PSYA1: Developmental Psychology: Early Social Development · Web viewLutterworth College: Humanities Faculty: Year 12 Psychology: PSY2: Research Methods Scheme of Work 2 2 Mrs A Pepper@psychopepper2016/2017Page

PSYA1: Developmental Psychology: Early Social Development

Textbook pages 164-210

Research Methods

Booklet 1

Miss Mesnard

Name ____________________________________

Lutterworth College: Humanities Faculty: Year 12 Psychology: PSY2: Research Methods Scheme of Work

2

Mrs A Pepper@psychopepper2016/2017Page | 2

4.2.3 Research methods

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R

Content

Experimental method. Types of experiment, laboratory and field experiments; natural and quasi-experiments.

Observational techniques. Types of observation: naturalistic and controlled observation; covert and overt observation; participant and non-participant observation.

Self-report techniques. Questionnaires; interviews, structured and unstructured.

Correlations. Analysis of the relationship between co-variables. The difference between correlations and experiments.

Content analysis.

Case studies.

4.2.3.1 Scientific processes

P

D

Content

Aims: stating aims, the difference between aims and hypotheses.

Hypotheses: directional and non-directional.

Sampling: the difference between population and sample; sampling techniques including: random, systematic, stratified, opportunity and volunteer; implications of sampling techniques, including bias and generalisation.

Pilot studies and the aims of piloting.

Experimental designs: repeated measures, independent groups, matched pairs.

Observational design: behavioural categories; event sampling; time sampling.

Questionnaire construction, including use of open and closed questions; design of interviews.

Variables: manipulation and control of variables, including independent, dependent, extraneous, confounding; operationalisation of variables.

Control: random allocation and counterbalancing, randomisation and standardisation.

Demand characteristics and investigator effects.

Ethics, including the role of the British Psychological Society’s code of ethics; ethical issues in the design and conduct of psychological studies; dealing with ethical issues in research.

The role of peer review in the scientific process.

The implications of psychological research for the economy.

Reliability across all methods of investigation. Ways of assessing reliability: test-retest and inter-observer; improving reliability.

Types of validity across all methods of investigation: face validity, concurrent validity, ecological validity and temporal validity. Assessment of validity. Improving validity.

Features of science: objectivity and the empirical method; replicability and falsifiability; theory construction and hypothesis testing; paradigms and paradigm shifts.

Reporting psychological investigations. Sections of a scientific report: abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion and referencing.

4.2.3.2 Data handling and analysis

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D

Content

Quantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques.

Primary and secondary data, including meta-analysis.

Descriptive statistics: measures of central tendency – mean, median, mode; calculation of mean, median and mode; measures of dispersion; range and standard deviation; calculation of range;

calculation of percentages; positive, negative and zero correlations.

Presentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar charts, histograms.

Distributions: normal and skewed distributions; characteristics of normal and skewed distributions.

Analysis and interpretation of correlation, including correlation coefficients.

Levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal and interval.

Content analysis and coding. Thematic analysis.

4.2.3.3 Inferential testing

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D

Content

Introduction to statistical testing; the sign test.

Probability and significance: use of statistical tables and critical values in interpretation of significance; Type I and Type II errors.

Factors affecting the choice of statistical test, including level of measurement and experimental design. When to use the following tests: Spearman’s rho, Pearson’s r, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, related t-test, unrelated t-test and Chi-Squared test.

Research

Methods

Tick Sheet

· Methods and Techniques

· Experimental Method

· Laboratory experiments

· Field experiments

· Natural experiments

· Quasi Experiments

· Natural Observations

· Controlled Observation

· Covert Observations

· Overt Observation

· Participant Observation

· Non-Participant Observation

· Questionnaires

· Structured Interviews

· Unstructured Interviews

· Correlations

· Case studies

· Meta Analyses

· Scientific Processes

· Aims

· Independent Variable

· Dependant Variable

· Operationalise

· Directional Hypotheses

· Non-Directional Hypotheses

· Operationalisation

· Target Population

· Random Sampling

· Systematic Sampling

· Stratified Sampling

· Opportunity Sampling

· Volunteer Sampling

· Bias

· Generalisation

· Pilot Study

· Independent Groups

· Repeated Measures Design

· Matched Pairs Design

· Behaviour Categories

· Event Sampling

· Time Sampling

· Open Questions

· Closed Questions

· Extraneous Variables

· Confounding Variables

· Order Effects

· Random Allocation

· Counterbalancing

· Randomisation

· Standardisation

· Demand characteristics

· Informed Consent

· Presumptive consent

· Deception

· Debrief

· Confidentiality

· Right to Withdraw

· Protection from Harm

· Reliability

· Split Half

· Test Retest

· Inter-Observer

· Ecological Validity

· Historical Validity

· Population Validity

· Internal Validity

· Mundane Realism

· Investigator effect

· Social Desirability Bias

· Replicability

· Objectivity

· Control

· Empiricism

· Paradigm

· Falsifiability

· Deductive Reasoning

· Inductive Reasoning

· Abstract

· Introduction

· Method

· Results

· Discussion

· References

· Data Handling & Analysis

· Quantitative Data

· Qualitative Data

· Primary Data

· Secondary Data

· Graphs

· Scattergrams

· Tables

· Central Tendency

· Mean

· Median

· Mode

· Dispersion

· Range

· Standard Deviation

· Positive Correlation

· Negative Correlation

· Correlation Coefficient

· Normal Distribution

· Skewed Distribution

· Co-Variable

· Intervening Variable

· Nominal Data

· Ordinal Data

· Interval Data

· Content Analysis

· Coding

· Thematic Analysis

· Peer Review

· Inferential Testing

· Probability

· Significance

· Effect Size

· Calculated Value

· Critical Value

· Type I Error

· Type II Error

· Sign Test

· Spearman’s Rho

· Pearson’s r

· Wilcoxon

· Mann-Whitney

· Related t-test

· Unrelated t-test

· Chi-Squared

The Experimental Method

Define “The Experimental Method”

A Research Aim Is…

*For your exam: you will need to be able to define this, and to pick out what the aim of a piece of research is.

