Research Methods Flashcards
What are the main differences from normal psychology?
- The questions themsleves
2. A specific population: criminals (except when looking at jurors)
What is an estimator variable?
variables present at the time of the crime that cannot be changed.
- age, lighting, sobriety, etc.
What is a system variable?
a. Parameters of an investigation that can be increased or decreased to ensure optimal effectiveness of a procedure
- how evidence is collected, questioning types, etc.
Define archival research, and list strengths and weaknesses
- study of existing data and documents
Strengths: allows us to look for a pattern, get an overview of a topic, all in a short period of time
Weaknesses: mostly qualitative, and not a lot of info may be available on a certain topic. Also, no variables to manipulate.
Define lab research, and list strengths and weaknesses
Standard experiments, manipulation of variables
Strengths: Random assignment, full control of variables
Weaknesses: very artificial, given nature of crime. often uses a niche pop like university students
Field research
Use of fictitious crimes, where unsuspecting people are interviewed after observing a face crime
Define a case study
a. Used when you seek to understand specific characters, such as serial killers
b. Very specific details, with a lot of specific information
c. Only a few people
Correlation designs
a. An assessment of the relationship between two or more variables
Experimental designs
a. Dependent and independent variables are assessed, and a causal hypothesis is made
Longitudinal designs
a. Used for risk assessment or certain types of treatment
b. Can also be used to assess the effectiveness of new police procedures
Meta-analysis
a. Used in the conception of the field
b. Used to identify variables of interest
What are three major considerations in ethics of psychology research?
- Risks vs. benefits ratio
- Minimal risk assessment
- Informed consent
When is deception used?
Only if the experiment would be otherwise invalidated or the results affected
Ethics of deception
- consent for use of data must be attained once the experiment is concluded
- Should only ever be used as a last resort: if any other approach will do, go that direction
- It is never ethical to use deception about a reward
Define a free-narrative interview
A. The participant responds to open-ended questions
B. The patient just talks without interruption by interviewer
C. Flow to questions and answers
Define a structured interview
A. More standardized, where all participants are asked the same structured questions
B. Usually requires training to be an interviewer
Define standardized tests
a. IQ tests, personality tests, etc.
b. Must have the ability to get administered to a large amount of people
c. Should create normalized distribution
Define projective tests
a. Used to divulge information from patients that wouldn’t normally be expressed
i. Rorschach ink test
ii. TAT -> interpret the weird drawings
b. Mostly used in assessment, not clinical settings
Define behavioral observation
a. Used in mental hospital to check how people act when they don’t know they are being observed
Define psychological tests
a. Focus on changes in the nervous system, as well as physiological responses
b. i.e. polygraph
