Research Methods

Question 1

variables - Independent - dependent

Answer 1

anything defined/measured

manipulated/controlled by experimenter

affected by the I.V. - response/behaviour

cause + effect -> manipulated + measured
FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP

Question 2

stimulus

Answer 2

anything that can influence a behaviour (ex: a high mark on a test)

Question 3

response

Answer 3

an instance of behaviour (ex: feeling of delight)

Question 4

Appetitive Stimulus

Answer 4

an event that an organism will seek out (pleasant)
ex: food

Question 5

Aversive Stimulus

Answer 5

an event an organism will avoid (unpleasant)
ex: extreme cold

Question 6

Whatare the 2 Motivating Operations that affect appetitive + aversive stimuli

Answer 6

Depravation + Satiation

Question 7

Depravation

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Satiation

Answer 8

repeated exposure to a stimulus will make it aversive
ex: someone who is full and not hungry will want to stay away from food

Question 9

Measuring Behaviour

Answer 9

must be objective +unambiguous, replicated, and reliable (inter-rater reliability)

rate of response, duration, speed, latency, # of errors

Question 10

rate of response - when is it appropriate?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

duration - when is it appropriate?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

speed

Answer 12

how quickly a behaviour occurs/progresses through a distance
ex: how fast a rat makes it’s way through a maze

Question 13

latency

Answer 13

the length of time required for a behavior to begin
ex: how soon a dog begins to salivate after hearing a tone

Question 14

number of errors

Answer 14

responses can be measured as right or wrong
ex: how many wrong turns a rat makes

Question 15

Descriptive research

Answer 15

describing behavior in an environment in which it occurs
types: naturalistic observation, case studies

Question 16

naturalistic observation

Answer 16

observation + recording of behaviour in its natural environment
ex: Jane Goodall

disadvantages: can’t find a functional relationship, can’t control variables

Question 17

case studies

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Experimental research

Answer 18

discover cause +effect
- 1 or more I.V.’s effect on DV

control groups, single-subject designs

Question 19

Control group

Answer 19

randomly assigned to an experimental or control group
experimental: exposed to a manipulation/treatment
control: no manipulation (baseline)

Question 20

Group designs:
- between
- within

Answer 20

between: participants are divided into groups and are exposed to different treatments

within: all participants are exposed to every treatment

Question 21

Single subject designs”
- simple comparison
- reversal design
- changing criterion

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Animals in research:
1. good things
2. arguments make against it

Answer 22

• 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,