Thinking about Past Questions

A1) Dave, a middle-aged male researcher, approached an adult in a busy street. He asked the adult for directions to the train station. He repeated this with 29 other adults. Each of the 30 adults was then approached by a second researcher, called Sam, who showed each of them 10 photographs of different middle-aged men, including a photograph of Dave. Sam asked the 30 adults to choose the photograph of the person who had asked them for directions to the train station. Sam estimated the age of each of the 30 adults and recorded whether each one had correctly chosen the photograph of Dave.

Identify one aim of this experiment. (2 marks)

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A2) It is thought that colours might affect our performance when carrying out certain tasks. Research in this area has been inconclusive. Some studies have shown that red improves performance but others have found the opposite. It could be that these contradictory results have arisen because red is beneficial only for certain kinds of mental processing. Some psychologists tested this hypothesis in a series of independent-groups design experiments using students at a Canadian university. The experiments involved computer tasks, with either a red, blue or neutral background appearing on the monitor. The researchers found that participants were better at a word-recall task and a spell-checking task when the screen background was red rather than blue or neutral. However, participants thought of more creative ideas when the screen was blue rather than red or neutral. The researchers concluded that red is beneficial for tasks that require attention to detail whereas blue aids creativity.

What were the researchers’ aims in this study? (2 marks)

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Getting To Know Your Variables

What are variables?

Variables are the ‘things’ in an investigation that are manipulated, measured or controlled. The variables you need to know about are identified below – make sure you have a definition for each.

Independent Variable

(IV)

Dependent Variable

(DV)

Before you can write your research hypothesis you must OPERATIONALISE your variables and think about how you will control any extraneous variables.

This means to be precise and clear about what is being manipulated or measured. Make it testable and repeatable.

Which of the following variables are operationalised and which are not ? For those than are not, what you they need to say?

Number of words accurately recalled

Resources selected

Reaction time in seconds

Punishment given

Intelligence level

Number of faces accurately recognised

Identify and operationalise the IV and the DV in the following hypotheses:

1) Male participants will throw a rugby ball further than female participants.

Independent Variable =

Dependent Variable =

2) Females with an eating disorder will score lower on a self-esteem questionnaire compared to females who do not have an eating disorder.



3) Participants will move more counters when completing a counter moving task on their own compared to when observed by an audience.




B1)A psychologist used an independent groups design to investigate whether or not a cognitive interview was more effective than a standard interview, in recalling information. For this experiment, participants were recruited from an advertisement placed in a local paper. The advertisement informed the participants that they would be watching a film of a violent crime and that they would be interviewed about the content by a male police officer. The psychologist compared the mean number of items recalled in the cognitive interview with the mean number recalled in the standard interview. Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable in this experiment (2marks)

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B2)A psychologist showed participants 100 different cards, one at a time. Each card had two unrelated words printed on it, eg DOG, HAT. Participants in one group were instructed to form a mental image to link the words. Participants in the other group were instructed simply to memorise the words. After all the word pairs had been presented, each participant was shown a card with the first word of each pair printed on it. Participants were asked to recall the second word. (a) What is the independent variable (IV) in this study? (2 marks). (b) What is the dependent variable (DV) in this study? (2 marks)

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B3)A researcher investigated the effect of age of starting day care on levels of aggression. Four-year-old children attending a day nursery were used. Each child was assessed by the researcher and given an aggression score. A high score indicated a high level of aggression. A low score indicated a low level of aggression. The maximum score was 50. Identify the operationalised independent variable and the operationalised dependent variable in this study. (2 marks + 2 marks)

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Hypothesis Writing 1

A hypothesis states what you believe is true. It is a precise and testable statement of the relationship between two variables. It is a statement, not a question or a prediction. Follow the example on the left to develop the hypothesis on the right into a fully operationalised, testable statement.

Possible Hypothesis

People remember more when they study in short bursts.

The independent variable needs to have at least two conditions to make a comparison. These conditions are known as the levels of the independent variable. A good hypothesis should always include two (or more) levels of the IV or a condition where the IV is absent.

Levels of the IV ‘time spent studying’

· Short bursts

· Longer session

Possible Hypothesis

People remember more when they study in short bursts than when studying in longer sessions

Possible Hypothesis

People remember more when they revise using mnemonics.

Levels of the IV ‘revision technique’

·

·

Possible Hypothesis

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A good hypothesis must be in a testable from, i.e. a way that makes clear the specific way the experiment tests the hypotheses. In particular we need to operationalise the IV and DV.

Operationalising the variables

IV: shorts bursts = 10 minutes repeated three times over three hours.

IV: Longer sessions = one 30 minute session


IV:

IV:


DV: remember more = will get more questions right on a test of recall.


DV: =

Fully Operationalised Hypothesis

People get more questions right on a test of recall when they study in short bursts (ten minutes at a time repeated three times) than when studying for longer sessions (one 30-min session

Fully Operationalised Hypothesis

Hypothesis Writing 1

Directional hypothesis

“Participants who IV (a) will state how their DV will differ compared to participants who IV (b)”

Now you have a go…

Write a directional hypothesis for the following research questions – remember to operationalise your variables!!!

· Does the attractiveness of an individual effect the level of punishment they receive for a crime?

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· Does the time of day effect performance on a word recall task

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Non-directional Hypothesis

“There will be a difference in DV performance between IV (a) and IV (b)”

Now you have a go…

Write a non-directional hypothesis for the following research questions – remember to operationalise your variables!!!

· Does the attractiveness of an individual effect the level of punishment they receive for a crime?

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· Does the time of day effect performance on a word recall task

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Deciding on which type of hypothesis you should use:

Psychologists make the decision about which of these to use based on previous research. If the previous research into a topic all suggests a particular outcome (meaning it all agrees) then a directional hypothesis will be chosen. If, however, the previous research is contradictory or there is limited research already then a non directional hypothesis will be chosen.


