research methods - year 2, more consepts Flashcards
what does the cognitive approach believe and focus on
that internal mental processes should be studied scientifically
it focuses on cognitive functions like memory, perception, thinking. these are studied indirectly by making inferences based on out behaviour
what is validity
the extent to which the observed effects are genuine, is it measuring what it is supposed to measure
how can we assess validity
face validity: does it appear to be researching what its supposed to
concurrent validity: comparing your test to a well established test and see if they produce the same result - the tests must have a correlation coefficient of +.8
how can we improve validity
questionnaires: incorporating a lie scale to control the effects of social desirability bias
interviews/case studies: using direct quotes die to the qualitative data, using triangulation which just refers to using a number of sources as evidence eg diaries, family members etc
observations: using covert observations and ensuring clear behavioural categories
experiments: using a control group, standardising procedures, using single and double blind procedures
what is reliability
a measure of consistency - how much it produces the same results when repeated
how can we assess reliability
test-retest: administering the same test/questionnaire after some time to seen if the results correlate
inter-observer reliability: observers should conduct their observations in teams and ensure their data correlates
the correlation MUST be +.8 to be reliable
how can we improve relaibility
questionnaires: questions should be rewritten or deselected, ensure they aren’t ambiguous or confusing - consider closed questions
interviews: again no leading or ambiguous questions - consider a structured interview
observations: operationalise behavioural categories and are measurable and self-evident
experiments: ensure use of standardised procedures
what is the role of the unconscious
- to store drives and instincts that have effects on out behaviour
- to protect us from traumas through repression
what is the role of schema in our childhood and adulthood
schema are our mental packages of information and ideas that are developed through experience
babies have some innate schema such as suckling or grasping
as we age our schemas become more sophisticated and developed such as our concepts of things eg psychology, what happens in a restaurant etc
who did sperry research
11 people who had their corpus callosum cut in a split brain surgery to ease epilepsy symptoms. this means that their hemispheres couldn’t communicate with eachother
what did sperry find
when an image was shown to their RVF (LH) they could tell us verbally what was seen. they couldn’t do this if the object was shown to theyr LVF (RH) because theres no language centers in the right hemisphere. they could however select the object using their left hand (RH). they couldn’t see the objects and had to use touch recognition only.
what does ‘levels of measurement’ refer to
its just data types, nominal ordinal interval
how can we calculate the value of S in the sign test
in the table data set:
identify all the data that has improved/ gone from 0-2 etc and label as +.
identify all the data that has decreased/ gone from 2-0 etc and label as -.
identify all the data with no difference and disregard it.
identify which value, the + or - is the lowest so if you had 3+ and 5-, you would choose 3.
this is the S value so S=3
what are biological rhythms and what are they governed by
changes in body processes or behaviours that repeat regularly in a cycle
they are governed by 1. endogenous pacemakers which are our internal body clocks and 2. exogenous zeitgbers which are environmental impacts
what are the three biological rhythms and what do they all mean
circadian rhythms: 24 hour cycles
infradian rhythms: take longer than 24 hours to complete eg menstrual cycle, SAD
ultradian rhythms: take less than 24 hours to complete eg stages of sleep
what are theoretical models and computer models
what is maslows hierarchy of needs
bottom to top:
physiological needs
safety+security
love+belonging
self esteem
self actualisation
explain the self, congruence and conditions of worth
self: how we perceive ourselves
ideal self: how we want to be ideally
congruence: how in line these two are
conditions of worth refers to parents having conditions tied to the love for their child
we can increase congruence by using client centred therapy, aka counselling, the therapist must have unconditional positive regard (because they didnt have it in childhood) to help them heal and cope with everyday life
where is the cell body in a motor, relay and sensory neuron
motor and relay - usually inn the dendrite
sensory - outside, coming off the centre of the axon
what messages and in what direction do motor and sensory neurons carry
motor: connect the CNS to muscles and glands aka effectors
sensory: from the PNS to the CNS
what does the nervous system do and what two parts does it split into
it collects processes and responds to environmental stimuli
coordinates the working of different organs and cells in the body
splits into the CNS (brain and spinal chord) and PNS (our neuron network)(ANS and SNS)
what does the brain and spinal chord do in the CNS
brain: centre of put conscious awareness, its highly developed in humans and divided into 2 hemispheres
spinal chord: an extension of this, its responsible for reflex actions and passing messages
what are the 3 pairs of observations and what do they all mean
naturalistic and controlled - natural environment vs lab environment
covert and overt - participants don’t know they’re being observed vs they do know
participant and nonparticipant - observer becomes part of the group vs is outside the group
what are the strengths and weaknesses of time and event sampling
time: good when behaviour is frequent so reduced the amount of observations to be made however the sample may be unrepresentative as a whole because you miss certain behaviours
event: good for infrequent behaviour that you may miss in time sampling however its more time consuming and requires acute concentration
what age do freuds psychosexual stages happen
oral 0-1
anal 1-3
phallic 3-6
latency 7+
genital 12+
what is the focus of pleasure in the psychosexual stages
oral - mouth, breast
anal - anal, faeces
phallic - genitals, oedipus/electra complex happens here
latency - previous stages are repressed
genital - sexual desire is conscious, fixations arise
what are the sections in a report and what do they all contain
abstract - short summary including aims/hypothesis, methods results and conclusions
introduction - literature review of research in to that field
method - design, sample, materials, procedure, ethics
results - descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, raw data
discussion - summary of results in verbal form
referencing - full details of citations made
