Psychology Key Words

Demand Characteristics

When participants change their behaviour or response to a way they think the researcher wants them to behave or respond

Ecological validity

The extent to which a behaviour/results reflect true life

Control

Refers to the variables that are held constant/regulated by researcher

Participant variables

Difference between participants that can impact your results if not controlled for

validity

Are we measuring what we set out to measure?

Cause and effect

Refers to the ability that one variable is having an effect on the other (only the experiment can infer this)

Ethics

ensure participants are treated with respect and dignity and remains safe

Objective

Fact

Subjective

Making assumptions based of personal feelings and perspective

Quantitative data

Numerical data

Confederate

Someone who participates in a research experiment but is actually working for the researcher pretending to be a real participant

Dispositional

Internal characteristics of an individual such as personality traits that influence their behaviour and actions

Situational

External and environmental influences that shape a persons behaviour

Participants

Someone who voluntarily takes part in a research study or experiment

Social Desirability

Tendency of respondent to reply in a manner that will be viewer favourably to others

Covert

Undercover

Overt

Know they are being watched

Extraneous Variables

Other variables that must be elimiated or controlled otherwise they may affect the DV

Situational Variables

Variables to do with the situation which might interfere with and affect the behaviour of the p.s in an experiment e.g. time of day lighting temp

Screw you effect

P.s behave in a way that spoils the experiment

Deception

P.s not told research aim (ethical problems)

Single blind method

This is where p.s are not aware of the research aims or the condition they are placed in

Investigator effects

anything the experimenter does which has an effect on the p.s performance in a study other then what was intended

Investigator double blind method

Research design in which neither the participant or experimenter is aware of the condition that an individual participant is receiving

Lab Experiments

An experiment that takes place in a controlled environment, deliberately changes the IV, control of extraneous variables

Field Experiments

Takes place in a natural setting where the researcher manipulates the IV

Natural Experiment

Naturally occurring IV that happens everyday

quasi experiment

Personal to the person, e.g phobia, depression