Studied by 7 people
A variable which either acts randomly, affecting the DV and all levels of the IV.
Environment (e.g. temperature)
Uncontrolled variable: a variable that may not have been identified and eliminated in an experiment, which can confuse the results. It may be a feature of the participants or the situation.
Individual differences between participants (such as age, personality and intelligence) that could affect their behaviour in a study. They could hide or exaggerate differences between levels of the IV.
Personality: individual difference in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Hence, the attitude of the person in a particular situation.
Attitude: it is the consistent behavior of the person given in a particular situation
Behavior: is the action/response to a particular stimuli or situation
Mood: a temporary state of mind or feeling
Mental and physical health
Advantages:
Different participants are used in each level of the IV so there are no order effects
Participants see only one level of the IV, reducing the effect of demand characteristics
Random allocation to levels of the IV can reduce the effects of individual differences
Disadvantages:
Participant variables can distort results if there are important individual differences between participants in different levels of the IV
More participants are needed than in a repeated measures design so the study may be less ethical if participants are harmed and less effective if there is a small sample because participants are hard to find
Advantages:
Participant variables are unlikely to distort the effect of the IV, as each participant does all levels
Counterbalancing reduces order effects
Uses fewer participants than repeated measures so is good when participants are hard to find or if participants are at risk
Disadvantages:
Order effect could distort the results
As participants see the experimental task more than once, they have greater exposure to demand characteristics
Advantages:
Participants see only one level of the IV, reducing the effect of demand characteristics
Participant variables are less likely to distort the effect of the IV than in an independent measures design as individual differences are matched
No order effects
Disadvantages:
The similarity between pairs is limited by the matching process, so the right matching criteria must be chosen in advance for this to be effective
Availability of matching pairs may be limited, making the sample size small (although some studies conducted on twins use very large numbers of pairs)
Practice effect: a situation where participants’ performance improves because they experience the experimental task more than once, e.g. due to familiarity or learning the task.
Fatigue effect: a situation where participants’ performance declines because they have experienced an experimental task more than once, e.g. due to boredom or tiredness.
Advantages:
Good control of extraneous variables, raising validity
Causal relationships can be determined
Standardised procedures raise reliability and allow replication
Disadvantages:
The artificial situation could make participants’ behaviour unrepresentative
Participants could respond to demand characteristics and alter their behaviour
Advantages:
As participants are in their normal situation for the activity being studied they are likely to behave naturally, making the results representative
If participants are unaware that they are in a study, the problem of demand characteristics is less than in laboratory experiments
Disadvantages:
Control of extraneous variables is harder than in laboratory experiments, lowering reliability and making replication difficult
The researcher will be less sure that changes in the DV have been caused by changes in the IV than in a laboratory experiment
Participants may be unaware that they are in a study, raising ethical issues
Advantages:
They can be used to study real world issues
If participants are in their normal situation, their behaviour is likely to be representative
If participants are unaware that they are in a study, demand characteristics will be less problematic
They enable researchers to investigate variables that it would not be practical or ethical to manipulate
Disadvantages:
They are possible only when differences arise naturally
Control over extraneous variables is oft en very difficult
As the researcher is not manipulating the IV, they will be less sure of the cause of changes in the DV, so a causal relationship cannot necessarily be established
They are often hard to replicate, as controls and standardisation are hard to implement, so the reliability may be low
Here are brief descriptions of the 7 ethical considerations for a psychology study:
Informed consent: Participants must be fully informed about the study and give their voluntary consent to participate.
Right to withdraw: Participants have the right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.
Privacy: Participants' personal information must be kept confidential and their privacy must be respected.
Confidentiality: Participants' data must be kept confidential and not shared with unauthorized individuals.
Debriefing: Participants must be given a full explanation of the study after it is completed.
Protection from harm: Participants must be protected from both physical and psychological harm.
Deception: Deception should be avoided, but if necessary, participants must be fully debriefed and protected from harm.
Open questions:
Questionnaire, interview or test items that produce qualitative data. Participants give full and detailed answers in their own words, i .e. no categories or choices are given.
Closed questions:
Questionnaire, interview or test items that produce quantitative data. They have only a few, stated alternative responses and no opportunity to expand on answers. i .e. type of survey response scale that provides two options, which lie at opposite ends (dichotomous scale), series of statements that respondents may choose from in order to rate their responses to evaluative questions (Likert Scale)
Advantages:
Questionnaires that mainly closed questions are easier to analyse than interviews (using more open questions) as they can be used to produce totals of each category of answers so making it simple to summarise the findings. It is also possible to work out averages, which can help to describe the patterns in the results.
Where qualitative data is gathered from questionnaires, it produces more detailed, in-depth information.
It is also cheaper and less time-consuming to use questionnaires
Disadvantages:
Possible lack of inter-rater reliability.
Social desirability bias
One problem with questionnaires is that it is easy for participants to ignore them, which means the return rate may be very low.
