Psychology unit 1 Flashcards
aim
a statement outlining the purpose of the investigation
anecdote
an informal verbal report of an event that has been casually observed
Behaviour
any action made by a living person (or animal) that can be observed or measured
beneficence
in relation to research ethics, the commitment to maximising benefits and minimising the risks and harms involved in taking a particular position or course of action
between subjects
an experimental design in which each participant is assigned to only one group or condition and provides only one score for data analysis; also called independent groups and between groups
biased sample
a research sample that does not adequately represent the key characteristics of its population
case study
an intensive, in-depth investigation of some behaviour, event or problem of interest in a single individual, group, organisation or situation
Conclusion
in relation to research, a decision about what the results obtained from a research study mean
Confidentiality
ethical guideline for research involving the privacy, protection and security of a participant’s personal information, including results
Confounding variable
a variable other than the independent variable that has affected the results (the dependent variable) and whose effect(s) cannot be separated from that of the independent variable, thereby providing an alternative explanation(s) for the results; compare with extraneous variable
Control condition
in an experiment, the standard against which the experimental condition can be compared; involves the control group who are not exposed to the independent variable
Control group
the group in an experiment not exposed to the independent variable
Controlled experiment
an experimental investigation of the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable, whilst controlling all other variables
Controlled variable
a variable that is considered to have an effect on the dependent variable so it is held constant to remove its potential effect
Correlation
the degree of a relationship between two variables
Correlation study
a research method used to investigate the relationship between variables without any control over the setting in which the relationship occurs or any manipulation by the researcher
Correlation coefficient
a statistic used to describe the relationship between two variables
Counterbalancing
systematically changing the order of treatments or tasks for participants in a ‘balanced’ way to ‘counter’ the unwanted effects on performance of any one order
data
information collected through research; see also primary data, secondary data, quantitative data and qualitative data
debriefing
ethical guideline requiring that at the end of the experiment, the participant leaves understanding the experimental aim, results and conclusions including wellbeing checks where appropriate
Deception (in research)
when a researcher deliberately conceals the true purpose of the experiment from participants by misleading or misinforming them
dependent variable (DV)
the variable the researcher measures, after selecting the independent variable that is assumed to have an effect on the independent variable
double blind procedure
a procedure in which both the participants and the experimenter(s) interacting with them are unaware of the conditions to which the participants have been allocated; compare with single blind
ethical concept
moral or philosophical idea that focuses on the concept of what is right and wrong
ethical guideline
enforceable standards that psychologists use to guide ethical decisions in practice, research, and education
ethics
in relation to research, standards that guide researchers to identify good, desirable or acceptable behaviour
experimental condition
the condition in an experiment in which participants are exposed to the independent variable; involves the experimental group; sometimes used to mean any or all groups or conditions in an experiment, including the control group (or conditions)
experimental group
the group in an experiment exposed to the independent variable
experimenter effect
any influence on the results produced by the person carrying out the research; also called experimenter bias
external validity
the extent to which the results obtained for a study can be applied beyond the sample that generated them, specifically to individuals in a different setting and over time; compare with internal validity
extraneous variable
any variable other than the independent variable that can cause a change in the dependent variable and therefore affect the validity of the results in an unwanted way; compare with confounding variable
fixed-response question
a question that presents a number of fixed alternative answers from which participants are required to choose; also called fixed alternative question or fixed-choice question
generalisation
in research, a decision about how widely the findings of an investigation can be applied, particularly to other members of the population from which the sample was drawn
independent variable (IV)
variable that is manipulated (controlled, selected or changed) in order to test its effects on the dependent variable