2.2 methods (cognitive)

Question 1

what is a one tailed hypothesis?

Answer 1

a hypothesis that states one condition will be better than the other

Question 2

what is a two tailed hypothesis?

Answer 2

there will be a difference between conditions

Question 3

what is a null hypothesis?

Answer 3

there will be no difference between two groups

Question 4

what is a sample?

Answer 4

a small proportion of participants that you get from the wider population

Question 5

what is a population?

Answer 5

target group which you want your research to be able to explain their behaviour

Question 6

what are sampling methods?

Answer 6

ways you can get a sample from your population

e.g : volunteer sampling, opportunity sampling etc.

Question 7

what is an experiment?

Answer 7

• an investigation where a hypothesis is scientifically tested
• IV is changed and DV is measured
• extraneous variables are controlled

Question 8

what is a lab experiment?

Answer 8

• experiments that take place in a controlled environment
• there are similar tasks, instructions etc.
• e.g milgram’s, burger, baddeley

Question 9

what is a field experiment?

Answer 9

experiments that take place in a more everyday surroundings, instead of a lab
- example is sedikikes and jackson

Question 10

what is a strength of lab experiments?

Answer 10

• easier to replicate as there is a standardised procedure
• allows for precise control of extraneous and independent variables

Question 11

what is a weakness of lab experiments?

Answer 11

• setting is artificial so it may produce unnatural behaviour that does not reflect real life
• demand characteristics may bias the results and become confounding variables

Question 12

what are the strengths of field experiments?

Answer 12

• more likely to reflect real life because of its natural setting
• less likelihood of demand characteristics as participants may not know they are being studied

Question 13

what are the weaknesses of field experiments?

Answer 13

there is less control over extraneous variables which makes it difficult for the study to be replicated exactly the same

Question 14

what is an independent groups design?

Answer 14

different groups are assigned to different independent variable conditions

Question 15

what is a repeated measures design?

Answer 15

same group goes through every experimental condition

Question 16

what is a matched pairs design?

Answer 16

participants who are similar (e.g same gender, race, ability) are put into different groups, they then do different experiment conditions

Question 17

what are strengths of independent groups design?

Answer 17

• avoids order effects and fatigue effects as each participant is only tested once
• there are less trials for participants meaning they are less likely to guess aim of study

Question 18

what are the limitations of independent group designs?

Answer 18

• no control for extraneous variables of the participant, such as ability
• needs more participants than repeated measures design, you need more ppl to take part to get the same amount of data

Question 19

what are order effects?

Answer 19

• participants may get better at a task due to more practice
• better performance in a later condition may have nothing to do with condition itself, but with practice of previous tasks

Question 20

what are fatigue effects?

Answer 20

• participants may get worse due to being tired
• worse performance in a letter condition may have nothing to do with the condition itself, but the participants are tired or bored

Question 21

what is a strength of repeated measures design?

Answer 21

if same participants are used, participant variables will be the same for all situations

Question 22

what are the limitations of repeated measures design?

Answer 22

• order effects
• fatigue effects

Question 23

how can you limit order/fatigue effects in repeated design?

Answer 23

• counterbalancing
• participants go through conditions in different orders to cancel practice and fatigue effects out
• for example, both groups will drink tea then test then drink coffee then do test but one will drink tea first and vice versa

Question 24

what are the strengths of a matched pair design?

Answer 24

• participant variables are controlled, making it similar to repeated measures design
• avoids order effects as similar to independent groups design

Question 25

what are limitations of matched pair design?

Answer 25

- very **time consuming** to match participant on key variables and **lowkey impossible** as **even twins have differences** - **may not be able to control** for **all participant variables**, as there may be some factors that are not accounted for

Question 26

what is a strength of using a case study to research a method?

Answer 26

- case studies can be used to **study rare behaviour** - some types of **brain damage** are **specific** to a person and **impossible to recreate in lab conditions** due to **practical limitations** - makes case studies particularly useful for investigating brain damage as it **gives a rich and detailed insight** into factors that affect human behaviour

Question 27

what’s a limitation with using case studies as a research method?

Answer 27

- difficult to generalise due to uniqueness of individual - even when **looking at individuals with damage** to **specific areas** of the brain, there **may be other damage** which is not taken into account - **makes it difficult to assume** others with **similar brain damage** will have **similar memory impairments**

Question 28

what are strengths of using standard deviation?

Answer 28

- **precise way** to **measure dispersion** of **exact values** - **easy to calculate** if you have a **calculator**

Question 29

what are the types of distributions?

Answer 29

- normal distribution - positively skewed distribution - negatively skewed distribution

Question 30

what is a normal distribution?

Answer 30

a **probability distribution** that is **symmetric about the mean** (bell curve)

Question 31

what is a positively skewed distribution?

Answer 31

- **mean** of the distribution has a **positive value** and is presented on the **right side of** the **median** and **mode** - **more values** are plotted **on the left** and only a **few on the right/tail** side

Question 32

what’s a negatively skewed distribution?

Answer 32

- **mean** of the distribution is **negative or zero** and is **on the left side** of the **median and mode** - **more values** are **plotted on the right side** of the distribution

Question 33

what’s a type 1 error?

Answer 33

when the **null hypothesis is rejected** when it’s **true**

Question 34

what’s a type 2 error?

Answer 34

when the **null hypothesis is accepted** when it’s **false**