Importantly, the people who do reply to a questionnaire may all be quite similar, for example have time to spend because they are unemployed or retired. This would mean all the people who filled out the questionnaire would be quite similar.
Structured:
An interview with questions in a fixed order which may be scripted. Consistency might also be required for the interviewer’s posture, voice, etc. so they are standardised.
Unstructured:
An interview in which most questions (after the first one) depend on the respondent ’s answers. A list of topics may be given to the interviewer.
Semi-Structured
An interview with a fixed list of open and closed questions . The interviewer can add more questions if necessary.
Advantages:
Advantages of using an interview in a psychology study include the ability to gather in-depth and detailed information about a participant's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Interviews also allow for the researcher to clarify any misunderstandings or ambiguities in the participant's responses.
Additionally, interviews can establish rapport between the researcher and participant, leading to more honest and open responses.
Disadvantages:
Social desirability bias
Interviewing is often time consuming and this can be a problem if it restricts the types of participants who volunteer for the research because it would give a narrow representation of feelings, beliefs or experiences.
Subjectivity in interpretation: a personal viewpoint, which may be biased by one’s feelings, beliefs or experiences, so may differ between individual researchers. It is not independent of the situation.
Objectivity in interpretation: an unbiased external viewpoint that is not affected by an individual’s feelings , beliefs or experiences , so should be consistent between different researchers.
Advantages:
Case studies provide a deep exploration of individuals within their genuine context, such as their work or family.
Triangulation, using multiple techniques, enhances validity by producing similar findings across different methods.
Case studies offer comprehensive details about the individual's past, present, social interactions, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Disadvantages:
Close relationships between researchers and participants may introduce subjectivity and reduce the study's validity.
The level of detail in case studies can intrude into the participant's private life, potentially posing ethical concerns.
Maintaining participant confidentiality can be challenging, as their identity may be difficult to disguise even without using their name.
Naturalistic:
A study conducted by watching the participants’ behaviour in their normal environment without interference from the researchers in either the social or physical environment.
Controlled:
A study conducted by watching the participants’ behaviour in a situation in which the social or physical environment has been manipulated by the researchers. It can be conducted in either the participants’ normal environment or in an artificial situation.
Unstructured:
A study in which the observer records the whole range of possible behaviours, which is usually confined to a pilot stage at the beginning of a study to refine the behavioural categories to be observed.
Structured:
A study in which the observer records only a limited range of behaviours. e.g. the range of behaviours studied is narrowed to a set of behaviours
Advantages:
Naturalistic observations have the advantage that the behaviours seen are true to life. They are more likely to reflect the way the individuals really behave than if there is interference in the situation from researchers, as is the case in controlled observations.
Disadvantages:
However, there is no guarantee that the behaviours being studied will actually occur in a naturalistic situation, so it may be necessary to use a controlled observation.
Advantages:
The ability to control extraneous variables, the ability to replicate the study, and the ability to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
Disadvantages:
Potential for demand characteristics, the potential for observer bias, and the potential for artificiality in the setting.
Advantages:
Using an unstructured observation ensures that any important behaviours are recognised
Ability to capture unexpected behaviors and interactions, as well as the flexibility to adapt to the situation
Disadvantages:
It may be very difficult to record all the activities accurately and many may be irrelevant
Difficulty in recording and analyzing data in a systematic manner
Advantages:
The ability to collect quantitative data
The ability to compare and contrast behaviors across different settings
The ability to ensure consistency in data collection.
Disadvantages:
The potential for observer bias
The limited scope of data collected
Participant:
A researcher who watches from the perspective of being part of the social setting.
Covert: not obvious, e.g. because they are hidden or disguised.
Overt: obvious to the participants.
Non-participant:
A researcher who does not become involved in the situation being studied, e.g. by watching through one-way glass or by keeping apart from the social group of the participants
Advantages:
Transparency: An overt observer is openly present and acknowledged by the participants, which promotes transparency in the research process. This can create a more authentic and natural setting for the participants
Disadvantages:
Overt observer is likely to alter the behaviour of the participants as they are aware that they are being watched.
This would reduce the validity of the findings as the activities being recorded are less likely to reflect real-world behaviour
Advantages:
Covert observers would produce more valid results than overt ones.
Disadvantages:
Potential harm to participants: In some cases, covert observation may expose participants to potential harm or invasion of privacy, as their actions and behaviors are observed without their knowledge or consent.
Can be used as basis for prediction
If variables are related, it is possible that one of them is the cause of the other
Test-retest reliability (relationship of two set of score for two different administrations)
Positive:
It indicates that there is a direct relationship between the variables. Increase in one variable coincides with the increase in the other variable.
Negative:
There is an inverse relationship between the variables. Decrease in one variable coincides with the increase in the other variable (vice versa).
Alternative:
The testable statement which predicts a difference or relationship between variables in a particular investigation.
Null:
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 arisen because of the variables being studied.
Directional:
A statement predicting the direction of a relationship between variables, e.g. in an experiment whether the levels of the IV will produce an increase or a decrease in the DV or in a correlation whether an increase in one variable will be linked to an increase or a decrease in another variable.
