PSYC 205 Lecture Notes - Dishabituation, Habituation, Social Desirability Bias
Theory - Integrated set of principles or concepts
Hypothesis - Tentative statement about relationship between variables - need to be testable
Testing the hypothesis - systematic way of evaluating hypothesis
But always check for a rival hypothesis/alternate explanation
Methods
Observation
oNaturalistic observation
Observe in usual environments
Advantages - natural behavior because they do not know whether they are
being observed, probably feasible
Disadvantages - cannot manipulate to match what you're looking for, difficult if
you're trying to observe an infrequent behavior
oStructured observation
Observe in a lab
Advantages - have control over the study, have it be consistent for all
participants, it is convenient to have everything be the same
Disadvantages - it is not as natural anymore and can be contrived, social
desirability bias
Self-report
oInterview
Structured interview - predetermined set of questions for all children
Clinical interview - have a set of questions but can venture into something that
is interesting about the child and learn more about them so it is not as structured
Advantages - consistency and controls, learn more about what they feel and
also ask them more than you might be permitted to in a survey, more detailed
Disadvantages - words could be less accurate, know they are being observed,
language barriers
oQuestionnaire/Survey
Likert scale - rate your response on a scale of 1-10 to show degree of feelings
Checklist - check boxes for everything you agree/disagree with
Advantages - cheap and easy to administer, a lot of info in short time
Disadvantages - limit the amount of info or expression of feelings, not enough
depth, can be inaccurate too, biased reports - non response or
acquiescence/satisficing
Evaluating Methods
Reliability - Consistency or repeatability of measures
oInterrater - how consistently do the raters/observers rate the behaviors of the children
being observed
oTest-retest - how consistent are the results of the same study being carried over time
Validity - methods measure what they're supposed to measure
Research Designs
Experimental Designs
oManipulation of the potential "cause" and look fro effects on other measured variables
Independent variable - what is manipulated and is expected to cause an effect
Dependent variable - the responses we get and shows an effect of the IV
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Theory - integrated set of principles or concepts. Hypothesis - tentative statement about relationship between variables - need to be testable. Testing the hypothesis - systematic way of evaluating hypothesis. But always check for a rival hypothesis/alternate explanation. Advantages - natural behavior because they do not know whether they are being observed, probably feasible. Disadvantages - cannot manipulate to match what you"re looking for, difficult if you"re trying to observe an infrequent behavior o. Advantages - have control over the study, have it be consistent for all participants, it is convenient to have everything be the same. Disadvantages - it is not as natural anymore and can be contrived, social desirability bias. Structured interview - predetermined set of questions for all children. Clinical interview - have a set of questions but can venture into something that is interesting about the child and learn more about them so it is not as structured.
