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The document discusses experimental methods in psychology, focusing on the manipulation of independent variables (IV) to observe their effects on dependent variables (DV). It outlines different experimental designs, including independent measures, repeated measures, and matched pairs, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of controlling for uncontrolled variables and demand characteristics to ensure valid results.
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0 ratings0% found this document useful (0 votes)
9 viewsResearch Methods
The document discusses experimental methods in psychology, focusing on the manipulation of independent variables (IV) to observe their effects on dependent variables (DV). It outlines different experimental designs, including independent measures, repeated measures, and matched pairs, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of controlling for uncontrolled variables and demand characteristics to ensure valid results.
Uploaded by
aahanasolanki711Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 56
[Aditi and AahanaSend fitery
fc
Research methods
V4
Figure 1
Watch or imagine someone thinking really hard,
perhaps trying to remember a name or work out
the answer to a question, where do they focus their
eyes? Ithas been suggested that in such situations
we look upwards and to the let (Figure 1.1)
Consider how you might test whether this is true.
Would you wait for people to get confused and
then look at what they do, or would you give them a
puzzle to make them think? How would you decide
where they are looking? What would you do to be
sure that they aren't just looking around the room
for clues? Being able to decide on the answers to
questions such as these is the basis of designing
experiments in psychology.
1.1 Experiments
Anexperim
to look for:
investigates the way one variable, called th
responsible forthe effect on another, the
To test this the researcher fainiBHIBHES)
the independent variable (IV) to produce two or more
‘levels’ or conditions, such as creating ‘bright or ‘dull’
lighting or selecting ‘early’ and ‘late’ in the day. The effect
of thes jon the dependent variable (DV) is
measured. For example, an IV of thedbrightness of lighting
might affect attention, with people being better at paying,
attention when the light is bright. How well people pay
attention would be the DV. If there is a big difference in the
DY between the conditions, the researcher would conclude
that the IV has caused th the DY, ie. that the
brightness of light affects attention (Figure |.2)
lows researchers
Th
CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
of such uncontrolled variables should
re be minimised, e.g. by keeping all factors except
lhe LV the same in each condition (or ‘level of the IV")
The levels of the LV being compared may be two or
more-eeperimenta conditions such as bright and
dull artificial lights) or there may be one or more
experimental conditions that are compared to asgontro
-Condition(c.g. artificial light compared to daylight).
The control condition is simply the absence of the
‘experimentalyariable, For example, in a comparison
of the eflect of eating chocolate on paying attention,
ve might compare either the effect of eating one bar or
‘wo bars (Iwo experimental conditions) or the effect of
cating one bar to no chocolate at all (one experimental
and one control condition).
uncontrolled variable: a variable thateither acts |
andomly affecting the DVin al levels of the |
IV, or systematically, ie. on one level of the IV |
(called a confounding variable) so can obscure |
|
|
the effect of the IV, making the results difficult to
interpret, the effects of which have not or cannot
be limited or eliminated
experimental condition: one or more of the
situations in an experiment that represent
different levels of the IV and are compared (or
-ompared to a control condition)
control condition: a level of the IV in an
experiment from which the IV itself is absent. Itis
compared to one or more experimental conditions
‘A researcher might conduct an experimentto test. |
the effect of the independent variable af time
of day on the dependent variable of happiness
of students. They might always use lessons
immediately after a break or lunch so the students
had always eaten recently since this might affect
happiness and act as an uncontrolled variable.
This would be a comparison between two
experimental conditions.
2 el
Look at the Research methods in practice box.
Can you suggest:
© two different times of day to use as the
of the independent variable
how the dependent variable might be
measured
one other uncontrolled variable that it would |
be important to control?
Experimental design
‘The way that participants are allocated to different levels,
of the IV iscalled the experimental design. They may
participate in all, or only one, of the levels of the IV,
The three experimental designs are:
© ide pERGEHEHTERTTRES design
* repeated:measuresidesign
* matched pairsidesign
experimental design: the way in which
participants are allocated to levels of the IV
independent measures design: an experimental
design in which a different group of participants
is used for each level of the IV (condition)
Independent measures dedign
In an independent measures design, a separate eroup of
participants is used for each experimental condition or
level of the IV. This means that the data for each level,
the Vis ndepeadeat becuse is bot lated 2)
other data: it has come from different people. Note that
this is a different use of the word ‘independent’ from.
‘that im the ‘independent variable’.
‘If we wanted to know whether seeing people behaving
aggressively on television hadvgmgetesnnelii¢etso ©
could (rather unethically) expose a group of young
\
%, People to aggressive televiston and then wait for them to
grow older. However, it would much quicker to compare
‘wo groups of adults, one group who had been allowed
to watch aggressive TV as children and one group who
hhad not been allowed to, This second example uses an
independent measures design
An independent measures design is good bec:
participants only encounter th
once They are therefore unlikely to notice or respond
«© clues that micht tell them the aims of the experiment
(demaiiehaPcteristies). One problem is that there
mught be itividualidifferentes bet een participants in
the groups for each level of the IV that could iifluence
the findings. For example in a study on the eflect of
noise on dreams, more people who normally remember
their dreams well might end up in the ‘no noise’ group.
