PSY 3100: Ch. 6 - Surveys and Observations

surveys and polls

asking ppl to answer questions

Ex.) otp, interviews, questionnaires (all self-report)

Forced choice question

small set of responses, simple

Ex.) Are you a cat or dog person? Yes or no

Downside: force answer that doesn’t really fit

Likert or likert type question

agree or disagree, gives degree and intensity

Ex.) I prefer cats over dogs. 1-5 agree → disagree

Semantic differential question

ratings, descriptive, meaning and connotation

Ex.) Cats are… 1 awful —> 5 amazing

Open-ended question

No selection

Ex.) Use space to say what you feel about cats

Pros: Richness, details that wont show on ratings

Cons: Harder to analyze; no numbers to use; lots of time and resources

leading questions

suggesting a preferred answer

Ex.) “agree with most people?”

double-barreled questions

Asking multiple questions in one

Ex.) “Do you feel comfortable trimming a cats nails and giving the cat a bath?”

Negative wording

leads to confusion, misinterpretation, and inaccurate responses

Ex.) I never dislike cats

Response sets

respond in ways on a set of survey questions instead of carefully considering each item

acquiescence

agreeing with every item [reverse coding]

fence sitting

always choosing the neutral option [eliminate neutral option]

Behavioral observation: strengths

can reveal responses ppl would not provide w/ self-report measures

Powerful — cut through whats said — focus on what ppl do

properties of good observational measure

1.) reflects conceptual variable

2.) not open to interpretation

3.) participants’ behavior isn’t affected by ppl recording/measuring behavior (no reactivity)

4.) Not affected by observers’ biases or beliefs

observer bias

expectations influence observers interpretation of observations

observer effects

observers can affect participants’ behavior (knowing or unknowingly)

Reactivity

Participants change their behavior (reaction) when they know another is watching