C1)A psychologist carried out an experiment using an independent groups design. The psychologist wished to investigate the effectiveness of a strategy for memory improvement. In one condition, participants were taught a memory improvement strategy. In the other condition, participants were not taught this memory improvement strategy. All participants were asked to memorise 10 pictures of familiar objects. For example, the first was a doll, the second was an apple. All participants were then given 50 pictures each, and asked to select the original 10. Write a directional hypothesis for this experiment. (2 marks)

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C2)A researcher investigated whether memory for words presented with pictures was better than memory for words presented without pictures. The researcher used an independent groups design. In Condition 1, participants were given a limited time to learn a list of 20 words. They were then asked to recall the 20 words in any order. In Condition 2, participants were given the same time to learn the same 20 words, but this time each word was presented with a picture. For example, the word ‘apple’ was presented alongside a picture of an apple. They were then asked to recall the 20 words in any order. Write a non-directional hypothesis for this experiment. (2 marks)

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C3)A Psychology student carried out a laboratory experiment to investigate encoding in STM. She used an opportunity sample of 20 participants. Two lists of letters were read out to participants. List 1: P V E D B C G T (letters that sound the same). List 2: Y Z O A N F X R (letters that do not sound the same). All 20 participants listened to list 1 and then tried to recall the letters. Next, they all listened to list 2 and then tried to recall these letters.Write a non-directional hypothesis for this experiment. (2 marks)]

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Extraneous Variables

All experiments aim to manipulate an independent variable (IV) in order to see if it causes a change in the dependant variable (DV). In order for this to happen experimenters have to ensure everything else is controlled/kept constant/removed so that they are sure it was the IV which caused the changes they saw in the DV. These ‘other’ variables are known as extraneous variables. There are two main sources of extraneous variables. Summarise what is meant by each and give some additional examples.

Participant Variables:

e.g. gender

·

·

Situational Variables:

e.g. noise

·

·

Participant Effects When following the procedure of research, participants may behave in ways which might bias the validity of the research findings. Complete a description of the following causes of participant bias:

Social Desirability Bias

Demand Characteristics & Participant Reactivity

Investigator Effects When conducting research the investigator may bias the final outcome of the study in a number of ways. Mostly researchers are unaware that this is occurring, very occasionally however there is deliberate bias caused.

Explain how an experimenter may consciously, or unconsciously use body language to bias the investigation. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Leading Questions

Confounding Variables

Extraneous variables are essentially nuisance variables and do not vary systematically with the IV. They are things which we are (largely) able to identify before we conduct our experiment and put measures in place to reduce or eliminate. However confounding variables do vary systematically with the IV. Another way this is sometimes described is a variable which changes/correlates with both the IV and the DV.

Research the difference between extraneous variables and confounding ones. Write a definition you understand and are happy with…

Controlling Extraneous and Confounding Variables

Randomisation

Standardisation

What is standardisation?

How might the researchers do this?


F1)Students carried out an experiment to investigate the effects of organisation on word recall. They made up a list of 50 items that could be bought in a supermarket. The participants were teachers at their school. One group of participants saw the words organised into categories such as fruit, vegetables, dairy products and cleaning materials. The other group saw the same words presented randomly. (a) Suggest one possible extraneous variable in this study. (1 mark) (b) Suggest one way in which the students could control for this extraneous variable. (2 marks)

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F2)Psychologists carried out a laboratory experiment to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive interviews. All participants watched the same film of a robbery. They were randomly allocated to Group One or Group Two. Participants were then asked to recall the robbery. The investigators used a cognitive interview to access recall of participants in Group One and a standard interview to access recall of participants in Group Two. What is meant by the term investigator effects? Explain possible investigator effects in this study. (4 marks)

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F3)Dave, a middle-aged male researcher, approached an adult in a busy street. He asked the adult for directions to the train station. He repeated this with 29 other adults. Each of the 30 adults was then approached by a second researcher, called Sam, who showed each of them 10 photographs of different middle-aged men, including a photograph of Dave. Sam asked the 30 adults to choose the photograph of the person who had asked them for directions to the train station. Sam estimated the age of each of the 30 adults and recorded whether each one had correctly chosen the photograph of Dave. Identify one possible extraneous variable in this experiment. Explain how this extraneous variable could have affected the results of this experiment. (1 mark + 3 marks)

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E1)A Psychology student carried out a laboratory experiment to investigate encoding in STM. She used an opportunity sample of 20 participants. Two lists of letters were read out to participants. List 1: P V E D B C G T (letters that sound the same). List 2: Y Z O A N F X R (letters that do not sound the same). All 20 participants listened to list 1 and then tried to recall the letters. Next, they all listened to list 2 and then tried to recall these letters. Name the experimental design used in this experiment. Evaluate the choice of this design in this experiment. (1 + 3 marks)

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E2)A researcher investigated whether memory for words presented with pictures was better than memory for words presented without pictures. The researcher used an independent groups design. In Condition 1, participants were given a limited time to learn a list of 20 words. They were then asked to recall the 20 words in any order. In Condition 2, participants were given the same time to learn the same 20 words, but this time each word was presented with a picture. For example, the word ‘apple’ was presented alongside a picture of an apple. They were then asked to recall the 20 words in any order. Explain two reasons why it was more appropriate to use an independent groups design than a repeated measures design. (2 marks + 2 marks)

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E3)A psychologist showed participants 100 different cards, one at a time. Each card had two unrelated words printed on it, eg DOG, HAT. Participants in one group were instructed to form a mental image to link the words. Participants in the other group were instructed simply to memorise the words. After all the word pairs had been presented, each participant was shown a card with the first word of each pair printed on it. Participants were asked to recall the second word. (a) What experimental design was used in this study? (1 mark) (b) Explain one strength of this experimental design in the context of this study. (2 marks)

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Experimental Methods

Laboratory Experiment

Field

Experiment

Natural Experiment

Quasi

Experiment

Description

Strengths

Limitations


D1)A psychologist carried out a field experiment to investigate the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The participants were pupils and parents attending a school concert. Just before the concert began, two professional actors had an argument on the stage. During the argument, one actor pushed the other actor. Both actors then left the stage. Some of the audience were approached as they left the concert and were asked to take part in an experiment. Those who agreed were taken to a quiet room and were asked some questions about the argument. For some participants, the questions included, “Did you see the man in glasses push the other man?” In fact, neither man was wearing glasses. The participants were then asked to describe the argument in their own words. (a) What is a field experiment? (2 marks) (b) Other than ethical issues, outline one weakness of using a field experiment in this investigation. (2 marks)