If so, itcould look as though noise prevented dream
recall when in fact it had little effect. This risk can be
reduced by the fandantallacation of participants to
diferent conditions. This spreads possible differences
‘between individuals across the levels of the IV. To
randomly allocate participants, each person is given a
‘umber, and the numbers are then randomly divided
into two groups. This can be done by giving each
participant a number, putting numbers into a hat and
drawing out two sets, o by using a random number
generator (¢g. on a computer) to do the same thing.
‘This and other 9 independet
‘measures designs are presented in Table 1.1
se the
demand characteristics: features of the
experimental situation which give away the aims
They can cause participants to ty to change 7
their behaviour, for example to match theie
beliefs about what s supposed to happen, which
reduces the validity of the study
random allocation: a way to reduce the effect
©f confounding variables such as individual
differences. Participants are put in each level of
the IV such that each person has an equal chance
cof being in any condition
Repeated measures design
1 a eepeifG@lensuresdesign, the same group of people
Participate in every level of the IV. To hel
emember, think of the participants repeating’ their
Performance under different conditions. For
in a study looking at the effects of doodling on learning,
we could count the number of words recalled in the
same group of people when they did dood
they did not
le and when
The main advantage of a repeated measures design
is that each person acts as their awmsbaseline. Any
differences between participants that could influence
their performance and therefore the DV will alfect both
levels of the IV in the same way. Individual differences
are therefore unlikely to bias the findings. Imagine
that in our experiment on doodling, one person was
generally very quick to learn and another quite slow.
In an independent measures design this might cause
a problem if they were in diferent groups, but using
a repeated measures design makes the differences
between them less important, as both could show an
improvement with doodling. Individual differences
between participants that could affect the DV are
called partiipanivariables. These variables, such as
age, gender, personality or intelligence, could hide or
exaggerate differences between levels of the IV
confound or confuse the result. Such fasiablescan
‘be referred to as *eonfoundingwariables’. It is therefore
to limit the powsibleefeets of these variables
in order to be sure that any change in the DV is due
to the IY. A repeated measures design does so by
‘@emnparing the same people in each condition
‘This and other strengths and weaknesses of re
‘measures designs are presented in Table 1.1
import
the IV
ed
repeated measures design: an experimental
design in which each participant performs in
every level of the IV
participant variables: individual differences
between participants (such as age. personality
and intelligence) that could affect their behaviour
ina study that would hide or exaggerate
differences between levels of the IV
confounding variable: an uncontrolled variable
that acts systematically on one level of the IV so
could hide or exaggerate differences between
levels and therefore ‘confound! or confuse the
results making it difficult to understand the effect |
ofthe IV on the DV CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
‘ ach individual participates in every level of the IV.
hey will,perform the same ot two Or more
limes. This can lead to a’ led an ondemetfect.
Repeated performance can cause two different kinds of
order effects. When participants\performance TAPS
because they have encountered the task before this is a
Practicereffect, This matters because participants who
Were tested on a condition second would perform better
than those who did it first. Alternatively, repetitions
might make performance worse, perhaps if they
Were bored or tired: a fatigneeffeet, In addition, the
Participants see both levels of the IV and have more
Opportunity to work out what is being tested, so are
more likely to respond to demand chariteterstes
‘Ordereffeets can be solved in two ways: by
randomisation or: Imagine an
‘experiment with two conditions: learning while listening
jo music (M) and learning with no music (N). In
qulinti’ participants are randomly allocated to
Jo either condition M followed by N, or vice versa
‘As some will do each order, anyadvantage of d
‘ne of the conditions first will probably beevenedout
{n the results, To be more certain that possible effects
fre evened out, counterbalancing can be used. Here,
{he group of participants is divided into two, so one
palf will do M followed by N and the other half N
followed by M. If on the second test there was a tiskeo
participants accidentaly including items learned in the
first test, this would be a problem for exactly half the
participants in the ‘music’ condition, and exactly half in
ihe ‘no music’ condition. Alternatively a different design
ould be used
order effects: practice and fatigue effects are the
consequences of participating in a study more
than once, for example in a repeated measures
design. They cause changes in performance
between conditions that are not due to the IV,
so can obscure the effect on the DV
practice effect: a situation where participants’
performance improves because they experience
the experimental task more than once, for
example due to familiarity or learning the task
fatigue effect: a situation where participants’
performance declines because they experience
the experimental task more than once, e.g. due
to physical tiredness or boredom with the task
randomisation: a way to overcome order effects
in a repeated measures design. Each participant is
allocated to perform in the different levels of the IV
ina way that ensures they have an equal chance of
participating n the diferent levels in any order
counterbalancing: a way to overcome order effects
ina repeated measures design. Each possible order
of levels of the IV is performed by a diferent sub-
group of participants. This can be described as an
ABBA design, as hal the participants do condition
Athen B, and half do B then A
matched pairs design: an experimental design
in which participants are arranged into pairs.
