Psychology Unit 2 - Exam Revision

Question 1

Independent Variable

Answer 1

Variable that is manipulated

Question 2

Dependent Variable

Answer 2

Variable that is measured

Question 3

Extraneous and Confounding Variables

Answer 3

Extraneous Variable:

any variable other than the IV that can cause a change in the DV and therefore affect the results in an unwanted way

Confounding Variable:

any variable other than the IV that does have an unwanted effect on the dependent variable, making it impossible to determine which of the variables has produced the change.

Question 4

Population and Sample

Answer 4

Large group/population v. Small part of a population

Question 5

Controlled Experiment

Answer 5

An experiment in which only one variable is manipulated at a time.

Question 6

Experimental and Control Conditions

Answer 6

Experimental Group:

The group of participants who are exposed to the manipulated Independent variable

Control Group:

The group of participants who receive no experimental treatment and serve as a baseline for comparison

Question 7

Random Allocation

Answer 7

(also called random assignment) is a procedure used to place participants in groups so that they are as likely to be in one group as the other.

Question 8

IPAD

Answer 8

I = Independent Variable

P = Population

A = A Direction

D = Dependent Variable

Question 9

Mean, Medium and Mode

Answer 9

Mean (the average):

add all the values and divide the total by the number of values.

Median (the middle number):

if there is an even number of data, take the two middle values, add them together, and then divide by two to obtain the median.

Mode:

The most often occurring value

Question 10

Describe objective, subjective, primary and secondary data

Answer 10

Objective Data:

Data that is observed and measured independently of personal opinion

Subjective Data:

Data informed by personal opinion or interpretation

Primary Data:

Data collected first hand from a researcher

Secondary Data:

Data collected from others’ prior research

Question 11

Internal and External Validity

Answer 11

Internal validity:

The degree of confidence that the causal relationship you are testing is not influenced by other factors or variables.

External validity:

The extent to which your results can be generalised to other contexts.

Question 12

Difference Between a Between Subject Design and Within Subject Design

Answer 12

Between Subject Design:

Each participant is randomly allocated to one group, typically either the control or experimental group.

Within Subject Design:

The same participants are both the experimental and control groups. Must consider order and practice effects.

Question 13

Limitations of Between Subject Design and Within Subject Design

Answer 13

Between Subject Design:

• needs a large number of participants to ensure that the spread of participant variables in the sample will match the spread in the population.

Within Subject Design:

• Often creates an ‘order effect’ meaning participants do better or worse under the second condition.
• Can take a long time - participants may “drop out”

Question 14

Ethical Guidelines

Answer 14

• Informed Consent

Before an experiment, the researcher needs to inform the participant of the true nature of the study, what they will be expected to do, their rights and written consent

• Withdrawal Rights

Participants are entitled to withdraw from a study at any time, or to ask to have their results withdrawn

• Confidentiality

Participant right to privacy in terms of access, storage and disposal of informational related to the study

• Deception

Is used in cases where giving participants information about an experiment beforehand might influence their behavior during the study and affect the results

• Voluntary Participation

A participant must voluntarily decide to participate in the research

• Debriefing

Where participants are not fully informed of the study, the researcher must ensure that the participant does not suffer from psychological or physical stress. Participants must always be debriefed

Question 15

Ethical Considerations

Answer 15

• Beneficence

Maximising benefits and minimising the risks and harms involved

• Integrity

Commitment to searching for knowledge and understanding, and the honest reporting of all sources of information and results

• Justice

The moral obligation to ensure that there is fair consideration of competing claims; that there is no unfair burden on a particular group from an action

• Non- Maleficence

is the principle of avoiding causing harm. If there is harm done.

• Respect

Consideration of participants beliefs and culture, protect participants autonomy and the welfare of human and non-human participants

Question 16

Social Cognition

Answer 16

Social cognition is how people process, store, and apply information about others and social situations.

Question 17

Person Perception

Answer 17

Refers to the different mental processes used to understand and form impressions of other people.

Directly:

Provided from the person we are judging, for example through observing them or interacting with them.

