have to the participants

60
Q

Pilot studies:

A

Trial run, with a small # of p’s, to test out the procedures
- Used when procedures are elaborate or costly
Reveals if p’s understand, whether experimental setting seems plausible, whether any questions are confusing, and so on
- Esp. important when using a staged manipulation of the IV, to ensure a believable scenario

Can help experimenters rehearse and standardize procedures

61
Q

Think Aloud Protocol - Pilot Studies

A

ive, verbal comments during the study

62
Q

4 Researcher commitments:

A

Contracts with participants

P’s value punctuality, an important obligation of researchers

Keeping promises (ex: sending results)

Maintaining trust

63
Q

Analyzing/interpreting results:

A
  1. Analyze data after being collected
  2. Stats allow researchers to examine and interpret the pattern of data obtained in the study
  3. Relation? IV on DV?
  4. Depending on results, researchers might choose to conduct follow-up studies
64
Q

Communicating research to others

A

Professional conferences:

  • CPA, APA, APS hold presentations for research
  • Journalists also attend
65
Q

Journal articles:

A

Editor sends a submitted paper for peer review: two or more scientists read the paper and provide an evaluation

Can recommend acceptance of rejection

PSYC 217 (18 decks)

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