Psychology Key Words (Paper 1)

Question 1

Opportunity Sample

Answer 1

A sample of participants produced by selecting people who are more easily available at the time of the study

Question 2

Volunteer Sample

Answer 2

A sample of participants produced by asking for people willing to take part

Question 3

Stratified Sample

Answer 3

Participants are selected from different subgroups (aka. Strata) in the target population in proportion to the subgroup’s frequency in that population

Question 4

Random Sample

Answer 4

A sample of participants produced using a random technique such that every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected

Question 5

Ranked scale

Answer 5

A kind of closed question where respondents are asked to give an assessment of their views using a scale

Question 6

Open question

Answer 6

Questions that invites respondents to provide their own answers

Question 7

Closed question

Answer 7

Questions that have a fixed number of possible answers

Question 8

Questionnaire

Answer 8

Respondents record their own answers, the questions are predetermined, they are provided in written form and there is no face-to-face contact with the other person

Question 9

independent measures

Answer 9

participants only take part in one condition of the study

Question 10

repeated measures

Answer 10

all participants take part in every condition of the study

Question 11

overt observation

Answer 11

when the participants know that they are being observed

Question 12

covert observation

Answer 12

when the participants don’t know that they are being observed

Question 13

inter-rater reliability

Answer 13

when there are more than one observers in the study/ the study is filmed and reviewed after. this allows cross-checking and improves reliability and validity

Question 14

observer bias

Answer 14

when observers misinterpret the situation of the study

Question 15

reductionism

Answer 15

experimental research requires identifying variables that may contribute to complex behaviour - and breaking it down into its simplest forms

Question 16

holism

Answer 16

(opposite of reductionism) looking at things/ components as a whole

Question 17

lab experiment

Answer 17

study with independent and dependent variables, conducted in a very controlled environment

Question 18

field experiment

Answer 18

study done in the environment they are testing in, improves ecological validity

Question 19

reliability

Answer 19

ensuring that all procedures are the same for every participant so that their performances are comparable. refers to the consistency of measurements

Question 20

generalisability

Answer 20

the extent to which findings and conclusions form a particular investigation can be broadly applied to the population

Question 21

androcentric

Answer 21

male-centered, when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to male standards

Question 22

quantitative data

Answer 22

information in numbers

Question 23

qualitative data

Answer 23

information in words or pictures

Question 24

mundane realism

Answer 24

refers to how an experiment mirrors the real world

Question 25

standardisation

Answer 25

the procedures used in any study should be the same for each participant

Question 26

ethnocentrism

Answer 26

judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own culture

Question 27

demand characteristics

Answer 27

cues in a research situation that communicate to participants what is expected to them - this may unconsciously affect a person’s behaviour

Question 28

ecological validity

Answer 28

concerns. theextent to which the findings from a research study can be generalised beyond the particular study

Question 29

internal validity

Answer 29

measuring what the study is supposed to measure

Question 30

concurrent validity

Answer 30

when you use multiple measures to imrpove the validity of the study

Question 31

descriptive validity

Answer 31

high = when patients of the same diagnosis exhibit similar symptoms

Question 32

Aetiological validity

Answer 32

high = when patients of same diagnosis share similar causal factors

Question 33

Predictive validity

Answer 33

how well a diagnosis predicts future behaviour / outcome

Question 34

test-retest reliability

Answer 34

assessed then re-assessed at a later time, with the same clinician diagnosing