year 1 (p1-25)

Question 1

what is an independent variable?

Answer 1

the thing we change

Question 2

what is a dependent variable?

Answer 2

the thing we measure

Question 3

what is an aim?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

what is a hypothesis?

Answer 4

a clear prediction of what is expected to happen

eg. music will affect someone’s mood

Question 5

what is a directional hypothesis?

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

what is a non-directional hypothesis?

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

what is a null hypothesis?

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

one tailed are…

Answer 8

directional

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

Question 9

two tailed are…

Answer 9

non directional

no previous research

Question 10

define the term operationalisation of variable

Answer 10

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

Question 11

explain extraneous and confounding variables?

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

what is validity?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

what is reliability?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

give four examples of extraneous variables

Answer 14

situational variable
participant variable
demand characteristics
investigator effects

Question 15

explain a situational variable

Answer 15

an environmental factor that has an effect on the DV.

e.g. time of day, weather, noise

Question 16

explain a participant variable

Answer 16

personal characteristics that may have an effect on the DV.

e.g. age, intelligence

Question 17

explain demand characteristics

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

what is social desirability bias?

Answer 18

a form of demand characteristic

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

Question 19

explain investigator effects

Answer 19

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)

Question 20

what is single blind?

Answer 20

a ppt doesn’t know the aims of the study

demand characteristics are reduced

Question 21

what is double blind?

Answer 21

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

reduces demand characteristics and investigator effects

Question 22

explain control groups

Answer 22

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

Question 23

explain randomisation

Answer 23

?

Question 24

explain standardisation

Answer 24

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

Question 25

name three experimental designs

Answer 25

repeated measures independent groups matched pairs

Question 26

define repeated measures design

Answer 26

where the same ppts are allocated to all groups of an experiment (take part in all conditions)

Question 27

three advantages of repeated measures design

Answer 27

counterbalancing participating variables are controlled fewer ppts needed

Question 28

two disadvantages of repeated measures design

Answer 28

``` demand characteristics order effects (boredom, practice, fatigue) ```

Question 29

define independent measures

Answer 29

where different ppts take part in each condition (allocated randomly)

Question 30

two advantages of independent measures design

Answer 30

random allocation | no order effects

Question 31

three disadvantages of independent measures design

Answer 31

individual differences less economical than repeated measures participant variables

Question 32

define matched pairs design

Answer 32

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

Question 33

three advantages of matched pairs design

Answer 33

no order effects no demand characteristics reduces participant variables but not completely

Question 34

three disadvantages of matched pairs design

Answer 34

participant variable not completely removed matching is expensive and time consuming less economical than both repeated measures and independent measures designs

Question 35

explain random allocation in independent measures design

Answer 35

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

Question 36

what is counterbalancing?

Answer 36

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.

Question 37

explain practice effect

Answer 37

an improvement in performance on a task due to repetition

Question 38

explain fatigue effect

Answer 38

a decrease in performance of a task due to repetition

Question 39

name four experimental methods

Answer 39

laboratory field natural quasi

Question 40

define laboratory experiments

Answer 40

conducted under controlled conditions | researcher deliberately changes the IV to see the effect on the DV

Question 41

two strengths of laboratory experiments

Answer 41

control - over the environment and other extraneous variables. replicable

Question 42

two limitations of laboratory experiments

Answer 42

lacks ecological validity - can’t be generalised - poor external validity. demand characteristics

Question 43

define field experiments

Answer 43

these take place in natural settings. the IV is manipulated and the effect on the Dv is recorded.

Question 44

two strengths of field experiments

Answer 44

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.

Question 45

one limitation of field experiments

Answer 45

less control than lab experiments so extraneous variables are more likely to distort findings so internal validity is likely to be lower.

Question 46

define natural/ quasi experiments

Answer 46

are conducted in real life environment of the ppts, experimenter has no control over the IV as it occurs naturally in real life.

Question 47

one strength of natural / quasi experiments

Answer 47

high ecological validity- findings can be generalised to others resulting in high external validity.

Question 48

two limitations of natural / quasi experiments

Answer 48

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.