Each pairs similar in ways that are important to
the study and one member of each pair performs
ina different level of the IV
Matched pairs design
The problems associated with both independent
measures and repeated measures designs are overcome
ina matched paiesdesignaFor each participant,
another person i found who is similar in ways that
are important to the experiment, such as age, gender,
intelligence or personality, to make a pait. This
matching is done on variables relevant to the study, 30
ina study on the effects of playing a violent computer |
‘game, participants might be matched on thei existing
level of aggression. Identical twins make ideal matebed>
they are both the same and are
helo have had very (Figure 1.3),
Figure 1.3: Identical twins are perfect participants for 8
ed pairs design : [independont measures
Experimental design
Strengths —_) Different participants are
Repeated measures -
used in each level
| so there are no orde
| Paricipants see only one
level of the IV,
| the effect of demand
| characteristics
| Random allocation to
| | levels of the IV can reduce
| | the effects of fidlividualy
| | Silanes
|
\
| Weaknesses
| hard to find orf participants
Pantcipant variables are |
| Participants
unlikely to distort the effect | level of the IV
Of the V, as each participant | the eff
does all levels.
charac
Counterbalancing reduces | Part
order effects. less likely to distort the
effect of the IV than
independent meas
design as individual
differences are matched.
Uses fewer participants
than independent measures
or matched pairs so this is
‘good when participants are
Different participants are
Used in each level of the IV
| so there are no order effects,
are at risk,
| Panicipant variables can
| |e rere
| ore pera nial
| differences between
| poricperts in ferent
| levels of the IV.
| More participants are
| needed than in a repeated
| measures design so the
| study may bedessrethieal
| | if participants are harmed
| | and lessigecive if there
| isa le because
| panicpante ate hard to tnd. |
Table 1.1: Strengths and weaknesses of experimental designs
Different groups of participants are then used for
‘cach level of the IV, with one participant from each
pair being in each level of the 1V. By using different
Participants in eacl
Order effects could distort
The similarity between pairs
the results
istWfnitee! by the matching
rocess, 30 the right
As participants see the c Friabe
measimmmaltask more than | chosen in advance for this to |
once, they have @featen | prose 3° |
to démand
characteristics *vaiiability of matching pairs
may be limited, making the
sample size small altho
some studies conducted o
twins use very large numb
of pairs)
the matching of participants minimises the influence
of individual differences. This and other strengths and
Weaknesses of matched pair designs are preseated in
Table 1.1 CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
? CAMBRIDGE INTERN,
REN Ry Geeta oy
‘ a cOndUetedha:
0 look at the effect of violent computer gam
(Figure 1.4) There were wo exparrenig
Conditions (violent and non-violent), The
dependent variable was the children’s subsequent
Violent behaviour. The experimental design
chosen was an independent measures design,
with diferent children in each of the experimental
conditions. fa repeated measures design had
‘been used, in which the same children played
each type of game, there could be order effects.
For example, aggression caused by playing the
violent game could still aflect children in the non-
violent game condition if they did this second. If
this were the case, the problem could be reduced
by using counterbalancing,
Uap
Hiledeaabanals
n experiment
However, the use of an independent measures
design risks participant variables, such as the
‘original level of violence of each child, affecting
the results. This could be reduced by either
Using random allocation of participants to each
condition or by using a matched pairs design. In
| this case, children with similar aggression levels
| would be put in the different conditions. To
avoid demand characteristics, the children would
| ideally be unaware that they are in an experiment,
| pethaps by telling them that they are in a
computer games competition.
have
Figure 1.4: Ave children more violet after they
computer game than before?
eee IATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
Look at the Research methods in practice box.
Think about the following:
+The study could have had another level of the
IV that did not use a computer game but did
use a computer, such as looking at non-violent
pictures. Would this have been a control
condition or another experimental condition?
An order effect that could arise ifa repeated
measures design was used for this study is
that the children might get fed up with playing
computer games by the second condition,
Is this a practice effect ora fatigue effect?
