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Questions and Answers
What is the primary purpose of a pilot study in experimental research?
What is the primary purpose of a pilot study in experimental research?
In the context of experimental design, what does 'mundane realism' refer to?
In the context of experimental design, what does 'mundane realism' refer to?
A researcher manipulates the amount of sleep a group of participants get, and then measures their reaction times. What is the independent variable in this experiment?
A researcher manipulates the amount of sleep a group of participants get, and then measures their reaction times. What is the independent variable in this experiment?
What is the most significant limitation of the repeated measures design?
What is the most significant limitation of the repeated measures design?
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When a variable systematically varies with the independent variable (IV) causing a potential issue in the dependent variable (DV), what is this classified as?
When a variable systematically varies with the independent variable (IV) causing a potential issue in the dependent variable (DV), what is this classified as?
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A study is conducted in an everyday setting, like a school or a public park: what type of experiment is this?
A study is conducted in an everyday setting, like a school or a public park: what type of experiment is this?
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Which of the following best describes a non-directional hypothesis?
Which of the following best describes a non-directional hypothesis?
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A researcher matches two participants based on their IQ scores, prior to testing them on a memory task. What type of design best describes this procedure?
A researcher matches two participants based on their IQ scores, prior to testing them on a memory task. What type of design best describes this procedure?
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What does a correlation coefficient of -0.85 indicate?
What does a correlation coefficient of -0.85 indicate?
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Which of the following is NOT a measure of central tendency?
Which of the following is NOT a measure of central tendency?
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What characterizes a positively skewed distribution?
What characterizes a positively skewed distribution?
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What is the main purpose of the peer review process?
What is the main purpose of the peer review process?
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What is a Type 2 Error in hypothesis testing?
What is a Type 2 Error in hypothesis testing?
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Which hypothesis proposes a relationship between two variables?
Which hypothesis proposes a relationship between two variables?
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Which of the following defines test-retest reliability?
Which of the following defines test-retest reliability?
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In the context of statistical research, what is temporal validity?
In the context of statistical research, what is temporal validity?
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What does content analysis primarily examine?
What does content analysis primarily examine?
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Which feature of science emphasizes the need for findings to be verified through repeated studies?
Which feature of science emphasizes the need for findings to be verified through repeated studies?
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What is a key limitation of natural experiments?
What is a key limitation of natural experiments?
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Which sampling technique allows for equal chances of selection for each individual?
Which sampling technique allows for equal chances of selection for each individual?
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Which ethical principle ensures participants are knowledgeable about their rights and the purpose of the research?
Which ethical principle ensures participants are knowledgeable about their rights and the purpose of the research?
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What is the main focus of a quasi-experiment?
What is the main focus of a quasi-experiment?
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Which observation technique involves participants being unaware they are being studied?
Which observation technique involves participants being unaware they are being studied?
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What type of data is characterized by numerical measurements?
What type of data is characterized by numerical measurements?
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Which sampling method offers the highest potential for generalization to a larger population?
Which sampling method offers the highest potential for generalization to a larger population?
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What influence occurs when the researcher's expectations affect participants' performance?
What influence occurs when the researcher's expectations affect participants' performance?
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Which design keeps both participants and researchers unaware of the study's aims?
Which design keeps both participants and researchers unaware of the study's aims?
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What is the primary purpose of using filler questions in a questionnaire?
What is the primary purpose of using filler questions in a questionnaire?
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Which organizational method is defined by recording occurrences of specific behaviors at predefined times?
Which organizational method is defined by recording occurrences of specific behaviors at predefined times?
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What is a significant drawback of qualitative data in research?
What is a significant drawback of qualitative data in research?
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Which method of observational study limits data gathering to a structured format?
Which method of observational study limits data gathering to a structured format?
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What type of sampling can lead to volunteer bias?
What type of sampling can lead to volunteer bias?
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Study Notes
The Experimental Method
- Aim: A statement outlining the researcher's goal for a research study.
- Hypothesis: A testable statement about the relationship between variables.
- Standardized Procedures: Consistent steps for all participants to ensure replication.
- Independent Variable (IV): The variable directly manipulated by the researcher.
- Dependent Variable (DV): The variable measured for changes based on the IV.
- Extraneous Variables: Variables that may influence the DV but are not the IV.
Hypothesis, Piloting, and Confederates
- Directional Hypothesis: Predicts a specific direction of difference between two conditions, also known as a one-tailed hypothesis.
