Chapter 6 - Research Methods

Define: descriptive research

a research design that describes what is happening

Which question is used for descriptive research: “What” or “Why”

“What” because it’s saying exactly the situation is going on, (or how a person feels or their thoughts), but not providing an explanation for it

If we want to figure out why something is happening, we use

a) observational research

b) candid research

c) experimental research

d) qualitative research

c) experimental research. Remember, experiments study cause-and-effect. What starts a behaviour and why the effects happen because of it

In the experiment regarding parental discipline from six different countries… how many discipline techniques were shown?

11

1. Bribing

2. telling them they’ll never love them if they keep doing it

3. scolding the child in a loud voice

4. disappointment

5. time-out

6. physical punishment

7. taking away privileges

8. telling the child to be ashamed

9. asking for an apology

10. threatening

List four of the parenting types and explain them (A.I.A.I)

1. Authoritative (parents who are both responsive and demanding of their children)

2. Indulgent (parents who are highly responsive but not demanding, basically permissive)

3. Authoritarian (parents who are highly demanding but nonresponsive, basically very strict)

4. Indifferent (parents who are not responsive or demanding, basically they don’t care)

Define: moral transgressions

actions that may impact others

What’s the difference between conventional transgressions, and moral transgressions

Conventional transgressions: breaking social norms (e.g talking with your mouth full)

Moral transgressions: affecting others rights and their health

True or false: “We should note that using previously existing definitions from the literature is not cheating or being lazy.”

True, because we use those definitions that are successful to shape our research, rather than coming up with our own (which can be very time consuming, and annoying)

what term describes the following: “ we view and recognize the occurrence of predetermined behaviors in an organized way.”

systematic observation

External validity means which of the following

a) we can apply these findings only to certain cultures

b) we can apply these findings to everyone

c) we can apply these findings to a certain subset of people

d) none of the above

b) we can apply these findings to everyone (e.g people who spank their children for misbehaving at location y, will use the same tactic in location z)

which of these is TRUE regarding a laboratory observation:

a) participants in a lab where researchers watch their behaviour under certain conditions

b) participants in a uncontrolled setting where researchers watch their behaviour under certain conditions

c) participants in a controlled setting under certain circumstances while researchers watch their behaviour under certain conditions

d) participants in a controlled setting on campus, watching their behaviour under certain conditions

d) participants in a controlled setting on campus, watching their behaviour under certain conditions

laboratory observations are prone to… (hint: 2 things)

1. demand characteristics

2. social desirability

True or false: All laboratory settings also have some degree of artificiality.

True, being put into another setting with certain conditions isn’t natural.

Define: ecological validity

how much the research situation recreates the psychological experiences that participants would have in real life (e.g parents wouldn’t get that angry in the study, but they would in real life). Participants should not remember they’re in a study and treat it like real life.

Define: Participant observation

the researcher actively interacting with those being studied while also noting their behavior.

Name a limitation of participant observation.

1. Objectivity. You know when people say “you’re too close to this”, that saying applies here, because your feelings and beliefs come in the way