Suggest a participant variable, other than
initia level of violence, that could affect the
results of tis stud
Types of experiment
- Laboratory experiments
Many experiments in psychology are conducted in
artificial surroundings. Experiments conducted in this
‘way are called laboratargeexperiments; the participants
are not in their usual ¢nyinonmentifor the behaviour
they are performing. Theastificiaksituationmeans that
the researcher can try to limit the effect of variables
that might affect the DV. For example a laboratory
experiment on the attention of schoolchildren in high
and low light levels could be conducted. It might be
investigated by testing the children on a computerised
attention task conducted in a psychology room ina
“university In this situation, the researcher could choose
to control variables such as noise, that could also affect
the children'seoncentration®
laboratory experiment: a research method in
which there is an IV, a DV and strict controls. it]
Tooks for a causal relationship and is conducted |
ina setting that is not in the usual environment
for the participants with regard to the behaviour
they are performing |
a guecy 38 younger people eae
WN. He tests them by company foe
pressa button ay tet
the emotionon a
Each paricpont
his is his
W Quickly they
they have
face ofa screen. This is the Dv,
its at the same dista
Screen This is one aspect of the standard
the procedure. Ina
the participants
time their reacti
from the
isation of
Pilot study, Dr Singh had shown
Pictures and used a stopwatch to
ions himself, but he found he was
Dot very eensistent in hisabimgto stop timing
exactly when the participant responded, He
therefore changed to the computerised system to
Wpwrewelabsty. The pictures
both younger and older
valid test. The an
that it would be possible for Dr Singh's coll
Dr McArthur to replicate the study exactly
People to ensure it was a
\AESEERARTEESION mean
league,
ACTIVITY 1.3
Lock at the Research methods in practice box
Write an operational definition for the
independent variable,
Write an operational definition for the
dependent variable.
Name and explain the experimental design
bbeing used in this study.
Suggest why the use of faces of a range of
ages would have improved validity.
Field experiments
Returning to the idea atthe beginning of this section,
about the effect of light levels on attention, the schoo!
children could alternatively be tested by altering the
‘number of lights tuned on in their normal classroom.
Light level would stil be the TV and the levels of the IV
could be all the lights on’ and ‘half the lights on’. The
DV of attention could then be measured by looking at
the children’s scores on a topic test they were due to take
‘that day. This s still an experiment because it has an TV.
and a DV (and there will still be some controls such as the
amount of time they spend studying for the test). However,
a
10 their normal ennan
Evaluating field experiments
Field experiments like laboratory experime:
Fange of strengths and weaknesses
in Table 1.2. Itis a li
and than
a laboratory experi cnt, although some control
suill be used
lower. However, validity
ina field experim:
ore be
icpants
‘may ben
are performing a task that seems normal, ina fannie
environment, School students taken into a univer
laboratory might concentrate really hard becawse they
are nervous or interested, which might cover un amy
uilferences between the clleren iagslevel conditions
This means the findings from th ‘sould not
tenner sings ashlee
slasstoom, This isa problem of
field experiments often have betes
laboratory experiments (but not always)
‘eval validity than
Another advantage ariss ifthe participants are unaware
that they are in an experiment. If so, there may be
fewer demand characteristics than there would be in a
laboratory experiment. These are any features of the
‘experiment that give away theaimsand cause participants’
behaviour to change, for exampic to try to ‘make the
‘experiment work’. However, if participants are unaware
that they have been in aguidymhey have not been given a
choice about participating and may not have wanted to,
field experiment: an investigation looking for
2 causal relationship in which an independent
“Variable is manipulated and is expected to be
‘responsible for changes in the dependent variable.
Ris conducted in the normal environment for the
Pantcipants for the behaviour being investigated
and some control of variables is possible |
generalise: to apply the findings of a study more
widely, e.g. to other settings and populations
‘ecological validity: the extent to which the findings
(of research conducted in one situation would
generalise to other situations. This is influenced by
whether the situation (e.g. a laboratory) represents
the real world effectively and whether the task
relevant to real life (has mundane realism) validity
(Causal relationships can be
| Sood control of variables, raising
1 Research methods
| As participants are in their normal stuation
for the activity being studied, they are likely
to behave naturally, making the results
Getermined as only the IV should be | "*Pesentatis
| affecting the Dv.
| Standardised procedures raise
reliability and allow replication.
Weaknesses | The artificial situation could
make participants’ behaviour
lowering
ecological validity.
Participants could respond to
their behaviour.
Table 1.2: Strengths and weaknesses of experimental methods
‘A.research team is deciding how to test the effect,
cof watching television on children’
| aaa cc
y wll ial behaviour by observing
how often the children help a doll that cries. They
are consideri }ods, both
using an independent measures design. One is a
| laboratory experiment, in which each child is ether
shown a cartoon in which the characters are very
helpful or a cartoon with characters who behave
in a neutral way. Each child is then given a doll
for 10 minutes and observed to count how many
times they help the aying doll. Alternatively, the
children could be observed in a field experiment.
In this study, half of the children's parents would
show their child the pro-social cartoon on the family
demand characteristics and.aiter.
| !f participants are unaware that they
are in a study, the problem of demand
characteristics is less than in laboratory |
| experiments.
| Control of variables is harder than in |
| laboratory experiments, lowering refabilty |
| and making replication difficult. |
The researcher will be less sure that
changes in the DV have been caused by
changes in the IV than in a laboratory
experiment.