- Non-Directional Hypothesis: Predicts a difference between two conditions without specifying direction, also known as a two-tailed hypothesis.
- Pilot Study: A small-scale trial to test the design and identify potential issues before the main study.
- Confederate: An individual instructed by the researcher to behave in a specific way during the study.
Controlling Variables
- Confounding Variable: A variable that systematically varies with the IV, potentially affecting the DV.
- External Validity: The extent to which findings can be generalized to other settings, populations, and times.
- Internal Validity: The degree to which an observed effect is due to the experimental manipulation, not confounding variables.
- Mundane Realism: The extent to which a study mirrors real-life situations.
Experimental Designs
- Repeated Measures: All participants complete all conditions, minimizing participant need but introducing order effects (fatigue, practice).
- Independent Groups: Participants are randomly assigned to groups and tested on one IV, eliminating order effects but requiring more participants with less control over extraneous variables.
- Matched Pairs: Two participants are matched based on key characteristics and placed in different groups, eliminating order effects but being time-consuming.
Types of Experiments
- Laboratory Experiment: Conducted in a controlled setting, minimizing extraneous variables and allowing for replication but lacking ecological validity.
- Field Experiment: Conducted in a natural setting, promoting ecological validity but prone to confounding variables and ethical concerns due to covert observation.
- Natural Experiment: An experiment where the IV is not directly manipulated, offering high ecological validity but unable to establish causality.
- Quasi-Experiment: Focuses on a naturally occurring IV, allowing comparisons between different groups but lacking internal validity and control over group allocation.
Experimental Issues
- Demand Characteristics: Cues that make participants aware of the study's aims, influencing their behavior.
- Investigator Effects: Actions by the researcher that influence participants' performance beyond the intended manipulation.
- Single-Blind Design: Participants are unaware of the study's aims.
- Double-Blind Design: Both participants and researchers are unaware of the study's aims.
- Experimental Realism: An engaging and immersive task that reduces participants' awareness of being observed.
Sampling Methods
- Population: The entire group of interest in a research study.
- Sample: A smaller group drawn from the population, intended to represent the whole.
- Generalization: Applying findings from a sample to the broader population.
- Bias: A systematic distortion in the findings.
- Volunteer Bias: A form of sampling bias where volunteers are more motivated, potentially skewing results.
Sampling Techniques
- Opportunity Sampling: Recruiting the most convenient individuals, quick but limited generalizability.
- Random Sampling: Every individual has an equal chance of selection, unbiased but time-consuming.
- Stratified Sampling: Subgroups are identified and randomly sampled proportionally to their frequency in the population, easier to generalize but time-consuming.
- Systematic Sampling: Selecting every nth person from a list, unbiased but not truly random if the
nis not used. - Volunteer Sampling: Participants choose to take part, offering variety but susceptible to volunteer bias and difficult to generalize.
Types of Data
- Primary Data: Information gathered firsthand, designed for the specific study but time-consuming.
- Secondary Data: Information gathered from previous studies, inexpensive but may not fit the study's needs precisely.
- Quantitative Data: Measurable data expressed numerically, easy to analyze but potentially oversimplifying reality.
- Qualitative Data: Descriptive data expressed in words, providing detailed information but challenging to analyze and identify causal relationships.
Ethical Issues in Research
- Informed Consent: Participants must be fully informed about the research and their role, including their rights to withdraw.
- Deception: Participants are not told the true aims of the study, justified if benefits outweigh risks and full debriefing is provided.
- Right to Withdraw: Participants can choose to leave the study if they feel uncomfortable, but limitations may exist regarding timing and other concerns.
- Protection from Harm: Participants should not experience negative physical or psychological effects, assessed carefully as potential harm may not be apparent initially.
- Confidentiality: Personal information shared during research is protected, potentially using numbers, initials, or false names to preserve anonymity.
- Privacy: Participants' right to control information about themselves, including their personal space and activities, requiring informed consent unless in public spaces where the definition can be ambiguous.
Observational Techniques
- Controlled Observation: Observing behavior in a structured and organized environment.
- Naturalistic Observation: Observing behavior in a natural setting without intervention.
- Covert Observation: Participants are unaware they are being observed.
- Overt Observation: Participants are aware they are being observed.
- Non-Participant Observation: The observer is separate from the participants.
- Participant Observation: The observer actively participates in the task.
