Methods to study Diversity Flashcards
(34 cards)
What are the methods for measuring individual differences?
- Self-report/ survey
- Observational measures
- Performance measures
Self-report measures
Survey or questionnaire that participant will answer about themselves
Self-report advantages
- Wide-spread/ large scale measure
- Low cost
- Easy to administer
- Can be done online
Self-report disadvantages
- Social desirability bias
- Acquiescence bias (tendency to agree)
- Subjective method
- Requires self-awareness
Experience sampling
Participants report their thoughts, feelings or behaviours repeatedly over a certain period of time
Frequency can be daily or multiple times in a day
Can be signalled by a mobile alert, to report at random intervals
Observational measures
Collect information by observing the subjects in a natural environment and then analysing the information.
Mark how many times a certain behaviour occurs
Observation advantages
- Less cooperation from participant
- Used in a naturalistic setting - ecological validity
- Easy to conduct
Observation disadvantages
- Only measure overt behaviours
- Observer bias - can be minimised by computerised scoring (e.g. eye tracking )
- Time consuming
Performance Measures
Measures you get from tests
- Accuracy measures (amount right) or response times
Differences reflect differing abilities
Performance measures evaluation
Pros and cons
Pro: Objective
Cons: Lacks ecological validity
Intelligence tests doesn’t reflect intelligence in everyday life
Measuring the unconscious mind
Implicit association test and priming
Factor analysis
Statistical technique used to reduce a large number of variables into fewer “factors”
* Variables testing the same underlying contruct should hughly correlate
Exploratory Factor Analysis
Uses the data to determine the number of factors and the correlation between a variable and a factor
The higher the correlation the more important the variable is to the factor
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Statistical technique used to test and verify how well the factor structure fits the data
Structural Brain Imaging
- CT scan: X-ray of thr brain
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
What does an MRI do?
Measures brain volume - white matter and grey matter
all associated with individual differences in behaviour
How does an MRI work?
- Strong magnetic field causes hydrogen atoms to align
- Radio waves pass through and cause atoms to ‘relax’, releasing elctromagnetic energy
- Emitted radiation is detected
- Different types of matter and tissues produce different signals
Computer then reconstruct an image of the brain
Functional brain imaging
Measures dynamic physiological changes in the brain
Different physiological changes are associated with different behaviours
* Good spatial but poor temporal resolution
* Brain activation is inferred and interpreted
(fMRI and PET)
What does an fMRI do?
Measures the increased blood flow and blood oxygen consumed in certain brain regions when performing specific tasks
How does an fMRI work?
- Measures a magnetic signal that changes depending on how much oxygen is in the blood
- Brain area gets used, the neurons in that area consume oxygen
- Comparison to a control/ baseline condition is necessary
Positron Emission Tomography
- Radioactive tracer is injected to the bloodstream and the amount of radioactivity in each area of the brain is measured
- Enables observation of blood flow in the brain
- More blood to activated areas of the brain
How do we know what activation is associated with specific processes?
- Subtraction method: Substract control brain activation from task activation
- Conjunction method:
Functional soecialisation vs Functional Integration
- Functional specialisation: WHERE in the brain is activation happening
- Functional Integration: HOW do the different brain areas work together during activation tasks
Diffusion tensor Imaging
Diffusion of water molecules along the neural tracts
* Conveys the network architecture of the brain
