part 1 Flashcards

Question

what happens if extraneous variables aren't controlled?

Answer 1

become cofounding variables

Answer 2

variables which can effect the DV and impact the outcome of the research ==> change systematically with the IV

Answer 3

they have been discovered after the experiment as they have impacted the results. For instance, if all participants in one condition were found to have better memories, be more competitive, better eyesight

Answer 4

any cue from the researcher which may mean the cause the to work out the what is expected of them and what the researcher is looking for

Answer 5

demand characteristics result in participant reactivity and means that they change their behaviour

Answer 6

please-you effect - guessing the research purpose and then trying to please the researcher by acting or giving the answers they think they should to obtain the 'right' result screw-you effect - guessing the research purpose and attempting to intentionally skew the results and give the wrong results in order to destroy the credibility of the study

Answer 7

change behaviour and act unnaturally out of fear, nervousness, or social desirability

Answer 8

when the researcher influences the result of the research by affecting the DV and can be both conscious and unconscious

Answer 9

1- could be biased in their interpretation of data and although it is likely to be unconscious, it will still impact the results 2- researchers physical characteristics, such as age, gender, ethnicity, or appearacnce 3- researcher smiling or being more/less encouraging to participants or varying how instructions are given to participants to achieve results that favour their hypothesis (leads to demand characteristics)

Answer 10

Randomisation and Standardisation

Answer 11

a way of trying to control any bias in the groups or conditions of an experiment

Answer 12

1- any materials used for example, a list of words for a memory test should be randomly generated. This stops the investigator assigning words and creating bias by having the ability to skew the groups 2- assigning people to groups should be randomly allocated. This stops the researcher assigning bias groups and to do this by either names out of hat method or random number generator which gives an equal chance 3- the order in which experiments are completed should be randomised in order to counteract the order effect (demand characteristics and boredom fatigue)

Answer 13

using the exact same format / procedures / instructions for all participants in the study

Answer 14

to create standardised instructions - the instructions should be given to all participants in exactly same format to make it a fair test as no participants are getting clues or clues so it reduces bias. - briefing and debriefing - the order of the study - timings and the time of day the experiment is

Answer 15

- research has higher replicability and is more reliable - allows for meaningful data as bias is reduced

Answer 16

independant groups repeated measures matched pairs

Answer 17

the groups / conditions are completely separate of each other. participants are randomly allocated to each group / condition to avoid researcher bias. each group does only one condition of the experiment and then the results from each are compared.

Answer 18

each participant completes all of the conditions of the experiment

Answer 19

the participants in each group are carefully matched on important variables / characteristics (i.e social class, IQ, gender). then the matched paired pps are randomly assigned so one goes into condition A and one goes into condition B. - this is often used for MZ / identical twins as they create the perfect matched pair

Answer 20

- less likely to have demand characteristics as pps only take part in one condition, meaning they are less likely to guess the purpose of the study and how to behave - less likely to be order effects (cannot predict what happens next and change their behaviour) as they only take part in one condition - time efficient as all sets of participants can be tested at the same time

Answer 21

- can be participants variables. If more pps with a certain characteristic are all assigned randomly to one condition, this can effect the measure of the independent variable which leads to group differences effecting the results - more pps are needed to ensure there are enough to take part in different conditions which can be difficult to access

Answer 22

independant groups = unrelated data repeated measures = related data matched pairs = related data

Answer 23

-group differences are eliminated as the same pps are used in each condition, meaning participant variables do not effect the measurement of the independent variable (may be variables between pps but don't matter because if it affects one, it affects the rest of the conditions and thereby counteracts the effect) - fewer pps are needed than independent groups design as they use the same pps for all conditions ==> easier to access ==> produce more data per participant

Answer 24

order effects can be a problem as pps take part in all conditions - positive order effect = can result in better performance in second or beyond condition due to practice or learning what is expected (demand characteristics) - negative order effect = result in worse performance as the pps could be bored / tired / lethargic - demand characteristics are more likely as the pps are more likely to guess the purpose of the research due to taking part in multiple conditions - more time required to allow for the pps to take part in multiple conditions

Answer 25

counterbalancing - splitting the pps into groups and changing the order of the conditions per group. ==> half do condition A then B whereas the other half do condition B then A - even if order effects to occur, they are cancelled out from the counterbalancing of the conditions

Answer 26

- order effects are less likely to occur as they only partake in one condition (they cannot predict what happens next and change their behaviour - less likely to have demand characteristics as only partake in one condition (less likely to guess the purpose of the study and how to alter their behaviour for that purpose)

Answer 27

- matching is difficult and often impossible to match all characteristics, especially when the unmatched characteristic could be important to the results of the research. ==> even well matched pps could have different levels of motivation in the study, effecting the outcome - more participants needed to ensure there are enough to take part in the different conditions which can be difficult to access - matching pps is very difficult and time consuming when MZ twins aren't used.

Answer 28

lab field natural quasi

Answer 29

- researcher has high levels of control over all of the variables within - researcher is able to control the environmental factors such as noise and temperature; can control the experiences of pps and make sure everyone has identical instructions - procedure will be standardised to allow for this - all variables within experimental space are kept same and only the independent variable changes between conditions as that's what they're measuring to see the effects on the DV clearly

Answer 30

- experiment is conducted in a naturalistic setting (i.e street, supermarket) - IV is manipulated by the researcher but not in a lab - DV is measured quantitatively

Answer 31

- researcher doesn't manipulate the IV to measure the outcome - IV has already or will change naturally - researcher measures the natural change in the DV - variables that could effect the DV aren't measures nor controlled

Answer 32

- have an IV that is based on an existing different between people ==> ie. age, gender, social class etc.

