year 1 (p1-25) Flashcards

1
Q

what is an independent variable?

A

the thing we change

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2
Q

what is a dependent variable?

A

the thing we measure

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3
Q

what is an aim?

A

a general statement of what the researcher intends to investigate
eg. to investigate if music effects mood

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4
Q

what is a hypothesis?

A

a clear prediction of what is expected to happen

eg. music will affect someone’s mood

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5
Q

what is a directional hypothesis?

A

researcher makes clear the difference that is anticipated between two conditions, includes words like more/ less, higher/ lower, faster/slower.
e.g. people who drink red bull become more talkative than people who don’t.

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6
Q

what is a non-directional hypothesis?

A

there is a difference between two conditions but the nature of the difference is not specified.
e.g. people who drink red bull differ in terms of talkativeness compared with those who don’t drink it.

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7
Q

what is a null hypothesis?

A

the effect on the DV are not due to the IV but are due to chance.
e.g. there will be no significant difference/ relationship between red bull and talkativeness, any difference/ relationship is due to chance.

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8
Q

one tailed are…

A

directional

has previous research which indicates what the results are likely to be

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9
Q

two tailed are…

A

non directional

no previous research

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10
Q

define the term operationalisation of variable

A

defining exactly what will be manipulated and exactly what will be measured.
e.g.

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11
Q

explain extraneous and confounding variables?

A

a variable other than the independent that might have an effect on the DV.
they need to be controlled by the researcher so they don’t become confounding variables.
if results are confounded the researcher does not know what is causing the effect - unable to say the IV effects the DV.

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12
Q

what is validity?

A

a test mesure what it was designed to measure - it may not if EV’s are not controlled

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13
Q

what is reliability?

A

if a study is replicated the findings should be similar - they might not if EV’s aren’t controlled

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14
Q

give four examples of extraneous variables

A

situational variable
participant variable
demand characteristics
investigator effects

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15
Q

explain a situational variable

A

an environmental factor that has an effect on the DV.

e.g. time of day, weather, noise

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16
Q

explain a participant variable

A

personal characteristics that may have an effect on the DV.

e.g. age, intelligence

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17
Q

explain demand characteristics

A

occurs when a ppt tries to make sense of the research situation, and as a result changes their behaviour. this distorts results as ppt might intentionally try to demonstrate what the researcher is investigating, or displays the opposite.

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18
Q

what is social desirability bias?

A

a form of demand characteristic

ppt might try to portray themselves in a positive light rather than producing genuine response/ behaviour

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19
Q

explain investigator effects

A

occurs when the presence of the investigator (unintentionally) affects the outcome of the research
e.g. during an interview, the ppt might be influenced by behaviour cues from the researcher (nodding, smiling, frowning)

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20
Q

what is single blind?

A

a ppt doesn’t know the aims of the study

demand characteristics are reduced

21
Q

what is double blind?

A

both ppt and researcher don’t know the aims of the study

reduces demand characteristics and investigator effects

22
Q

explain control groups

A

they do not receive the experimental treatment. experimenters compare the experimental group to the control group to determine if there has been an effect. by comparing the groups they are able to isolate the IV and look at the impact it had.
any different way between the groups are a result of the manipulation of the IV

23
Q

explain randomisation

24
Q

explain standardisation

A

refers to the process in which procedures used in research are kept the same - all elements of the procedure are identical

25
name three experimental designs
repeated measures independent groups matched pairs
26
define repeated measures design
where the same ppts are allocated to all groups of an experiment (take part in all conditions)
27
three advantages of repeated measures design
counterbalancing participating variables are controlled fewer ppts needed
28
two disadvantages of repeated measures design
``` demand characteristics order effects (boredom, practice, fatigue) ```
29
define independent measures
where different ppts take part in each condition (allocated randomly)
30
two advantages of independent measures design
random allocation | no order effects
31
three disadvantages of independent measures design
individual differences less economical than repeated measures participant variables
32
define matched pairs design
ppts take part in only one experimental condition, but they are recruited specifically to be similar in relevant characteristics to ‘matched’ ppt in other conditions. e.g. intelligence, age, gender
33
three advantages of matched pairs design
no order effects no demand characteristics reduces participant variables but not completely
34
three disadvantages of matched pairs design
participant variable not completely removed matching is expensive and time consuming less economical than both repeated measures and independent measures designs
35
explain random allocation in independent measures design
random allocation means individual differences in responses or ability are far less likely to consistently affect results. this ensures participant variables are spread evenly across the two groups otherwise the cause of any differences between the two groups could be due to some uncontrolled ppt factor rather than the IV. it also limits researcher bias as the researcher has no control over which ppt is in which group
36
what is counterbalancing?
when the sample is split in half, with one half completing the two conditions in one order and the other half completing the conditions in reverse order. it is used to deal with extraneous effects caused by order effects that arise when using a repeated measures design.
37
explain practice effect
an improvement in performance on a task due to repetition
38
explain fatigue effect
a decrease in performance of a task due to repetition
39
name four experimental methods
laboratory field natural quasi
40
define laboratory experiments
conducted under controlled conditions | researcher deliberately changes the IV to see the effect on the DV
41
two strengths of laboratory experiments
control - over the environment and other extraneous variables. replicable
42
two limitations of laboratory experiments
lacks ecological validity - can’t be generalised - poor external validity. demand characteristics
43
define field experiments
these take place in natural settings. the IV is manipulated and the effect on the Dv is recorded.
44
two strengths of field experiments
validity - some control but also conducted in natural environment so has reasonable internal and external validity. demand characteristics - less likelihood, ppts may not know they’re being studied.
45
one limitation of field experiments
less control than lab experiments so extraneous variables are more likely to distort findings so internal validity is likely to be lower.
46
define natural/ quasi experiments
are conducted in real life environment of the ppts, experimenter has no control over the IV as it occurs naturally in real life.
47
one strength of natural / quasi experiments
high ecological validity- findings can be generalised to others resulting in high external validity.
48
two limitations of natural / quasi experiments
lack of control- have no control over the environment and other extraneous variables so has low internal validity. not replicable - reliability can’t be checked.