lecture 15 Flashcards
(14 cards)
descriptive research
- goal of psychological science= describing behavior
- no real attempt at making cause and effect claims
observational research
- descriptive research that involves observing and recording behavior
- important issues to consider:
1. Hawthorne effect: AKA demand characteristic/reactivity/observation bias - people acting differently because they know they’re being observed
2. identification of categories
3. Inter-rater reliability
quantifying observations
frequency method # of instances
duration method length of time
-can be once in all categories
-could last 5 min or 15 min
interval method divide observation period into intervals and record if behavior occurs (yes or no)
ex) whether a child smiles in each 1-minute interval following moms return
ways to observe
You can’t observe everything!
- but, as with any research, you need to be specific about how you will record your observations
1. Time sampling- observe for a specified period then record observations (repeat if necessary)
2. Event sampling- interval 1–>behavior 1; interval 2 –>behavior 2
3. Individual sampling- interval 1 –>person 1; interval 2 –>person 2
ways to quantify observations
- frequency method: how many times does a behavior occur
- duration method: how long the behavior lasts
- interval methods: Y/N behavior in specified period
ways to sample for observations
- time sampling: watch–>ecord, repeat
- event sampling: interval 1–>behavior 1 (keep going for intervals)
- individual sampling: interval 1–> person 1
how can you observe behaviors
- Naturalistic observation
ex) gorillas - Participant observation: researcher participants in same activities as subjects
ex) getting on the inside of a cult - Contrived observation: behavior in specifically designed settings/situations
ex) the “strange situation” for observing infant attachment styles
observational research
- one specific form of observational research is the case study
- observing a single individual’s behavior
- typically used for rare or unusual cases
- used for counter examples: the critical period hypothesis for language
survey research design
- self-report measures of behavior, opinions, personality characteristics, ect
- often compliment experimental research designs
ex) gender and conversational turn-taking are related… but so is extraversion
types of survey questions
- Demographic questions
- Open-end questions
- Restricted questions
rating scales: liker-type scales vs other
Rating scales: liker-type scales
-often people don’t strongly agree or disagree (neutral)
Rating scales: other
-good ——–bad: semantic-differential
-pain assessment tool (non-verbal) pictures with faces
pitfalls of survey questions
- unnecessary complexity
a) jargon
b) vague terms
c) Overloading working memory - Double barrelled questions
a) asking two things at once - loaded questions
a) direct responses a certain way - Negative wording
a) negative phrasing- agreeing with question means disagreeing with its content
response sets
- another “pitfall” = answering all questions in a particular manner
- problem with any survey method/question
1. yeah saying and nah saying - reverse-scored items can help
2. Social desirability - sensitive questions in the middle of survey can help
- there are scales to measure social disability
how are survey conducted
- questionnaires
- interviews