Participants may be unaware that they are
in a study, raising ethiesl Sues.
television. The other half would show their child
the neutral cartoon. Each child would be videoed
‘with doll for 10 minutes and the researchers would
view the video to count how many times the child
helped the crying doll. The field experiment would
have more ecological validity than the laboratory
‘experiment because the children would be ina
familiar environment, in which they would normally
play, so would be less likely to be nervous than if
they were in a laboratory. For this reason, the results
of this study may generalise to other situations,
such as performing pro-social behaviours in school
‘or at the park. However, a disadvantage of the field
‘experiment, is that there may be distractions in
the home that prevent them from paying attention
to the cartoon. CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL F
| Want the Research methods in practice box
| Whi you identify?
independent variable
of the following ca
* Dependent variable,
Does the field experiment have a contro! |
condition?
Can you suggest a variable that it would be
important to controf?
What effect mi
ight demand characteris
in this study?
ics have
What other details would you need to be able
to replicate the laboratory experiment?
Hypotheses in experimental
studies
At the very beginning of this chapter, we considered
4 study that Dr Huang was conducting, with the aim
to investigate whether mind maps or revision apps are
more effective at helping students todearm(Figure 1.5)
Dr Huang would also need to write a hypothesis based
on this aim. A hypothesis is as a nt. It
Provides a little more detail about the variables being
investigated than the aim.
Importantly, a hypothesis should b at is
it should be possible for it to be shown to be wrong.
This is essential, otherwise an alternative hypothesis
Would always be accepted! At A2 you may learn
about the psyehodynaimiie®ipprolich and the work of
a famous carly psychologist. Aspects
of his work were cantemtiousypartly because some of
his ideas were nonefalsifiables such as his ideas about
‘our behaviour being the consequence of unconscious
motives. It has been argued that one problem with
unconscious miG8V@"s that they are impossible to test,
in anebj eve is a basic example: a young
woman is slightly rude to a young man. Freud could
‘use two different explanations. One is that the young
‘woman unconsciously hates the young man, and she is
avoiding being as rude as she unconsciously wants to
be. The other is that the young woman unconsciously
Joves the young man, and she is avoiding showing her
unconscious desir so is behaving in a contrary way.
The problem here is that Freud cannot be wrong-either
YCHOLOGY:
‘OURSEBOOK
she feels unconsciously
fit with his explanations
The
Positive or negative-both would
in hypothe
ina study (sometimes called the
can be wnitten in several dife
‘ways They differ in terms of the nature of thoprediatign
they make about the results of an investigation
hypothesis (plural hypotheses): a testable
| Statement based on the aims of an investi
ation
| alternative hypothesis: the testable statement
Predicting a difference in the DV between levels
| ofthe independent variable in an experiment {or
a relationship between variables in a correlation)
Figure 1.5: Revision apps such as Quizlet and Gojmo
‘may, or may not, help students to learn
Hypotheses should have o
For example, in the hypothesis “Students using revision
apps will learn better than students using mind maps’,
“> we do not know how *betterearnifie’ will be measured,
or which apps are being used because the variables are
not operationalised. To be complete, the hypothesis
needs more detail, such as ‘Students using the Gojimo
revision app will gain better test marks than students
using mind maps
Non-directional hypotheses
An edicts that
there will be an effect, but not the direction of that
effect (Figure 1.6). In an experiment, this means that the
hypothesis suggests thatthe IV will change the DV but
not whether the effect will be an increase ora decrease.
This type of hypothesis is chosen ifthe effect of the
variable is being tested for the first time, so there are no
previous results to suggest what the results might be.
For example, Dr Huang's hypothesis could be: There is
a difference between the effeetivenesof mind maps and
revision apps in helping students to learn. Note that itis
predicting a difference, but not which condition will be
better at helping with learning,
Figure 1.6: Unlike with a one-tailed hypothofish, you can't
see which way a two-tailed hypothofish will swim
Directional hypotheses
‘When most previous research or other evidence suggests
the nature of ‘direction’ of an effect we can use a
‘cdirectionatonestatled)strypothesiseln an experiment, this
‘means saying which condition will be ‘best’, i. produce
the ‘highest’ scores (and in a. whether
there will be apposi ion).
Returning to Dr Huang’s study, there might be evidence
that revision apps are better than mind maps, perhaps
‘because they are more ‘agtivesand being actively
engaged helps memory. This is a directional prediction
so the hypothesis might be: Students using revision apps
will learn better than students using mind maps. Note
that the opposite fpredictio®could also be expressed as
a directional hypothesis. This would be: Students using
‘mind maps will lear better than students using revision
‘apps. We might make this prediction if we believed that
writing a mind map yourself was more effective than
Just re-using ready-made materials on revision apps.
