Discuss the Biological Approach (16 Marks)
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Psychology
Research Methods
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PSYCHOLOGY - RESEARCH METHODS NOTES
Aim - a general statement of what the researcher wants to investigate.
Hypothesis - a prediction made at the start of the study
Directional hypothesis- states the direction of the relationship of the variables
Non directional hypothesis- does not state the direction of .the relationship of the variables
Independent variable- variable changed or manipulate by the researcher
Dependent variable- measured by the researcher
Operationalism- clearly de ning variables to make the hypothesis testable
Extraneous variable- can a ect the dev but does not vary systematically with the in
confounding variable- a ects the dev and varies systematically with the iv
Demand characteristics - cues and hints that the participants pick up that many change their
behaviour
Investigator e ects- actions the investigator does consciously or unconsciously that may a ect
the participants
¡Do not confuse experimental designs with experimental methods!!!
Experimental designs
• Repeated measures - same participants in both conditions
• Independent groups - di erent participants for each condition
• Matched pairs - match participants on key variables that may a ect the research
Keywords:
• nA liator- people who have a stronger need to relate to others and therefore conform more
• Ecological validity - whether ndings can be applied to real life settings
Types of experiments:
• Lab experiments - conducted in highly controlled environments. This may not always be in a lab
but could be in a classroom, etc
• Field experiments - takes place in natural environments
• Natural experiments - IV is not manipulated ( could be natural or lab setting)
• Quasi experiments - have an IV that is based on existing di erences such as age or gender.
3 key features of a lab experiment :
• Highly controlled environments
• Random allocation
• Manipulation of the independent variable
, Presumptive consent - asking a group of people from the dame target population as the sample
whether they would agree to the study, if the group agrees you presume the sample would
Prior general consent - participants give their permission to take part in a number of di erent
studies , including one that will involve deception. By consenting the participants have agreed to be
deceived.
Retrospective consent - participants are asked for their consent (during debrief) having already
taken part in their study. They may not have been aware of their participation or they may have been
subject to deception.
A pilot study is a small scale study of the actual investigation
A pilot study allows the researcher to identify any potential issues and to modify the design or
procedure saving time and money in the long run.
• Single blind procedure-
Observations:
Participant observation- researcher becomes apart of the group
• Strengths- Allows them to have increased insight and increase external validity
• Weakness- may lose objectivity and become too involved
Non-participant observation- researcher doesn’t become apart of the group
•
•
Naturalistic- occurs in a natural environment
• Strengths- high external validity
• Weakness- lack of control, unable to replicate
Controlled observation- occurs in controlled environment
• Strengths- less extraneous variables
• Weakness- lacks mundane realism
Covert observations-
• Strengths-
Observational designs:
• Unstructured observations- researcher writes down everything the pay see and produces
accounts of behaviour in rich detail
• Structured observations- researchers observed using a pre determined list of behaviours.
Meta analysis- a particular form of research that uses secondary data ( analysis of di erent studies
combined)
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