Indirectly:

through hearing about the person we are judging from another person or source, for example through a friend or reading about someone online.

Question 18

First Impressions

Answer 18

Making a snap judgement, based on easily accessible perceptual information

Question 19

Attributions

Answer 19

Internal attribution assumes events or behaviours are caused by internal factors, such as personality traits or abilities.

External attribution assumes that an event or behaviour is caused by situational factors, such as a person’s social or physical environment.

Question 20

Fundamental Attribution Error

Answer 20

The tendency people have to overemphasise personal characteristics and ignore situational factors in judging others’ behaviour.

Question 21

Attitudes + Criteria Formation

Answer 21

An individuals judgement or evaluation of other people, objects, issues, groups or events.

The Criteria for Attitude Formation

For something to be considered an established attitude there are three criteria that must be met. These are that the attitude is:

1. An evaluation of something
2. Settled and stable
3. Learnt through experience.

Question 22

Tri-Component Model of Attitudes

Answer 22

Proposes that there are 3 components to attitude formation.

Cognitive: The beliefs we have

Behavioural: The way an attitude is expressed

Affective: Emotional reactions/feelings we have

Question 23

Stereotypes + Impacts

Answer 23

They allow us to perceive others and make sense of the social world by applying simplified characteristics to all members of a group or category of people.

Stereotypes can impact:

• Decision-making: Stereotypes can set personal parameters for our goals, because if we believe we stereotypically fit the role for something, we may make more decisions aligning us with that goal (e.g. choosing a course at university in that field).
• Interpersonal interactions: Stereotypes influence who we choose to interact with, and how we choose to interact with them.

Question 24

Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 24

The psychological tension that occurs when our thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviours do not align with one another.

Question 25

Cognitive Biases

Answer 25

Confirmation bias:

the tendency to search for and accept information that supports our prior beliefs or behaviours and ignore contradictory information.

Halo effect:

the tendency for the impression we form about one quality of a person to influence our overall beliefs about the person in other respects.

False-consensus bias:

the tendency to overestimate the degree to which other people share the same ideas and attitudes as we do.

Question 26

Heuristics

Answer 26

Information-processing strategies or ‘mental shortcuts’ that enable individuals to form judgements, make decisions, and solve problems quickly and efficiently.

Availability:

an information-processing strategy that enables individuals to form a judgement, solve a problem, or make a decision based on information that is easily accessible.

Affect:

an information-processing strategy that involves using emotions to make a judgement or decision

Question 27

Prejudice, Discrimination, Stigma

Answer 27

Prejudice:

An often negative preconception held against people within a certain group or social category

Discrimination:

The unjust treatment of people due to their membership within a certain social category

Stigma:

The feeling of shame or disgrace experienced by an individual for a characteristic that differentiates them from others

Question 28

Social Groups

Answer 28

Group: two or more people who interact and influence each other and share a common objective

In-group:

a group that an individual belongs to or identifies with. Example, VCE Student at Kolbe Catholic College

Out-group:

a group that an individual does not belong to or identify with. Example, VCE Student at St Monica’s College

Question 29

Group Norms

Answer 29

a standard, value, or rule that outlines an appropriate behaviour or experience in a group

Question 30

Culture

Answer 30

values, beliefs, language, rituals, traditions, and other behaviours that are passed from one generation to another within any social group.

Question 31

Obedience

Answer 31

complying with commands which are often given by a source of authority

Obedience can be impacted by:

Status of authority figure
Greater status or power of authority
Eg. more likely to show police officer your licence compared to your sibling

Proximity
Physical and emotional closeness
Eg. more likely to listen to a teacher they have been taught by before, compared to a new teacher

Group pressure
Tendency to obey increases as the number of ‘others’ who also obey increases.
Eg. if students observe the majority of their class sitting down when the teacher commands, they are more likely to also sit down

Question 32

Conformity

Answer 32

Conformity: adjusting one’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviours to match those of others, a social group, or a social situation.

Question 33

Anti-conformity and independence

Answer 33

a deliberate refusal to comply with social norms or standards for thoughts, feelings, or behaviours