Answer 33

- cause and effect conclusions can be drawn due to the amount of control (can say the IV caused a change in the DV) - The use of standardised procedure means that the research is replicable meaning increased reliability as the validity of results can be checked - high mundane-realism as the independent variable can affect the dependant variable without interference from extraneous variables

Answer 34

- more likely to be subjected to demand characteristics as pps know they are in a study so may alter their behaviour which impairs the validity of the study - lacks ecological validity due to the artificial nature of the procedure ==> not reflective of a real life task and therefore lacks mundane realism as cannot be generalised to real-world behaviour

Answer 35

- high ecological validity as conducted in a real life setting so is more reflective - less likely to subject to demand characteristics as often don't know they're being studied / are less likely to know what is expected from them in their 'natural' environment - high mundane-realism as more representative of real world situations and therefore results are generalisable to real-world behaviour

Answer 36

- less controlled meaning a higher chance of extraneous variable which could affect the DV and thus, harder to establish cause and effect - replication isn't possible so lower reliability as validity cannot be confirmed - ethical issues are a problem in terms of informed consent and privacy - harder to randomly assign participants and so means more likely a change could happen due to participant variables, rather than what the researcher is measuring

Answer 37

- provides opportunities for studies that wouldn't be possible to do under controlled conditions due to ethical reasons or cost - high external validity as conducted in a natural setting so real life situations so natural behaviours being exhibited and observed as there is no manipulation

Answer 38

- difficult to establish cause and effect as too many variables which aren't controlled and so they may be effecting the outcome - rare events mean it's difficult to generalise findings to other similar situations and thus, lack of reliability as incredibly unlikely to be able to replicate the same situation again - pps cannot be randomly allocated to conditions which means even less sure whether it was the IV affecting the DV

Answer 39

Small scale trial investigations that test some or all aspects of the intended procedure with a very small number of pps - they are carried out prior to the research to identify any issues which could arise - they identify problems in the design, method, or analysis, allowing the to be altered and fixed (higher validity) - pps can help identify issues and propose changes to stop the presence of demand characteristics - pilot study data is not included in the final data set

Answer 40

- increase the validity - potentially saves time and a lot of money as it helps avoid flawed designs

Answer 41

pps are not told the true aim of the study ==> attempt to control for confounding variable of demand characteristics

Answer 42

the pps are not told the true aim of the research and the research doesn't either. In this case a third party researcher will conduct the experiment ==> this helps to reduce demand characteristics and investigator effects

Answer 43

the group which have the IV altered in some way ==> for example, in a drug trial, this group would be given the drug

Answer 44

this is the group which doesn't have the IV altered in some way ==> for example, in a drug trial, this group would be given the placebo

Answer 45

has a code of ethics which includes the ethical guidelines researchers have an obligation to follow to ensure all participants are treated with respect and will come to no significant harm during the research process.

Answer 46

informed consent protection from harm deception privacy and confidentiality

Answer 47

- they should know the aims prior to the study - they should sign a form stating they agree to take part - they should know they have the right to withdraw at any point (even if been paid)

Answer 48

as they know the aim, they are subjected to demand characteristics and therefore their behaviour won't be natural and results less valid

Answer 49

- issued with a consent letter that details all relevant information that might affect their decision to participate - children under 16, parental consent is needed or from in 'loco parentis' eg teacher

Answer 50

deliberately withholding information or lying to the pps about the aim of the study - may be okay if it doesn't cause undue distress

Answer 51

when there's no alternative - eg if you tell a pps the aim of the study is obience, it will subject them to demand characteristics and provide unrepresentative results Deception may be needed in order to get pps to behave naturally and eliminate demand characteristics or social desirability

Answer 52

consent still needs to be gained ethically 1: prior general consent - pps agree to be deceived but do not know how. However this may effect their behaviour as they are waiting to be deceived 2- presumptive consent - consent is gained from people who have a similar background to pps and if they say they would've consented, then it is deemed the actual pps would have also 3- retrospective consent - requires asking the pps for informed consent after the research has been conducted

Answer 53

at the end of the study pps should be given a full debrief which includes: - true aims of study - all relevant information explained - should be told what the data will be used for - must be given the right to withdraw and can still not be included in the results even though they took place in the study Pps may have natural concerns about their performance behaviour and counselling is offered especially if they feel distressed by their participation

Answer 54

- participants data and personal details should not be disclosed - number should be used instead of names - pps should not be studied in places that would be considered an invasion of privacy - if privacy is invaded then confidentiality should be protected

Answer 55

observations can only take place in public where people would expect to be observed by strangers

Answer 56

confidential means it can be traced back to pps but anonymous means it cannot

Answer 57

if personal details are held, they must be protected (refer to people using a number or their initials to maintain anonymity) ==> eg. case studies tend to use initials like patient HM ==> eg. a study using lots of pps tend to refer to them as a number

Answer 58

- participants should be protected from both physical and psychological harm ( feeling embarrassed, humiliated, under stress or pressure)

Answer 59

- reminded of their right to withdraw at any time in the study - given a full debrief afterwards - offered counselling especially if in a state of distress for example

Answer 60

weigh the costs of the research compared to the benefits the research would bring - benefits could be findings - costs could be damaging effects on an individual or the reputation of psychology as a whole

part 1 Flashcards

experimental methods, observational techniques, self-report techniques, correlations, content analysis, case studies (86 cards)