- Interobserver Reliability: Agreement between two or more observers on their observations.
- Observer Bias: The observer's expectations influencing their observations.
Observational Design
- Unstructured Observation: The observer records any relevant behavior without a predefined system.
- Structured Observation: The observer uses a system to organize observations, potentially using behavioral categories or event sampling.
- Behavioral Categories: Target behaviors are broken down into specific and operationalized categories, for example the Meltzoff and Moore study (1977) analyzed facial expressions.
- Event Sampling: Recording the frequency of target behaviors.
- Time Sampling: Recording behavior at predetermined intervals.
Self-Report Techniques
- Structured Interview: Questions are pre-designed and standardized for consistent administration, but may limit responses and introduce interviewer bias.
- Unstructured Interview: General questions are followed by participant-guided questions, offering more detailed information but requiring skilled interviewers.
- Questionnaires: Standardized, efficient, and easily repeatable, but subject to social desirability bias and potential response limitations.
- Interviewer Bias: The interviewer's expectations influencing participant behavior.
- Social Desirability Bias: Participants distort their responses to portray themselves favorably.
Self-Report Design
- Closed Questions: Predetermined answer choices, efficient but may not capture nuanced responses.
- Open Questions: Allow participants to provide their own answers, promoting detailed information but making comparison difficult.
- Filler Questions: Unrelated questions used to distract from the study's main purpose, potentially reducing social desirability bias.
Correlations and Mathematical Skills
- Correlational Hypothesis: States a relationship between two measurable variables.
- Correlation Coefficient: A number (between -1 and +1) representing the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.
- Significant Figures: Simplified representation of long numbers using powers of 10.
- Measures of Central Tendency: Mean, median, mode.
- Measures of Dispersion: Range, standard deviation.
- Normal Distribution: A symmetrical bell-shaped distribution of data.
- Skewed Distribution: A distribution with one tail longer than the other, positive if skewed to the left and negative if skewed to the right.
Case Studies and Content Analysis
- Case Study: An in-depth study of an individual, institution, or event, providing rich insights but limited generalizability (e.g., Phineas Gage).
- Content Analysis: An observational study examining behavior indirectly through visual, written, or verbal materials.
- Thematic Analysis: Organizing behaviors extracted from content analysis into categories for analysis.
Reliability
- Test-Retest Reliability: Administering the same test or interview to the same participants on separate occasions to assess consistency of results.
- Inter-Observer Reliability: Agreement between two or more observers on their observations, potentially improved by clearly operationalized behavioral categories and training.
Concurrent Validity
- Compares an existing test or questionnaire with a new one
Face Validity
- Concerns how well test items match the test's intended purpose
Temporal Validity
- Evaluates how well research findings can be generalized beyond a specific study's time period
Probability
- A numerical measure indicating the likelihood of specific events occurring
Null Hypothesis
- Assumes no relationship exists between variables in a population
Alternative Hypothesis
- A testable statement proposing a relationship between two or more variables
Type 1 Error
- Incorrectly rejecting a true null hypothesis
Type 2 Error
- Incorrectly accepting a false null hypothesis
Features of Science
- Employs the empirical method for evidence-based testing and observation
- Aims for objectivity, minimizing bias
- Stresses replicability of findings for verification
- Develops theories to explain facts and generate testable predictions
- Employs falsifiability to challenge null hypotheses and confirm alternative hypotheses
- Accommodates paradigm shifts for revolutionary scientific progress
- Incorporates peer review as part of its process, relying on independent experts to evaluate research quality
Peer Review
- Independent experts assess research quality, contributing to:
- Funding allocation
- Publication decisions
- University department rankings
Psychology & Economy
- Psychology can play a key role in economic decision-making and avoiding irrational thinking
- Provides insights for companies to improve employee well-being and optimize performance
Research Report Structure
- Abstract: Concise summary of study aims, hypotheses, methods, and results (around 150 words)
- Introduction: Presents background information, relevant literature, research aims
- Method: Outlines research methods, designs, participants, sampling, materials, procedures, and ethical considerations
- Results: Reports findings using descriptive and inferential statistics, detailing qualitative data
- Discussion: Interprets results, addresses limitations, discusses implications
- References: Lists all cited sources
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Description
Explore the fundamental concepts of the experimental method in psychology. This quiz covers aims, hypotheses, variables, and the importance of piloting studies. Test your knowledge on critical terms like independent/dependent variables and the role of confederates.
