Research Methods Flashcards
variables - Independent - dependent
anything defined/measured
manipulated/controlled by experimenter
affected by the I.V. - response/behaviour
cause + effect -> manipulated + measured
FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP
stimulus
anything that can influence a behaviour (ex: a high mark on a test)
response
an instance of behaviour (ex: feeling of delight)
Appetitive Stimulus
an event that an organism will seek out (pleasant)
ex: food
Aversive Stimulus
an event an organism will avoid (unpleasant)
ex: extreme cold
Whatare the 2 Motivating Operations that affect appetitive + aversive stimuli
Depravation + Satiation
Depravation
not being exposed to a stimulus for a long time will increase an appetitive stimulus
ex: not having food for a long time will make someone hungry and want food
Satiation
repeated exposure to a stimulus will make it aversive
ex: someone who is full and not hungry will want to stay away from food
Measuring Behaviour
must be objective +unambiguous, replicated, and reliable (inter-rater reliability)
rate of response, duration, speed, latency, # of errors
rate of response - when is it appropriate?
the frequency of which a response occurs in a period of time
- appropriate when brief duration, defined start and finish
ex: # of phone calls picked up in an hour
duration - when is it appropriate?
length of time someone performs a behavior
- appropriate when there’s an increase/decrease in time of the behavior occurring
ex: more studying and less watching television
speed
how quickly a behaviour occurs/progresses through a distance
ex: how fast a rat makes it’s way through a maze
latency
the length of time required for a behavior to begin
ex: how soon a dog begins to salivate after hearing a tone
number of errors
responses can be measured as right or wrong
ex: how many wrong turns a rat makes
Descriptive research
describing behavior in an environment in which it occurs
types: naturalistic observation, case studies
naturalistic observation
observation + recording of behaviour in its natural environment
ex: Jane Goodall
disadvantages: can’t find a functional relationship, can’t control variables
case studies
Intensive examination of 1 or few individuals ex: HM
- natural or structured setting
- long time + not generalizable
- can’t infer causation
- good starting point for research
Experimental research
discover cause +effect
- 1 or more I.V.’s effect on DV
control groups, single-subject designs
Control group
randomly assigned to an experimental or control group
experimental: exposed to a manipulation/treatment
control: no manipulation (baseline)
Group designs:
- between
- within
between: participants are divided into groups and are exposed to different treatments
within: all participants are exposed to every treatment
Single subject designs”
- simple comparison
- reversal design
- changing criterion
simple comparison (AB)
- baseline behaviour is calculated (like a week) then a treatment is implemented (if successful a change should be seen)
Reversal design (ABAB)
- baseline is taken, then a treatment is implemented, then baseline again (must be back to original) and then treatment again
Treatment should lower or improve the behavior
Changing criterion (ABCAC)
baseline is calculated (must be back to original), one treatment is given, a second treatment is given, baseline again, and then the 2nd treatment again
- done if the first treatment is seen to not work, but second is
Animals in research:
1. good things
2. arguments make against it
- common molecular organisms (control differences, identical participants)
- can manipulate gene makeup, test drugs+viruses
- mouse brains= smaller, smoother, better memory
- can control schedules, learning history, environment
Arguments: what works on animals may not work on humans, ethics,
