Psych extraneous variables Flashcards
What are demand characteristics?
Demand characteristics are a type of extraneous variable that involves anything that the participant does that affects the experiment (IV and DV) since the participant knows that they are being studied or recorded. These cues can lead to participants changing their behaviors or responses based on what they think the research is about.There are 4 types of demand characteristics. “Screw-you effect”, “Expectancy effect”, “Reactivity”, and “Social-desirability effect”.
What are matched pair designs?
This is when the researcher collects people of the same qualities and characteristics but one goes through the experimental group and one goes through the controlled group. For example, the researcher may chose people with the same IQ to go through an experimental group and the other, a controlled group. This then increases the validity of the experiment.
What is the fatigue effect?
The fatigue effect is a type of extraneous variable (order effects) that includes the participant doing the same experiment more than once (or multiple times) which ultimately cause them to become tired and/or bored, and maybe unwilling to continue the experiment further. They may lose motivation to try their best or their concentration may be impaired, influencing the results.
What is optimism bias?
Tendency to expect positive outcomes more than realistic probabilities.
What are extraneous variables, generally?
Factors in a study that may affect results but aren’t the main focus (IV and DV), potentially causing confounding or biased conclusions - Variables not intentionally studied but may still influence outcomes.
What is validity and mention the types of validity as well as what they are (In short). Procedural issues.
It is the accuracy and relevance of a study in capturing the intended concept of that study
There are 5 types:
Internal validity: How well an experiment is carried out, does it avoid extraneous variables (most of em)
External validity: The extent to which the study can be generalized to other situations and people to ‘real-world’ situations.
Population validity: Can it be generalized to tp? - wider community of that tp.
Ecological validity: Can it be generalized beyond tp - same as external validity. A measure of how test performance predicts behaviours in real-world settings.
Construct validity: does it measure what it is supposed to measure? is it using the right tools?
What are order effects, mention the types of order effects and what they are (in short)
Order effects are certain things that affect the study (not the IV or DV) based on the order that everything is presented in - responses that result from the order in which experimental materials are presented to them.
There are 3 types:
1. Fatigue effect: participant does same experiment many times, they get tired and/or bored thus not being able/motivated enough to complete the task or to the best of their ability.
2. Interference effect: When a participant has taken part in one condition affects their ability to take part in the next condition.
3. Practice effect: When a participant is asked to complete a task repeatedly, we may see that they improve on the task simply because of extended practice
What is participant variability?
These are certain changeable and unchangeable characteristics and/or traits in participants which may differ from other participants, thus affecting (may affect) the general study. This could be IQ, appearance, etc. All participants in a study differ therefore it would never be 100% accurate.
What is researcher bias, give me an example of researcher bias.
is when the experimenter sees what he or she is looking for. In other words, the expectations of the researcher consciously or unconsciously affect the findings of the study. The beliefs or opinions of the researcher influence the outcomes or conclusions of the research. Researcher bias occurs when a researcher’s personal beliefs or expectations unintentionally influence the study’s design, data collection, or interpretation.
An example of researcher bias:
confirmation bias - First, there is the problem of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is when a researcher searches for or interprets information in a way that confirms a preexisting belief or hypothesis. For example, if a researcher is observing children on a playground and believes that boys are more aggressive than girls, the researcher may record more examples of such aggression and not pay attention to aggressive female behavior.
What are demand characteristics and/or participant bias, mention the types and what they are (in short)
Demand characteristics are cues or subtle cues in a study that influence participants to respond or behave in a certain way, potentially biasing results. Basically when the participant knows they are being observed/studied, they act diff.
Expectancy: the participant attempts to discern the experimenter’s hypotheses with the goal of “helping” the researcher. This may result in acting in a certain way or giving the “right answer.”
“Screw-You” Effect: the participant attempts to discern the experimenter’s hypotheses, but only in order to destroy the credibility of the study.
Social Desirability Effect: This is when the participant answers in a way that makes him/her look good to the researcher. This is done to avoid embarrassment or judgement. Participants usually act in a way that protects their sense of self-esteem.
reactivity: Finally, sometimes participants simply act differently because they are being observed. (pos or neg)
what is the difference between ecological and external validity?
ecological validity is a subset of external validity, focusing specifically on the faithfulness of the research environment to real-world conditions. External validity, on the other hand, covers a wider range of factors that influence the applicability of research findings beyond the immediate study context.