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D2)A psychologist assessed the aggressive behaviour of 100 five-year-old children who were starting school. The children had attended day care for at least 20 hours a week. Fifty of the children had attended day nurseries. The other fifty children had been looked after by childminders. The children who attended the day nurseries were more aggressive than the children who had been looked after by childminders. Explain why this is an example of a natural experiment. (2 marks)

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D3)Dave, a middle-aged male researcher, approached an adult in a busy street. He asked the adult for directions to the train station. He repeated this with 29 other adults. Each of the 30 adults was then approached by a second researcher, called Sam, who showed each of them 10 photographs of different middle-aged men, including a photograph of Dave. Sam asked the 30 adults to choose the photograph of the person who had asked them for directions to the train station. Sam estimated the age of each of the 30 adults and recorded whether each one had correctly chosen the photograph of Dave. Suggest one reason why the researchers decided to use a field experiment rather than a laboratory experiment. (2 marks)

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D4)A Psychology student carried out a laboratory experiment to investigate encoding in STM. She used an opportunity sample of 20 participants. Two lists of letters were read out to participants. List 1: P V E D B C G T (letters that sound the same). List 2: Y Z O A N F X R (letters that do not sound the same). All 20 participants listened to list 1 and then tried to recall the letters. Next, they all listened to list 2 and then tried to recall these letters. Explain one advantage of using laboratory experiment in psychology studies (2 marks)

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D5)

1. Baron- Cohen got children with Down syndrome, children with autism and ‘normal’ children to arrange comic book strip stories into the correct sequence. It was found that the children with autism performed significantly worse that the other 2 groups of children.

2. Piliavin et al conducted an experiment on a busy New York subway in which a researcher pretended to collapse. It was found that more people helped when the victim was carrying a walking stick than when they smelt of alcohol.

3. Williams monitored the change in behaviour of 6-11 year old children in a Canadian town before and after television was introduced for the first time. Significant increases in levels of aggression were observed after the children has access to TV.

4. Gilchrist and Nesburg deprived participants of food and water for four hours and showed them pictures of food. These participants rated the pictures of food as being brighter in colour than the control group who had not been food deprived.

Match the investigations above to the correct type of experiment.

1. Baron-Cohen

2. Piliavin

3. Williams

4. Gilchrist and Nesburg

Lab experiment

Natural experiment

Field Experiment

Quasi-experiment

Sampling

Target Population

Random Sample

Strengths

Limitations

Opportunity Sample

Strengths

Limitations

Stratified Sample

Strengths

Limitations

Systematic Sample

Strengths

Limitations


J1)Dave, a middle-aged male researcher, approached an adult in a busy street. He asked the adult for directions to the train station. He repeated this with 29 other adults. Each of the 30 adults was then approached by a second researcher, called Sam, who showed each of them 10 photographs of different middle-aged men, including a photograph of Dave. Sam asked the 30 adults to choose the photograph of the person who had asked them for directions to the train station. Sam estimated the age of each of the 30 adults and recorded whether each one had correctly chosen the photograph of Dave. Name the sampling technique used in this experiment. Evaluate the choice of this sampling technique in this experiment. (1 mark + 3 marks)

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J2)Psychologists often need to select participants to take part in research. The descriptions below are all types of sampling method. In the table below, write which description, A, B, C, or D, matches each sampling method. (3 marks)

Volunteer Sample

Strengths

Limitations

A The psychologist puts an advert in a newspaper, asking for participants.

B The psychologist uses lists of students in a university and selects every tenth student to take part.

C The psychologist asks some of his psychology students to take part in the research.

D The psychologist gives a number to all students in a university, then selects participants in an unbiased way.

Sampling Method

Description

Random Sample

Opportunity Sample

Volunteer Sample

J3)Some psychology students read about an experiment which suggested that organisation is a useful strategy for improving memory. The students carried out an experiment to investigate the effects of organisation on word recall. They made up a list of 50 items that could be bought in a supermarket. The participants were teachers at their school. One group of participants saw the words organised into categories such as fruit, vegetables, dairy products and cleaning materials. The other group saw the same words presented randomly. The results are given in Table 1 below. The psychology students decided to use a volunteer sample. Suggest one way in which this sample could be obtained (2 marks)

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Reliability

Jill will always ask questions

Jack will always arrive late

I can rely on it!!

How consistently a method measures something…

External Reliability

(Over Time)

Test-Retest Method:

If the same questionnaire/interview is conducted more than once the same results should be obtained.

Replication:

An experiment should obtain the same results when repeated if the same standardised procedures are used. (e.g. standardised instructions/methods/debrief etc)

Internal Reliability

(Within Itself)

Split Half Method:

Compare half the questions with the other half of the questions to check for a similar level of difficulty. E.G. compare the odd questions with the even questions in Uniboff.

Inter-Observer Reliability:

Compare the observations of the observers to check they are interpreting behaviour in the same way

Validity

How accurately a method measures something…

External Validity

(Over Time)

There are three types of external validity:

· Ecological Validity: Can you generalise the results to different places/setting (outside the lab)

· Population Validity: Can you generalise the results to different people

· Temporal Validity: Can you generalise the results to a different time/era (sometimes called historical validity)

Internal Validity

(Within Itself)

There are several ways to tell if something is internally valid:

· Did the IV produce the change in the DV? (this is about control of EVs)

· Did the researcher test what they intended in test?

· Did the study have mundane realism? (this is about the tests being true to what we do in real life)

Ethical Issues in Psychological Research

The ethical guidelines were devised in Psychology to provide an outline of the guiding principles or ‘rules’ by which researchers must adhere to. The BPS (British Psychological Society) have drawn up a set of ethical guidelines (1993) which cover the main ethical issues in Psychology. Guidelines about respect and responsibility are also mentioned but do not apply to the task today.

Deception

Protection from Harm

Privacy and Confidentiality

Informed Consent

Ways of Dealing with Ethical Issues

Limits of Solution

Ways of Dealing

Key Ethical Issues

Guideline

Consent

Deception and protection from harm

Confidentiality

Cost-Benefit Analysis

It is the responsibility of ethics committees to weigh up the costs and benefits of research proposals to decide whether the research study should go ahead. The costs and benefits may be judged from a participant’s point of view, where we might list distress and loss of time, versus payment for participation and feeling of having contributed to scientific research. Alternatively we can judge costs and benefits in terms of society at large and then can consider the value in improving people’s lives versus the possibility that individuals might be harmed in the process. We can also judge costs and benefits in terms of the group to which an individual belongs – when the research is done to investigate cultural differences, the research may not harm the individual but the findings may lead to biased treatment of the individual’s cultural groups (for good or bad). Imagine you are sitting on an ethics committee should the following investigations go ahead? Do a cost benefit analysis for each.