Non-Directional:
A statement predicting only that one variable will be related to another, e.g. that there will be a difference in the DV between levels of the IV in an experiment or that there will be a relationship between the measured variables in a correlation.
Population:
The group, sharing one or more characteristics, from which a sample is drawn
Sample:
The group of people selected to represent the population in a study.
Opportunity:
Participants are chosen because they are available, e.g. university students are selected because they are present at the university where the research is taking place.
Volunteer:
Participants are invited to participate, e.g. through advertisements via email or notices. Those who reply become the sample.
Random:
All members of the population (i.e. possible participants) are allocated numbers and a fixed amount of these are selected in a unbiased way, e.g. by taking numbers from a hat.
Advantages:
Quicker and easier than other methods as the participants are readily available
Disadvantages:
Likely to be non-representative as the variety of people available is likely to be limited, so they will tend to be similar and the sample could therefore be biased
Advantages:
Relatively easy because the participants come to the researcher. They are also likely to be committed, e.g. willing to return for repeat testing
Disadvantages:
Likely to be non-representative as people who respond to requests may be similar, e.g. all have free time
Advantages:
Likely to be representative as all types of people in the population are equally likely to be chosen
Disadvantages:
In reality everyone may not be equally likely to be chosen, e.g. if they cannot be accessed (if the original list is incomplete) or if mainly one type of participant, e.g. girls, happen to be selected. This is particularly important if the sample is small
IV: Intensity of the emotional arousal
DV: Level of activation of the amygdala + Measure of memory
96 scenes (pictures) from the ‘International Affective Picture System’ stimuli set, with average ratings for valence ranged from 1.17 (highly negative) to 5.44 (neutral)
1.5 Tesla fMRI scanner
Preliminary stage:
All the participants were given informed consent
Individuals who were operating the fMRI scanner were fully trained and competent
Experimental stage:
Participants viewed a series of 96 scenes that were presented via an overhead projector and mirror.
Order of scenes are randomized per participant. Presented for 2.88s each & 12.96s interval.
Fixation cross was used to indicate their emotional arousal by pressing a button with their right hand
Unexpected recognition test after 3 weeks. Using 96 same scenes and 48 new scenes (foils).
Participants were asked whether they had seen each scene before.
Laboratory Experiment
Aim 1: Repeated Measures Design
IV: Awake from REM or nREM
DV: Recalled dream or not
Aim 2: Correlation (Repeated Measures Design)
Aim 3: Self-reports
EEG (electroencephalogram) = traces cyclical changes that occur in brain activity during sleep. Electrodes are placed around the skull to analyse brain waves.
EOG (electrooculogram) = traces eye movements during sleep. Uses electrodes placed around the eye region.
A state of physiological activation or cortical responsiveness, associated with sensory stimulation and activation of fibers from the reticular activating system.
A state of excitement or energy expenditure linked to an emotion.
Closely related to a person's appraisal of the significance of an event or the physical intensity of a stimulus
Parasympathetic nervous system: It is located in between the spinal cord and the medulla. It primarily stimulates the body’s “rest and digest” and “feed and breed” responses.
Sympathetic nervous system: Its primary function is to stimulate the body’s fight or flight response. It does this by regulating the heart rate, rate of respiration, pupillary response and more.
Autonomic nervous system: controls thinking, emotion and behavior; composed of brain, spinal cord, all nerves
Strengths:
It was a highly controlled laboratory experiment, as the same experimental rooms were used, and the stooge had given scripted responses. Participants were randomly allocated to different conditions. All participants were deceived, and the double-blind technique was used.
Questionnaires helped operationalise the dependent variables, therefore the data is standardised.
Quantitative data collected can be easily analysed and used to compare results across two conditions.
Weaknesses:
The sample consisted of university students so participant variables may distort findings. This makes results less valid.
The sample only had male participants thus, the study is less generalisable as females may experience emotions differently.
Questionnaire does not give participants the same freedom to express feelings as discussions would.
Adrenalin does not affect everyone in the same way due to individual differences.
No assessment was made of the participant's mood before the injection; thus, it reduces validity.
How people process social information
How people learn from other people
Focused:
Picking out specific information
Divided:
Splitting mental effort
Laboratory experiment
Independent measures design
Counterbalancing (DV only)
Mock telephone message and cassette recorder
Shape sheet-10 per row; alternated squares and circles
Lined paper for control group
Placed into IV groups
Participants in doodling condition asked to shade shaped on A4 paper
Control given piece of lined paper and pencil
Led to quiet room and tested individually.
Misled to believe it doesn 't matter if they remember.
Doodlers told that it doesn't matter how well they shaded.
2.5 minute tape, wrote down names
Sheet collected and they were talked to
Asked to recall names then places, or places than names
When a majority of the participants score the highest value.
This is problematic because it does not allow the researcher differentiate between participants.
Note 
Flashcard (53)