Positive Psychology: WJEC: As Psychology Terms Part 2

When ppts latch onto how they think the researchers want them to answer/behave (usually from clues in the experiment outline)
*see 'deception' and why that may have a use!

This is what the researcher is keen to measure. The data produced depend on changes to the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE.
E.g, how do test scores (DV) change if the lighting in the room is changed (IV).

Given a hypothesis (what a researcher expects to find), a directional hypothesis predicts a particular relationship that may be discovered.

E.g., Eating protein and fats before a test may improve test results (positive correlation)
Smoking cigarettes may be negatively correlated with male fertility (more smoking, less sperm)

The content of people's dreams is said to have meaning, often emanating from the subconscious - in dreams repressed thoughts or feelings may be expressed.
Used by the psychodynamic school.

The boundaries within which researchers tend to work (or should work) to avoid breaching ppts rights or dignity.
Key concepts used to define the boundaries include:
consent (get if possible)
deception (avoid if possible)
debriefing (if possible)
right to withdraw (to be respected)
confidentiality (if appropriate must be respected)
protection from harm (if appropriate)
considerations regarding minors and mentally incapacitated

consent (get if possible)
deception (avoid if possible)
debriefing (if possible)
right to withdraw (to be respected)
confidentiality (if appropriate must be respected)
protection from harm (if appropriate)
considerations regarding minors and mentally incapacitated
consideration of long term consequences of a trial/experiment (ppt harm, psychological harm, stress)
use of data previously gained through unethical experiments (should it be used?)

Species develop and adapt to their environmental conditions over time. Over a long period mutations from adaptation may be passed genetically to form a new species. The mechanism is through sexual reproduction.

The process of designing an experiment and how participants are allocated to the different conditions (or IV levels) in an experiment.

• experiment group with control group?

• how many ppts

• use of same or different ppts when changing conditions (independent variables)

• REPEATED MEASURES aka "within groups" (same ppts partake in each IV condition change)

• INDEPENDENT MEASURES aka "between groups" (different ppts in each IV condition)

• COUNTERBALANCE (each group does both conditions in a different order)

• MATCHED PAIRS (each IV condition uses different but similar ppts - same gender, age, profession…)

Factors or conditions that may be affecting an experiment - preferably these are to be avoided or minimised in lab experiments.
(E.g., external noises affecting ppts concentration)

Research that manipulates variables in a natural (real world) situation.
Kinds of variables: 
  building used
  contrived external noise
  visual environment (colours in room)
  no. of confederates in a location

Free association is a method where a therapist attempts to access the subconscious through providing the client with pictures or words underlined the client to freely associate other ideas or memories accordingly. It is used in psychodynamic theory.

Free well, or volition, stands for our ability to make our own choices freely, which means that what we choose is not determined by other conditions. It is opposed to determinism, which asserts that our choices are illusory.

Hormones are chemical messages released into the bloodstream by the endocrine system that then travel to different organs around the body and have an effect. For example, when adrenaline is released the heart beats faster and blood pressure rises for the familar flight or fright response.

Hypothesis is a formalised statement of the aims of a research project. It is set out as a statement predicting what may be discovered. It can be directional (that is a positive or negative correlation as expected) or non-directional (the researcher does not know what kind of correlation is to be expected).

This is also known as experimental design in which participants are allocated to different groups, each group does something slightly different in the experiment on the performance of the groups is then analysed.

The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated in an experiment. For example the temperature in the room, or the number of participants in a group study.

These are the things that make everybody different from one another, such as personality. It is a useful concept to use when examining statistical research, which may ignore individual differences between the participants. this may mean that an element of the psychological story is missing.

This refers to an experiment being consistent with the question being asked.
Also - the extent to which a study rules out or makes unlikely alternative explanations.
So if we were examining students' ability to work under time constraints, we would want to rule out confounding variables such as the use of caffeine stimulants, say.
Other explanations to a study are called 'threats'!

This refers to whether the researcher has measured what they intended to do.
How confident is the researcher in finding a cause and effect?
Has the researcher removed extraneous or confounding variables?
Did the research have an effect on the results?

Example: As part of a stress experiment, people are shown photos of war atrocities. After the study, they are asked how the pictures made them feel, and they respond that the pictures were very upsetting. In this study, the photos have good internal validity as stress producers.

Structured or unstructured (or open or closed in business speak).

Structured interviews follow a similar pattern each time, while unstructured allow the conversation to flow in an open ended manner.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Consider what they may be …