A teacher actively discriminates against children who have blue eyes in her Year 5 class (and encourages the non-blue-eyed classmates to do the same) by withholding privileges and giving them more difficult tasks to do. This was a study to demonstrate the evils of racial prejudice (Elliott, 1968)

Potential Costs

Potential Benefits

As a naive participant sits in a waiting room, (fake) smoke is pumped under the door suggesting that the next room is on fire. A group of confederates have been told to remain passive and not raise the alarm. This in an investigation into the factors that influence behaviour in an emergency (Latane and Darley, 1968)

Potential Costs

Potential Benefits

* The problem with a cost-benefit analysis is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict both coast and benefits prior to conducting a study. Baumrind (1959) suggest all we do is trade one set of ethical dilemmas for another and legitimatise unethical practices but suggesting they are for a greater good.


G1)A psychologist carried out a research study to investigate the effects of institutional care. To do this, she constructed a questionnaire to use with 100 adults who had spent some time in an institution when they were children. She also carried out interviews with ten of the adults. Identify two ethical issues that the psychologist would need to consider in this research. Explain how the psychologist could deal with one of these issues. (1 mark + 1 mark + 3 marks)

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G2)Psychologists sometimes use case studies to study children. One example was of a boy who was discovered at the age of six. He had been kept in a darkened room and had had almost no social contact with people. (a) How could a psychologist maintain confidentiality when reporting a case study? (2 marks)

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G4)A psychologist wanted to investigate the effects of age of adoption on aggressive behaviour. He compared children who had been adopted before the age of two with children who had been adopted after the age of two. The children were observed in their school playground when they were six years old. Explain one ethical issue the psychologist would have needed to consider when carrying out this research. How could the psychologist have dealt with this issue? (4 marks)

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Pilot Studies

Conducting a Pilot Study

What is a pilot study?

Why is it carried out?

What kind of things do you do in a pilot study?

Single Blind Technique

What is a single blind technique?


Draw an image of what a single blind technique might look like

Double Blind Technique

What is a double blind technique?


Draw an image of what a double blind technique might look like


F4)Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings and emotions of other people. Some studies have shown that people high in empathy, are more accurate at recognising facial expressions of emotions such as happy, sad, fearful, angry and surprised. A psychologist wanted to investigate this by presenting participants with a series of faces showing different emotional expressions. The emotions were happy, sad, fearful, angry and surprised. There were 20 examples of each emotion. Each of the 100 faces was presented randomly on a computer screen for 0.5 of a second. After each presentation the participant had to press the appropriate key to identify the emotion expressed. Once the key was pressed the next face was presented. Explain why it would be important for the psychologist to carry out a pilot study in this case (4 marks)

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Observations

Description

Strengths

Limitations

Naturalistic

Controlled

Overt

Covert

Participant

Non-Participant

Conducting an Observation

Example One: Controlled, Structured Observation

Ainsworth devised the strange situation to be able to test the nature of attachment systematically. They aimed to identify how infants aged between 9 and 18months behave under conditions of mild stress (stranger anxiety and separation anxiety) and novelty (a new situation to encourage exploration). The procedure consisted of eight episodes with a group of observers recording the infants’ behaviour every 15 seconds. Observers noted down which of the following behaviours were displayed, and scored each behaviour on an intensity scale of 1 to 7: (1) proximity and contact seeking, (2) contact maintaining, (3) proximity and interaction avoiding, (4) contact and interaction resisting, (5) search behaviours. From observations of 106 middle class infants, three main types of attachment were identified: Type A (insecure-avoidant), Type B (securely attached) and Type C (insecure-resistant).

Example Two : Naturalistic, Unstructured Observation

Ainsworth (1967) spent two years observing 26 Ugandan women and their infants in a naturalistic setting. The women and their infants were from six villages surrounding Kampala. She spent short periods of time noting down specific behaviours. She observed some of the women were more sensitive to their infant’s needs and these mothers tended to have securely attached infants.

In order to make a systematic and objective observation researchers need to develop behaviour categories. This method is called a coding system or behaviour checklist. Using a coding system means that a code is invented to represent easy category of behaviour. A behaviour checklist is essentially the same thing, though a code for each behaviour may not be given. Behaviour Categories should be:

Objective, Complete and Mutually Exclusive

Give an example of how the construct of ‘anger’ may be broken down into behavioural categories:

When conducting the observation the observer has a choice over the way they record the behaviours they see. This is known as the sampling procedures. There are times where observers will make continuous observations/recordings but this is often impractical with large groups in one observation or large numbers of people to sample overall.

1) Event Sampling –

2) Time Sampling -

Designing an Observation

Task: Design a behavioural or coding system to enable you to carry out an observation within the school

Think about:

Observer Effects/ Demand Characteristics

How will you minimise the effect your presence has on those being observed?

Remember:

Ethical Considerations

Are you invading peoples’ privacy? Will your observation be overt or covert?

Plan:

How You’ll Record Data?

Event or Time sampling?

Coding System or Checklist?

What categories will you have?

Inter Observer Reliability?

Consider:

What Do You Wish To Find Out?

E.g. Difference in queuing behaviour between genders or ages? Differences in food choices at lunch?

My Observation Plan:


L1)One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young child is admitted into hospital. A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two-year-old boy who experienced this disruption of attachment. She decided to use naturalistic observation of the boy both before his mother was admitted into hospital and after she returned home. Each period of observation lasted for one hour.