1 Research methods
Null hypotheses
The alternative hypothesis isan alternative tothe ll)
‘wypathesis In an experiment, the null hypothesis states
that any difference in the DV between levels ofthe IV
48 so small that tis lkely to have arisen by chance. The
concept of chance becomes important iningerentiah
“Satistics’. These are mathematical processes used to find
‘out how likely it is that the patternofiresults (a diference
or a correlation) found from the sample of participants
could have arisen by chance. This information helps us
to infer whether the findings would apply tothe wider
population, When you read about the corestudies,
the most important results are the ‘significant’ ones.
This word has a particular meaning, that there isa
‘mathematically significant probability thatthe pattern
in the results could not have arisen by chance. So, when
inferential statistics are used, a ‘significant’ pattern
enables the researchers to reject their mull hypothesis and
accept their altemativeliypothesi. If, on the other hand,
the patter inthe results is non-significant, the researchers
‘must accept their null hypothesis: that te difference or
correlation could have arisen byehance
‘There‘are two ways to write a null hypothesis for an
experiment. In the case of Dr Huang’ stud, the null
hypothesis could be writen either as: There wll be no
difference between the effectiveness of mind maps and
revision apps in helping students to learn or Any difference
in effectiveness of mind maps and revision apps in helping
students to learn is due to chance.
statement predicting -_ i valve
related to another, for example that there willbe
a difference in the DV between levels of the IV in
an experiment (or that there will be a relationship
between the measured variables in a correlation)
directional (6n6:t8i1ed) Fypothesis: statements
predicting the direction of a relationship between
variables, for example in an experiment whether
the levels of the IV will produce an increase or a
decrease in the DV (or in a correlation whether
an increase in one variable will be linked to an
increase or a decrease in another variable)
a testablesstatement saying shat |
any difference or correlation in the resultsisdue |
| to chance, that is, that no pattern in the esults— |
| has arisen because of the variables being studied
see
\
1s > CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY:
Ethics in experiments
The role of;ethiesin psychology is discussed in Section
110. Hi
e we will briefly consider ethics in experiments
(Figure 1.7), participant in a laboratory experiment
'slikely to know that they are participating in a study
and can readily be asked for theirinformed consent,
However, forthe sake of yalidity it may be necessary to
deceive them to avoid them working out the aim of the
study and altering their behaviour, i. to reduce demand
“Scharacteristi€s There is therefore a need to balance ‘good
ethics and good science, such as high validity. Infield
“experiments, in contrast, it may not be possible to gain
‘consent as the participants may be unaware that they
are even in a study. This isamethicabproblem because
Participants should have the right to know what they are
entering into and to agree to participate or not. They
should also have th ‘hich they cannot
oi they do notes ee ey are in a study. In
order to achieve a balance between good science and good
ethics, itis therefore very important that participants in a
field experiment are effectivelyprotestedfromharm,
In experiments, whether they are in a laboratory or the
field experimenters may sometimes need to actively
lie to or mislead participants. This is called deception,
and may be necessary to reduce the risk of demand
characteristics affecting participants. Deception should
be avoided and, where possible, the reality of the study
should be explained to the participants afterwards in
a debrief. This is often much harder to do in a field
experiment than a laboratory experiment and it may
even be impossible. The use of deception should,
however, be avoided if possible
informed:consent: knowing enough about 2
study to decide whether you want to agree to
participate
srightstonwithdraw®a participant should know
they can remove themselves, and their data,
from a study at any time
protectionifromharmeparticipants should
not be exposed to any greater physical or
than they would expect in
their day-to-day life
ae
Figure 1.7: Researchers mus
{900d ethics and good scien:
leve a balanc
In all experimentsaprivacy andeonfidentiality ar
important. Privacy can be respected in laboratory
experiments because the tests or questions used arepres
‘Planted "ete natural setings ofa feld experiment,
however, thee is a risk of invading a participant's
ot pethaps discovering something
that they wouldn't want the researcher to know so
researchers must be careful of this. Confidentiality
can be respected in all experiments by keeping the
Participants’ data seeurtandeanonymous, altho
if the participants are unaware that data has be
collected, as in afield experiment, its important to
ensure that they cannot be individually identified,
for example by their place of work.
articipants should not be
deliberately misinformed (lied to) about the aim
or procedure of the study. If this is unavoidable,
the study should be planned to minimise the risk
cf distress) and participants should be thoroughly
debriefed. It may be done to reduce the effects
‘of demand characteristics but should be avoided
‘privacy: participants’ emotions and physical
space should not be invaded, for example they
should not be observed in situations or places.
where they would not expect to be seen
Participants’ results and personal
information should be kept safely and not
released to anyone outside the study A psychology department ethical committee is
looking at aresearchypraposalifora study about
the effect of on a therapy designed to
help people See verons only plan
to ask for consent about part of procedure they
will use listening to an imagery-based relaxation
recording - and not their full aim. Although they
intend to tell ll the participants they will have
pulse monitors and be in darkened rooms, they
also intend to use deception. They will deceive the
participants about which level of the independent
variable they will be allocated to. Rather than telling
them what will eally happen ~ their pulse rate
should fall the researchers will give them false
information by teling them that some people see
disturbing flashing lights. When the participants
ate given the limited information atthe start of
the study they will also be told that they can
leave at any time, thus giving them the right 10
withdraw. The instructions on the recording tell the
Participants to imagine relaxing, intimate thoughts.
