General terms

What are Demand Characteristics?

participants unconsciously work out the aim and act differently.

What is social desirability?

participants give the response that they think will show them in the best possible light, meaning they are not a true reflection of their thoughts/feelings.

Order effects?

can occur in a repeated measures design. Whilst completing the second

condition the participant can become practiced/better at the task the second time round, or they can underperform due to factors such as boredom

Researcher bias

When the researcher’s beliefs or expectations influence the results, the way the researcher acts influences the results

What are self reports?

A method which involves a participant reporting on their own thoughts and feelings

An empirical enquiry about a person or group’s perceptions of an event or belief

A methodology which co may utilise open and/or closed question to allow the responded to reply I. Their own words

One advantage & disadvantage of self report

Advantages:

findings potentially provide a valid insight into the perceptions of an individual or a small group

Research device is less likely to influence and questioning is used and participants respond in their own words

Disadvantages:

Reliability is only provided snapshot perception of any one given time

Reponses can be hard to analyse and qualify

Results may be prone to social desire ability or demand characteristics

Ethical issues may arise if the topics studied are socially sensitive

Probability values

A numerical value that gives an indication of the likelihood that results are due to a real difference/correlation & not due to chance, a value that represents likelihood of a given event