(a) Suggest two suitable behavioural categories the researcher could use to record the boy’s behaviour. (2 marks) (b) How might the researcher record the boy’s behaviour during the one-hour observation? (2 marks)

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L2)A psychologist wanted to investigate the effects of age of adoption on aggressive behaviour. He compared children who had been adopted before the age of two with children who had been adopted after the age of two. The children were observed in their school playground when they were six years old. (a) Suggest two operationalised behavioural categories the psychologist could use in his observation of aggressive behaviour. Explain how the psychologist could have carried out this observation. (2 marks + 2 marks)

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L3)A researcher studied a group of children who had spent time in an institution before being adopted. Each child was observed by the researcher in their school playground and given a score for aggression. A high score indicated that the child was very aggressive. The research showed that the longer children had spent in the institution the higher their aggressive score. Explain one ethical issue and one methodological issue associated with using observation to assess children’s aggression? (2 + 2 marks)

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Self-Reporting Methods

Description

Strengths

Limitations

Structured Interview

Unstructured Interview

Questionnaire

Interviews

You are going to conduct two interviews. One of these will be a structured interview with a classmate on ‘what they think of A Levels and AS Psychology’. The other will be an unstructured interview with a parent/carer/older friend/sibling on ‘life at university and making degree choices’.

What did you think of the interview? What were the good bits? What difficulties did you have?

Structured Interview (what happened?)

What did you think of the interview? What were the good bits? What difficulties did you have?

Unstructured Interview

Oxford Happiness Questionnaire

Below are a number of statements about happiness. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each by entering a number in the blank after each statement, according to the following scale:

1 = strongly disagree2 = moderately disagree3 = slightly disagree4 = slightly agree5 = moderately agree6 = strongly agree

Please read the statements carefully, because some are phrased positively and others negatively. Don’t take too long over individual questions; there are no “right” or “wrong” answers (and no trick questions). The first answer that comes into your head is probably the right one for you. If you find some of the questions difficult, please give the answer that is true for you in general or for most of the time.

The Questionnaire

1. I don’t feel particularly pleased with the way I am. _____

2. I am intensely interested in other people. _____

3. I feel that life is very rewarding. _____

4. I have very warm feelings towards almost everyone. _____

5. I rarely wake up feeling rested. _____

6. I am not particularly optimistic about the future. _____

7. I find most things amusing. _____

8. I am always committed and involved. _____

9. Life is good. _____

10. I do not think that the world is a good place. _____

11. I laugh a lot. _____

12. I am well satisfied about everything in my life. _____

13. I don’t think I look attractive. _____

14. There is a gap between what I would like to do and what I have done. _____

15. I am very happy. _____

16. I find beauty in some things. _____

17. I always have a cheerful effect on others. _____

18. I can fit in (find time for) everything I want to. _____

19. I feel that I am not especially in control of my life. _____

20. I feel able to take anything on. _____

21. I feel fully mentally alert. _____

22. I often experience joy and elation. _____

23. I don’t find it easy to make decisions. _____

24. I don’t have a particular sense of meaning and purpose in my life. _____

25. I feel I have a great deal of energy. _____

26. I usually have a good influence on events. _____

27. I don’t have fun with other people. _____

28. I don’t feel particularly healthy. _____

29. I don’t have particularly happy memories of the past. _____

Calculate your score

Step 1. Items where the number is in bold should be scored in reverse:

If you gave yourself a “1,” cross it out and change it to a “6.”Change “2″ to a “5″Change “3″ to a “4″Change “4″ to a “3″Change “5″ to a “2″Change “6″ to a “1″

Step 2. Add the numbers for all 29 questions. (Use the converted numbers for the 12 items reverse scored.)

Step 3. Divide by 29. So your happiness score = the total (from step 2) divided by 29.

INTERPRETATION OF SCORE

1-2 : Not happy. If you answered honestly and got a very low score, you’re probably seeing yourself and your situation as worse than it really is.

2-3 : Somewhat unhappy.

3-4 : Not particularly happy or unhappy. A score of 3.5 would be an exact numerical average of happy and unhappy responses.

4 : Somewhat happy or moderately happy. Satisfied. This is what the average person scores.

4-5 : Rather happy; pretty happy.

5-6 : Very happy. Being happy has more benefits than just feeling good. It’s correlated with benefits like health, better marriages, and attaining your goals.

6 : Too happy. Yes, you read that right. Recent research seems to show that there’s an optimal level of happiness for things like doing well at work or school, or for being healthy, and that being “too happy” may be associated with lower levels of such things.

Analysis of Questionnaire (what was good about it/ what was not so good about it?)

Oxford Happiness Questionnaire

Designing a Questionnaire

Type of Questions (open vs closed)

Emotive Language/ leading Qs

Double barreled and double negatives

Standardised Questions

Draw an example question for each of the following types of questionnaires:

· Likert Scales

· Rating Scales

· Fixed Choice Option

Your Task: You will need to design your own happiness questionnaire. This must assess current happiness and not any long term state as you will be giving this to people before and after asking them to complete a task you believe will make them happier! You need to ask 10 people to complete your questionnaire. Then get them to complete an activity which you believe will make them happier, then they need to answer the questionnaire again.

Planning

Findings:


M1)A psychologist investigated the effect of different forms of day care on children’s later social development. She selected two different types of day care: • child minders • day nurseries. The children had been in one of these types of day care full-time for at least a year before they started primary school. Each child’s mother was asked to complete a questionnaire. (a) Write one suitable question which could be used in the questionnaire to produce quantitative data. (2 marks) (b) Write one suitable question which could be used in the questionnaire to produce qualitative data. (2 marks) (c) Give one weakness of using questionnaires in this research. (2 marks)

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M2) A psychologist investigated the relationship between type of attachment in childhood and success in later adult relationships. He published a questionnaire in a local newspaper. The participants were people who read the newspaper, filled in the questionnaire and sent it to the psychologist. Participants’ answers to the questions were used to decide whether they had been securely or insecurely attached as children. The participants who were identified as securely attached children were more likely to have successful adult relationships than those identified as insecurely attached children. Questionnaires and interviews are both self-report techniques. Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of using a questionnaire rather than an interview. (4 marks)

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Data Handling and Analysis

Quantitative Data

Qualitative Data

Primary Data

Secondary Data

The AS in Psychology requires that 10% of the questions must include mathematical skills. Most of these at AS are GCSE maths skills but it is important that you are aware you could be tested on the following skills, for which you are expected to have a calculator:

· Recognise and use expressions in decimal and standard form.

· Use ratios, fractions and percentages.

· Estimate results.

· Use an appropriate number of significant figures.

· Construct and interpret frequency tables and diagrams, bar charts and histograms

· Understand simple probability.

