Paper 2 vocab

Independent variable

Factor of the experiment that is manipulated to create 2 or more conditions and is held responsible for changing the dependent variable.

Dependent variable

Factor of the experiment that is measured and expected to change under the influence of the independent variable.

confounding variable

variables other than the independent that may affect the dependent, making it unclear what actually caused the results.

Experiment

Investigation looking for a cause and effect relationship where an independent variable is manipulated and held responsible for changes in the dependent variable.

Extraneous variable

A variable which acts randomly or systematically, affecting the DV in all levels of the IV.

Experimental condition

One or more situations in an experiment that represent different levels of the IV and are compared.

Control condition

A level of the IV in an experiment from which the IV is absent. It’s compared to one or more of the experimental conditions.

Experimental design

The way in which participants are allocated to the levels of the IV. 3 types: independent, repeated, and matched.

Independent Measures Design (IMD)

An experimental design where a different group of participants is used for each level of the IV (condition)

Repeated Measures Design (RMD)

Experiment design where each participant performs in every level of the IV. (They repeat their performance under different circumstances)

Demand characteristics

Features of the experimental situation that give away the aims. Cause participants to try to change their behavior.

Random allocation

A way to reduce the effect of confounding variables such as individual differences. Participants are put in each level of the IV so that each person has an equal chance of being in any condition.

Participant variables

Term used to describe individual differences in participants that could affect their behavior in the study. e.g. age, personality, intelligence

Order effects

consequences of participating in a study more than once.

practice effect

situation in which the performance of participants improves from doing the same task more than once.

fatigue effect

when the performances of participants decline from repeating the same task multiple times.

Randomization

when participants are randomly allocated to either condition of the experiment.

counterbalancing

used to overcome order effects in a RMD. Each possible level of the IV is performed by a different subgroup of participants.

Matched Pairs Design (MPD)

An experimental design in which participants are arranged into pairs, Each pair is similar in ways that are important to the study and one member of each pair performs in a different level of the IV.

Laboratory Experiments

Psychological experiments that are done within an artificial setting such as a lab. Participants are not in their usual environment for the tasks they are performing. There are strict controls over the situation.

standardization

keeping the procedure for each participant in an experiment exactly the same to ensure that any difference between participants or conditions are due to the variables under investigation rather than the differences in the way they were treated.

Reliability

The extent to which a procedure, task, or measure is consistent, for example the same results with the same people on each occasion would be produced.

Validity

How certain the researcher can be that they are testing what they claim to be testing.

Field experiment

Investigation looking for a casual relationship where an IV is manipulated and is responsible for changes in the dependent variable.

generalize

apply the findings of a study more widely (e.g. to other settings and populations)

Natural experiment

investigation looking for a casual relationship where the IV cannot be directly manipulated by the experimenter. Instead they study the effect of an existing difference or change.

Uncontrolled variables

confounding variable that may not have been identified and eliminated in an experiment which can confuse the results.

Informed consent

Knowing enough about a study to decide whether or not you want to agree to participate.

Right to withdrawal

Participants show know that they can remove themselves, and their data, from the study at any time.

Privacy

Participants’s emotions and physical space should not be invaded.

Confidentiality

Participants’s results and personal information should be kept safely and not released to anyone outside of the study.

self report

when the participant gives the researcher information about themselves directly. 2 types of self reports: questionnaires and interviews

questionnaire

questions presented to the participants that are in written form. (e.g. on paper, online survey etc.) Two questions which are most important: closed questions and open questions

Closed questions

A fixed set of possible responses. Can take the form of simple choices (yes/no questions) or selecting items from a list.

open questions

ask for more descriptive answers in the participants own words. Answers are more detailed and more in depth.

inter-rater reliability

The extent to which 2 researchers interpreting qualitative responses in a questionnaire will produce the same records from the same raw data.

Social desirability bias

trying to present oneself in the best light by determining what a test is asking.

Filler questions

items put into a questionnaire, interview, or test to disguise the aim of the study by hiding the important questions among the irrelevant ones so that participants are less likely to alter their behavior by working out the aims.

structured

Questions are the same for every participant and in the same order

unstructued

most questions (after the 1st one) depend on the participants answers.

semi- structured

fixed list of open and closed questions. Interviewer can add more questions if necessary.

Subjectivity

a personal viewpoint, which may be biased by one’s feelings, beliefs, or experiences, so may differ between individual researchers.

objectivity

An unbiased external viewpoint that is not affected by an individual's feelings, beliefs, or experiences, so should be consistent between different researchers.

Naturalistic observation

conducted in the participants normal environment without interference from the researchers in either the social or physical environment.

controlled observation

conducted in a situation which has been manipulated by the researchers.

behavioral categories

activities recorded in an observation. Should be operationalized (clearly defined) and should break a continuous stream of activity into discrete recordable events. Must be observable actions rather than inferred states.

inter- observer reliability

the consistency between 2 researchers watching the same event

participant observer

part of the social setting

non - participant observer

Does not become involved in the situation being studied

overt

when the role of the observer is obvious

covert

when the role of the observer is not obvious

correlation

A research method which looks for a casual relationship between 2 measured variables. A change in 1 variable is related to a change in the other.

positive

the 2 variables increase together. The change is in the same direction

negative

higher scores on 1 variable correspond with low scores on the other

aims

tells you the purpose of the investigation. generally expressed in terms of what the study intends to show.

hypothesis

a testable statement predicting a difference between levels of the IV or a relationship between 2 variables (in a correlation)

non - directional (two - tailed) hypothesis

predicts that there will be an effect, but not the direction of that effect. A correlational study and predictors that there will be a relationship between the two variables.

directional (one - tailed) hypothesis

statement predicting the direction of a relationship between variables

null hypothesis

a testable statement saying that any difference or correlation in the results is due to chance; i.e that no pattern in the results has risen because of the variables being studied.

operationalization

the definition of variables so that they can be accurately manipulated, measured, or qualified and replicated. This includes the IV and the DV in experiments and the 2 measured variables in correlations.

pilot study

a preliminary test of procedures of a study

situational variable

a confounding variable caused by an aspect of the environment, e.g. the amount of light or noise

participant variable

difference in DV is caused by a feature of the individuals, e.g. ability

control

a way to keep a potential extraneous variable constant (e.g. between levels of the IV), to ensure measured differences in the DV are likely to be due to the IV, raising validity.

population

the group (people or animals), sharing one or more characteristics, from which a sample is drawn.

sample

the group of people selected from a population who participate in a study

sampling techniques

produce samples which differs in terms of how well they represent the population i.e. the method used to obtain the participants for a tusk from the population

opportunity sampling

when participants are chosen because they are available. Most common method of sampling

volunteer

participants are invited to participant, e.g. through an email, ads, etc. Those who reply become the sample. Unlikely to be representative of the population

random sample

all members of the population are allocated numbers and a fixed amount of these are selected in an unbiased way, e.g. by taking numbers from a hat. Random sample participants have an equal chance in being chosen.

Ecological validity

the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized to real-life (everyday) situations