Psych Part 4 Flashcards
Validity
External Validity: Difficult to apply to the real world
Internal Validity: inherent flaws/innacuracies in design
Demand characteristics
Internal validity error: subtle cues that alter the behaviour of subjects
Construct validity
Internal validity error. Does it actually measure what it is supposed to?
Threats to internal validity
Impression management - behaviour adapts to perceived characteristics; self-fufilled prophecy
Confounding variables
Lack of reliability - tools are not measuring what they are supposed to
Sampling bias
Attrition effects
Demand characteristics
Experiment does not reflect real world
Selection criteria
Situational effects
Lack of statistical power
Correlation Studies
Tend to draw on Pearson Correlation studies. -1 to +1
Ethnographic studies
Qualitative!
Researchers immerse themselves in a group.
Strength: Minimal resources; in-depth
Weaknesses: replicability, presence of researcher, hard to verify methodology
Longitudinal Studies
Sub-type is cross-sectional studies looking at a collection of the population at a specific time.
Case studies
In-depth exploration of individuals, groups, or phenomena
Phenomenological studies
introspective method.
Study oneself or study thoughts/self-perceptions
Survey
Pros: easy to administer and cheap
Cons: hard to validate honesty, whether it is a poor sample, or poor questions
Archival studies
Previously collected data
Biographical studies
Extensive life account
Observational
Observation only. No attempt to control variables.
Society
A group of people that share a culture and live/interact with eachother in a definable area
Sociology
Study of people and the reciprocal influence of society
Structural Functionalism
Society as a living organism. Independent parts with distinct and necessary purposes.
Initiated by Herbert Spencer.
Focus on social functions and societal structures.
Can thrive or become diseased.
Emile Durkheim
1858 - 1917. Established Sociology as a distinct discipline.
Functionalist. Argued that order was paramount to a successful society because all structures are interdependent.
Modern societies are more complex than primitive ones which can be held together because they are small and share language, customs, and values.
Dynamic equilibrium. Can break, but good societies revert. Social dysfunction reduces stability of society.
Society can be viewed hollistically as a collection of SOCIAL FACTS which are elements that serve a function in society: laws; morales; values; religion. Related, believed in COLLECTIVE CONSCIENCE.
MANIFEST FUNCTIONS
LATENT FUNCTIONS
CRITIQUE: Inability to account for rapid change.
Conflict Theory
Marx (1818 - 1883)
Unequal social order maintained by hegemony.
Societal “consensus” is defined by a super-strucutre and used to justify what is normal/inevitable.
Max Weber
1864 - 1920
Conflict Theory
Did not believe collapse of capitalism was inevitable.
Critique of Marx was the lack of integration of beliefs/values. Included the protestant/puritan work ethic as contribution to capitalist success.
Funamental trend of society was its RATIONALIZATION ie. increased efficiency.
Symbolic Interactionism
Term by Hubert Blumer, but Weber set the stage.
(Micro) Society as a composite of small interactions.
Individuals shape reality through understanding and subsequent behaviour.
George Herbert Mead
1863 - 1931
We make sense of the world by ascribing meaning to symbols and language, which depend on individuals and the social context.
Meaning is a central aspect fo human behaviour, but it is subjective:
1. humans ascribe meaning and act on that meaning
2. language allows for generation of meaning
3. Modify meaning by observation and interpretation of others in a social context
Encouraged language, games, and play at all ages.
Difference between “I” (individual self) “me” more important when others interpret our behaviour.
Thought = a composition of I and ME.
Definition of the situation.
Thomas Theorem - our interpretation of a situation reflects our response.
Dramaturgical Approach
Erving Goffamn (1922 - 82)
Sub-type of symbolic interactionism.
Life as a stage, individuals as performers.
Critiques of interactionism
Neglects macro social interpretation and may miss larger social issues.
General critique of conflict theory
Too much focus on conflict, what about cooperation and beliefs.
Social Constructionism
People assert reality. Society is subject to “meaning making” and collective definition making.
Social constructs: mechanisms and practices created by society.
Major difference with SI: SC can focus both micro and macro.
STOCKS OF KNOWLEDGE: allow for quick classification of actions and structures our process –> result is TYPIFICATION (general knowledge structures view).
Typification can expand to Institutionalization.
Concerned with Mass Media.
Feminist theory
Concerned with the difference between men/female.
How social structures contribute to gender differences (macro) and how differences result in individual reactions (micro).
Active Oppression
Intersectionality