· Understand the principles of sampling as applied to scientific data.

· Understand the terms mean, median and mode.

· Use a scatter diagram to identify a correlation between two variables.

· Use a statistical test.

· Make order of magnitude calculations.

· Know the characteristics of normal and skewed distributions.

· Understand measures of dispersion, including standard deviation and range.

· Understand the differences between qualitative and quantitative data.

· Understand the difference between primary and secondary data.

· Understand and use the symbols: =, <, <<, >>, >, ∝, ~.

· Translate information between graphical, numerical and algebraic forms.

· Plot two variables from experimental or other data.

Correlations

Correlation means association - more precisely it is a measure of the extent to which two variables are related. There are three possible results of a correlational study: a positive correlation, a negative correlation, and no correlation.

A positive correlation is a relationship between two variables in which both variables either increase or decease at the same time.

Give an example of a positive correlation _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A negative correlation is a relationship between two variables in which an increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other.

Give an example of a negative correlation____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A zero correlation exists when there is no relationship between two variables. For example there is no relationship between the amount of tea drunk and level of intelligence.

A correlation can be expressed visually. This is done by drawing a scattergram - that is one can plot the figures for one variable against the figures for the other on a graph.

When you draw a scattergram it doesn't matter which variable goes on the x-axis and which goes on the y-axis. Remember, in correlations we are always dealing with paired scores, so the values of the 2 variables taken together will be used to make the diagram. Decide which variable goes on each axis and then simply put a cross at the point where the 2 values coincide.


For the following correlations explain what type of correlation they are any why. The first one has been done for you!

1. A government study reveals that the more mothers’ smokes, the more her children are likely to exhibit behavioural problems.

a. Positive correlation (as smoking increases, behavioural problems increase)

2. The more psychology courses students take during their college years, the higher scores they get on a measure of emotional intelligence.

3. Researchers investigating the relationship between alcohol and memory found that higher doses of alcohol were associated with increasingly lower scores on a test of memory recall.

4. When the popularity of high school girls was rated by their peers, it was noticed that those girls who were most popular tended to do the best on a measure of self-esteem.

5. A survey of adolescents noted that those who watched the most TV during the week tended to receive the lowest ratings on a measure of general health.

6. A survey reveals that college students who eat breakfast regularly have a higher GPA than those that do not eat breakfast regularly.

7. Researchers find that as exposure to violent media decreases, aggressive behaviour tends to decrease.

Explain the Difference between Correlations and Experiments

Pick out three strengths and three weaknesses of using correlations. Summarise these into a bullet point each.

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Having a Go

Rate yourself on each item, on a scale from 1 (never or almost never true) to 7 (almost always true).

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Complete each of the questionnaires and total your marks separately for each.

Draw a blank graph in the space on the following page

.

a. X-axis labelled as femininity (minimum score is 19 and maximum is 133)

b. Y-axis is labelled as self-esteem (minimum score is 0 and maximum is 30)

1. Yielding

2. Cheerful

3. Shy

4. Affectionate

5. Flatterable

6. Loyal

7. Feminine

8. Sympathetic

9. Sensitive to other's needs

10. Understanding

11. Compassionate

12. Soft spoken

13. Warm

14. Tender

15. Gullible

16. Childlike

17. Does not use harsh language

18. loves children

19. gentle

Total

Answer the questions as honestly as you can and total your scores at the bottom of the page.

Always (2)

Sometimes(1)

Rarely(0)

1. I have a lot of doubts about my abilities

2. I am often unkind about myself

3. I don’t like what I see in the mirror

4. I blame myself when things go wrong

5. I personalise things when someone says something I don’t understand

6. I don’t feel I’m very important in life

7. I don’t have good nurturing relationships with people

8. I feel I am not good enough as a person

9. I think negative thoughts

10.I criticise other people a lot

11. I don’t respect myself

12. I don’t like things I say or do

13. I lack confidence in situations

14. I feel angry with my ‘lot’ in life

15. I don’t value myself

Total

Draw your scattergram here, with 2 labelled axis and plot your scores on the 2 questionnaires.

Data Analysis: Kinds of Data

Quantitative Data

Strengths

Weaknesses

Qualitative Data

Strengths

Weaknesses

Primary Data

Strengths

Weaknesses

Secondary Data

Strengths

Weaknesses


Which of the following would produce qualitative data and which quantitative data?

1. Students rate their enjoyment of research methods on a scale of 1 – 10

2. A recovering patient describes his experience of schizophrenia

3. A researcher asks passers by their views on litter in the town centre. They use a series of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions.

4. Students give their feedback on their teacher using a questionnaire made up of open questions.

5. A researcher categorises the social behaviour of children into one of three types

6. Students record the number of hours they spend revising and the number of hours they spend on social networking sites.

7. A teacher interviews year 10 students about their ideas of what psychology is

8. A girl writes a diary describing what daily life is like for a child.

Which of the following would be classed as primary and which secondary data?

1. A researcher searches through newspapers to see if there is a relationship between daily temperature and the total number of violent incidents

2. An interview with people with obsessive-compulsive disorder about their experiences

3. An observation of how primary school children negotiate rules during a game of marbles.

4. A comparison of crime statistics in inner city and rural areas to see if there is a difference.

5. A researcher assesses how the GCSE results of schools in her local area compare with national averages.

6. A lab study to see if males or females are more susceptible to visual illusions.

7. A researcher examines the transcript of a trial to see if there were inconsistencies in eyewitness accounts.

8. A researcher asks cinemagoers leaving a horror film if they feel more aggressive after seeing the film.

Descriptive Statistics

Measures of Central Tendency

Measures of Central Tendency:_____________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Mean

Mean: calculated by taking the sum of all scores and the dividing this by the number of scores.

Disadvantage

Advantage

Work out the mean of the following data sets (give your answer to 2 decimal places where appropriate):

a) 8, 6, 3, 5, 5, 6, 2

b) 11, 2, 3, 14, 8, 8, 9, 4

Median

Median: calculated by taking the middle score when all scores have been ordered from the smallest to largest.

Disadvantage

Advantage

Work out the median of the following data sets:

a) 8, 6, 3, 5, 5, 6, 2

b) 11, 2, 3, 14, 7, 8, 9, 4

Mode

Mode: calculated by taking the most frequently occurring score or scores from the set of scores.