‘The participants will also be reassured that they wil
‘not be asked about these thoughts, which ensures
their privacy is protected. When the participants join
the study, each will be given @ number, which will
be used to identify their data so that their names do
ot have to be used, ensuring their confidentiality
Look at the Research methods in practice box.
Which of the following can you identify?
‘+ The type of experiment being planned
+ The experimental condition of the
independent variable
+ The dependent variable
+ The experimental design
Can you suggest one way in which participants
would not be protected from harm in this study?
Suggest why participants may want to withdraw.
Why might it be necessary for the researchers to
deceive the participants?
What is wrong with the hypothesis ‘an imagery
based recording will help people to relax’?
1 Research methods
Applying your knowledge of
experiments to Movel’research
situations
You should be able to recognise experiments (including
the IV and DV, and be able to them, ie.
define them in detail) to decide whether an experiment
is a laboratory or field experiment and to evaluate them,
cg. in terms of controls, standardisation, ethics, and
reliability and validity
In addition, you should be able to plan an experiment;
choosing the type of experiment (laboratory or field),
deciding on and operationalising an IV and a DV,
Questions
Barry and Anouk are deciding how to test whether
gender affects artistic ability. Barry suggests doing a
study in the psychology department where they ask
students to come in fora study about memory in which
they must redraw a complicated image. Barry and
‘Anouk can then see how well they do it. Anouk thinks
it would be better to,persuadethe art teacher to use an
art class and set a lesson where students have to copy
the same complicated image.
11 Explain the type of experiment that is being
suggested:
a by Barry
bby Anouk
2 The independent variable is the same in Barry's and
Anouk’s studies, as is the dependent variable.
a Describe the independent variable (IV),
b Describe the dependent variable (DY).
3 Explain one ethical issue that is clear from the
‘sprocedurethat Barry suggested,
4 Suggest one other ethical issue and how they could,
avoid problems with this issue. AM NTERNATIONA
12 Self-reports
1n a sett the partic
‘anformavon about themselves directly. This different
trom experimental tests oo
researcher finds the d
Pant gives the researcher
ervations where the
4 out from the participant. There
are tWo Main ways to conduct a self-report: uain
‘eedtuestionnaire or amintgrmew. Both types of sel
allow the researcher to ask the participa
Questionnaires
Ina questionnaire, the questions are presented to the
Participant in written form, The two techniques for
doing this are as {oman peng! exercise or gnline.
‘There are several different types of question. The two
‘most important question formats a
Fe closed questions,
hich have a fixed set of possible responses, and ape
‘Wostionsemhich ask for descriptive answers in the
Paruicipant’s own words
(Closed questions can take the form of simple choices,
such as those asking for yevno answers or items from
a list, Other forms of closed questions include rating)
‘ealestwhere a number is chosen, eg. between O and 5)
‘and IRGFP wes, which ask the respondent to say how
much they agree with a statement such as ‘Obesity is not
Important’ or "Exercise is a necessity’ using the choices
“strongly agree / agree / neither agree nor disagree /
disagree / strongly disagree’. Some examples of closed
questions are as follows:
+ What is your gender: boy or girl?
‘= How do you travel to school? walk / bicycle / bus /
train / car
+ Indicate which animal(s) scare you: dog, spider,
cat, rat, fish, rabbit, bird. [You may tick as many
as you like}
‘+ How much do you like psychology on a scale of
(0-42 (0 = not at all, 4= very much)
‘ealfmepontes research method, such as a
‘questionnaire or interview, which obtains data by
asking participants to provide information about
themselves
‘questionnaire selfepor research method |
| that uses written questions through a ‘paper and
pencil’ or online technique |
>
AS & A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
eSlonmctqUBEHERE a question format in
questionnaires, interviews or test items that
produces quantitative data, They have only |
a few, stated alternative responses and nc |
| opportunity to expand on answers
‘OPEMETUBELIBAE: a question format in
questionnaires, interviews or test items that
Produces qualitative data, Participants give full
and detailed answers in their own words, that is,
ho categories or choices are given
Open questions prompt the respondent to give detailed
answers, which may be quite long. They contain more
depth than the answers to closed questions and are
more likely to be able to explore the reasons behind
behaviours, emotions or reasoning. They typically ask
“Why...? or simply ‘Describe... Some examples of
open questions areas follows
+ Why-do you believe is important to help people
wh sulle fromyphobias?
