PSYC 295 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Autonomic Nervous System, Smooth Muscle Tissue, Uch
Document Summary
Researchers who use observational methods must make three decisions about how they will observe and record participants behavior in a particular study. Low interrater reliability indicates that the raters are not using the observational system in the same manner and that their ratings contain excessive measurement error. The reliability of observational systems can be increased in two ways. First, as noted earlier, clear and precise operational definitions must be provided for the behaviors that will be observed and recorded. Second, raters should practice using the coding system, comparing and discussing their practice with one another before observing the behavior to be analyzed. Physiological measures can be defined into four general types. First, measures of neural activity are used to investigate activity within the nervous system. Second, physiological measures are used to measure activity in the autonomic nervous system, that portion of the nervous system that controls involuntary responses of the visceral muscles and glands (heart rate, skin temperature, blood pressure).