Disadvantage

Advantage

Work out the mode of the following data sets:

a) 4, 9, 1, 2, 4, 8, 11

b) 8, 6, 3, 5, 5, 6, 2

c) 11, 2, 3, 14, 7, 8, 9, 4

Measures of Dispersion

Measures of Dispersion:__________________________________________________

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Range

Range: calculated by subtracting the smallest number in a set of scores from the largest number in the same set.

Disadvantage

Advantage

Work out the range of the following data sets:

a) 4, 9, 1, 2, 4, 8, 11

b) 11, 13, 9, 14, 7, 8, 9, 9

Standard

Deviation

Standard Deviation: calculated by taking the average that score deviates from the mean in a set of scores:

(add more detail below)

Disadvantage

Advantage

* You will not be asked to calculate a standard deviation, only interpret it.

Graphical Representation

Title

Y Axis

X Axis

Explain when bar graphs are used and what makes them unique (refer to type of data, with examples)

Over to you: Draw a bar chart to show the different type of pets owned by members of a class. Draw your graph on the following page. Ensure you have a title and clearly labelled axis.

Type of pet

Frequency of pets

Cat

9

Dog

17

Rabbit

6

Explain when histograms are used and what makes them unique (refer to type of data, with examples)

Over to you: A study was carried out to investigate the effect of the number of hours of day care that children receive, upon their levels of aggressiveness. Draw your graph below. Ensure you have a title and clearly labelled axis

Number of hours day care a week

Average number of aggressive acts per week

0-5

1

5-10

3

10-15

2

15-20

4

20-25

2

25-30

3

30-35

9

Line Graph

Explain when line graphs are used and what makes them unique (refer to type of data, with examples)

Over to you: Many children in Scotland from the start of their school life have all their lessons in Gaelic. Construct a line graph on the following page to plot the data from this study. Ensure you have a title and clearly labelled axis.

Age in years

Score on English language ability scale for Gaelic-educated children

Score on English language ability scale for English-educated children

3-4

3

10

4-5

4

11

5-6

7

12

6-7

9

12

7-8

10

14

8-9

15

17

9-10

20

18

10-11

21

19

11-12

24

20

Data Distributions

When we plot data the y-axis represents frequency and the x-axis represents the item of interest. When doing this for large data sets we can see an overall pattern of the data called distribution. There are two types of distribution: Normal and Skewed.

Normal Distribution

Positive Skewed Distribution

Negative Skewed Distribution


H1)A psychologist used an independent groups design to investigate whether or not a cognitive interview was more effective than a standard interview, in recalling information. For this experiment, participants were recruited from an advertisement placed in a local paper. The advertisement informed the participants that they would be watching a film of a violent crime and that they would be interviewed about the content by a male police officer. The psychologist compared the mean number of items recalled in the cognitive interview with the mean number recalled in the standard interview. The psychologist also recorded the number of correct items recalled and the number of incorrect items recalled in each type of interview. The following results were obtained: From these results, what might the psychologist conclude about the effectiveness of cognitive interviews? (2 marks)

Cognitive Interview

Standard Interview

Mean number of correct items recalled

45

32

Mean number of incorrect items recalled

8

8

H2)A researcher carried out an experiment to investigate how many numbers could be held in short-term memory. The participants were 15 children and 15 adults. Participants were asked to repeat lists of random numbers, in the correct order, as soon as they were read out by the researcher. For example, when the researcher said, “3, 4, 2, 8” the participant immediately repeated “3, 4, 2, 8”. When the researcher then said, “7, 5, 9, 6, 4” the participant immediately repeated “7, 5, 9, 6, 4”. One number was added to the list each time until participants were unable to recall the list correctly. Each participant’s maximum digit span was recorded.

Write the mode for each group in the table below. (2 marks)

Age group

Mode

Children

Adults

Peer Review

The Role of Peer Review

The aim of science is to produce a body of knowledge through conducting research. These findings are often published in scientific journals, conferences and textbooks.

However before a piece of research can be published it must be subject to a peer review. This means that all aspects of the investigation are scrutinised by a small group of experts (‘peers’). These experts in a particular field should be objective and unknown to the author/researcher.

To validate the quality and relevance of research:

To allocate research funding:

To suggest amendments or improvements:

The issues of Peer Review:

1. Anonymity allows the ‘peer’ to criticise rival researchers who they perceive to be a threat/ who have crossed them in the past. Many researchers are also in competition for limited funding so this could be a way of sabotaging others’ research for a person’s own financial gain.

2. Research is more likely to be published by journals if it is ‘headline grabbing’ or sensational. Furthermore, research that has positive results is more likely to be published than those with inconclusive or negative results. This means there is a publication bias.

3. Reviewers tend to be very critical of research that contradicts their own view and are much more likely to publish research that is in line with their own viewpoints. Therefore, research that supports public opinion is more likely to pass and new ground-breaking research is more likely to be supressed.

Do your own research:

Find out about two examples of famous psychological research that have turned out to be fraudulent.

Implications of Psychological Research for the Economy

One of the wider concerns for psychology is what the implications of the research are. We must consider whether the research betters, affects or devalues our economic prosperity.

· When considering economic implications some of the things we may consider are: employment, better health, worker productivity, treatments for illnesses, returning to the work place, paying tax, a better justice system, saving government money etc.

Memory:

1. How could research into the accuracy of eye witness testimony have implications for the economy?

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2. How about the development of the cognitive interview?

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Psychopathology:

1. If we are able to develop more effective medications, to treat mental health, how may this impact on the economy?

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Attachment:

1. Bowlby’s view that children need their mother for healthy psychological development meant that women felt they must stay in the home and not go to work. What effect could this have on the economy?

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Bar Chart

Series 1Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 44.32.53.54.5Series 1Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 44.32.53.54.5Series 2Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 42.44.40000000000000041.82.8Series 3Category 1Category 2Category 3Category 42235

Documents

PSYA1: Developmental Psychology: Early Social Development · Web viewLutterworth College: Humanities Faculty: Year 12 Psychology: PSY2: Research Methods Scheme of Work 2 2 Mrs A Pepper@psychopepper2016/2017Page