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psychology - research methods > year 1 (p1-25) > Flashcards

year 1 (p1-25) Flashcards

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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

A

?

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
Q

name three experimental designs

A

repeated measures
independent groups
matched pairs

26
Q

define repeated measures design

A

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

27
Q

three advantages of repeated measures design

A

counterbalancing
participating variables are controlled
fewer ppts needed

28
Q

two disadvantages of repeated measures design

A 
demand characteristics 
order effects (boredom, practice, fatigue)
29
Q

define independent measures

A

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

30
Q

two advantages of independent measures design

A

random allocation

no order effects

31
Q

three disadvantages of independent measures design

A

individual differences
less economical than repeated measures
participant variables

32
Q

define matched pairs design

A

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
Q

three advantages of matched pairs design

A

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

34
Q

three disadvantages of matched pairs design

A

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

35
Q

explain random allocation in independent measures design

A

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
Q

what is counterbalancing?

A

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
Q

explain practice effect

A

an improvement in performance on a task due to repetition

38
Q

explain fatigue effect

A

a decrease in performance of a task due to repetition

39
Q

name four experimental methods

A

laboratory
field
natural
quasi

40
Q

define laboratory experiments

A

conducted under controlled conditions

researcher deliberately changes the IV to see the effect on the DV

41
Q

two strengths of laboratory experiments

A

control - over the environment and other extraneous variables.
replicable

42
Q

two limitations of laboratory experiments

A

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

43
Q

define field experiments

A

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

44
Q

two strengths of field experiments

A

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
Q

one limitation of field experiments

A

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

46
Q

define natural/ quasi experiments

A

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

47
Q

one strength of natural / quasi experiments

A

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

48
Q

two limitations of natural / quasi experiments

A

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.

psychology - research methods (4 decks)

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