psych science skills

Theory

a proposition or set of principles that is used to obtain something or make predictions about relationships between concepts

model

representation of concept, process or behaviour

aim

statement outlining purpose of the investigation

operationalised hypothesis

testable prediction about the outcome of an investigation

control group

group of participants in an experiment who recieve no ecperimental treatment or intervention

experimental group

group of participants who are exposed to a manipulated independent variable

convenience sampling

any sampling technique that involves selecting readily avaliable people
easy and quick
not wide or diverse

random sampling

refers to techniques that make sure everyone has the same chance of being selected
wide sampling, easy
unintentionally selecting similar traits

stratified sampling

technique that involves selecting people from the population in a way that ensures that its strata are proportionally represented in the sampling
unbiased and diverse
time consuming and expensive

extraneous variable

variable that is not the independent variable but may cause unwanted effects on the dependent variable

confounding variable

variable that has directly and systematically affected the dependent variable

placebo effect

refers to when participants respond to an inactive substance/treatment as a result of their own expectations

situational variables

refers to any environmental factors that may affect the dependent variable

demand characteristics

refers to cues in an experiment that might signal to a participant the intention of the study and influence their behaviour

sampling size and procedures

large sample sizes increase the samples representatives of the population which means the sample is more likely to have a similar level of diversity

minimises participant related variables

single blind procedures

procedure in which participants are unaware of the experimental group or condition they have been allocated to

double blind procedures

procedure in which both the participants and experimenter do not know which conditions or groups participants are in

Qualitative

expressed non numerically

Quantitative

expressed numerically

systematic errors

errors in data that differ from the true value by a consistent amount

random errors

errors that are unsystematic and occur due to chance

repeatability

extent to which successive measurements or studies produce the same results when carried out under identical conditions

reproducibility

extent to which successive measurements or studies produce the same results when repeated under different conditions

validity

extent to which psychological tools and investigations truly support their findings or conclusions

internal validity

extent to which an investigation truly measures what it claims to

external validity

extent to which the results of an investigation can be applied to in similar individuals in different settings

ethical concepts

broad and moral guiding principles
beneficence, integrity, justice, non maleficence, respect