PSYC 221 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Epistemological Pluralism, Demand Characteristics, Dependent And Independent Variables

• School: Xavier University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 221
• Professor: Dulaney Cynthia

Document Summary

Use self-report to determine participants" attitudes toward a certain topic. Self-report measures may introduce demand characteristics; can disguise the purpose of the study by asking random questions within the study. Distractor questions help counteract hypothesis-guessing (occurs when the participant actively attempts to identify the purpose of the research) Decide if self-report or behavioral measure will best capture participants" attitudes toward the topic. Self-report has the benefit of directly asking participants about their feelings; quick & simple; participants = potentially less truthful. Behavioral measures can provide more authentic responses, but requires more interference. Use methodological pluralism (the use of multiple methods or strategies to answer a research question) Multigroup design = an experimental design with three or more groups. Maximize the study"s power (the study"s ability to find differences between our variables when there is a real difference or the probability that the study will yield significant results)