Describe your views on the use of social media sites
with regard to encouraging helping behaviour,
Explain how you would respond if you were told
to hurt another person,
Evaluating questionnaires
Questionnaires, which often use manly closed questions
are faitlyeagytoanalye as they produce a total of each
category of answers making it simple to summarise the
findings Iis also possible to work out averages, which
can belp to describe the pattems in the results Where
_CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
questions on what they said. A colleague,
Or McArthur suggests that both methods
have limitations. Interpreting the responses to
the unstructured interview might lead to very
subjective data, especially as Dr Singh already
believes the finding that the new shopping centre
layout encourages helpfulness. Although the
data from the closed questions in the structured
interview might produce more objective
measures, this would limit opportunities for
asking participants to expand on their answers.
The colleague suggests that a semi-structured
interview might be better.
Xena
Look at the previous Research methods in
practice box.
Why is the first of Dr Singh's suggestions a
structured interview?
‘Why would the data from these questions be
more objective?
Why is the second plan an unstructured
interview?
What isthe problem with subjective
interpretations ofthe participants’ responses,
in the unstructured interview?
Suggest why a semi-structured interview
would be better in this case
Questions
5 Shareen and Judith are investigating people's
phobias. They have decided to use self-reports,
Shareen is suggesting using a questionnaire and
Judith wants to interview people instead
@ Suggest one closed question and one open
{question that Shareen could use.
b Suggest one reason why Judith might want to.
conduct an unstructured interview
© De
cribe one ethical problem that might arise in
either Shareen's or Judith’s version of the study.
1.3 Case studies
A casesstudyis a detailed investigation of a single
instance, usually just one person, although it could
bea single family or institution. The data collected is
detailed and in-depth, and may be obtained using a
variety of different techmiqueseFor example, in one
case study, a participant may be interviewed, observed,
given tests and asked to fill in questionnaires. Case
studies are particularly useful for looking atwranescases
where a detailed description is useful, and for following
developmentak:changes where the progress of a child,
or a person with a disorder, can be tracked through
their improvement or decline. Case studies are therefore
sometimes linked to therapy but itis important to |
remember that when the case study as a research method
|
is being discussed, the therapeuticpurpose is not the
‘main aim.
In addition to using different methods or techniques
‘within a case study, different sources ofjevidence may be
used. These could include interviewing the participant
themselves, their relatives or other people such as.
colleagues to obtain a wide range of information about
the individual's history, as well as accessing pre-existing
information such as medical or school records.
Evaluating case studies
In some ways, the findings from case studies are highly
valid, as the individual is explored in great depth and
within a genuine context such as their work or family
‘Validity may be improved further usin,
where the us of diferent techniques should profece
similar findings, for example observations and interviews
with the participant and questionnaires for their family
should all lead to similar conclusions.
KEY WORDS
‘<€a8@28002Y: a research method in which a single
instance, e.g. one person, family or ing
is studied in detail
eRHISMGWUISHIOR: is when different of
observations, interviews and te
|_ study the samesphienamenoR. ff
similar results, this suggests the ———
japant’s behsiout
ng out about the part
siepanicpant’s gamle. Sn °
ia al punion, tbe socal ae meen NN
ast as welt “Theat thinking and these ‘emotions as well relatives to fill out “pquestionnaire. If the sane results
Mera geal RON SETAE nent oat ge methods SHEE
havo se heaccopment otc Sad 2 all te conederaton 9 PARE
bem reper This may make te seus af ane one Parga Ne
ip wth the Fr outook, whieh woul ce ments hal BANE
sabi et {nformed consent, and particular attention should be
Muimvaded and that
siggy, The level of detail
we the questions asked nie pracy 18
nea ncxpants pave fe and TREY
Me fase to answer them. Th
paid to ensunin
Confidentiality
o being able 1
deta) In addition evalyate the case tad
study This
me) et nae
Sitanstateriedarts, ment Miter
enya NY BO Rinse which Could involve Bing dtl PS the participant (OF
sould isk breakin tegmideline oF confidential instance such as & family of insutution) YOU would
instance ig nants
{echmigues you wou!
ecg ga, You would als need 10 5 toexplain
wang ould plan the analysand ater ANS of
biny ao an sug sateen arc
etal peo onl few researchers TNS 0
sod eth et with the ence, reas ha YT
the yet aj that i 0 take an EXE
find ard of the nang for example when IY
unbiaet at heparpant has ui: So irene
sath a rly external viewpoint might
interpret the findings differently. Tn addition, the causal Piguceed
mtr peri tothe individual beng staied 50
Mewes
‘Apsychologst ina sleep cineca bo
wg study on a patent, PMA.
Saige wy rove few ter instances orfonensat —Coneeet}
ot 2Pemerabsabliy of findings from acasestuly whe He ng cary baa dreams for several Yea
isvery simi win has had veep labratry where 689
Toeents can be vdeoed to record shaven
i pater Seeptalng and sleepwalking, The
Applying your knowledge of paychologist uses an BEG elecvoencepralcare”
: Payenet a that records brain waves) 10 flow
case studies to novel research Fame sleap cycies and to detect when the patient
situati Penne tthe patient is then woken uP 296
tuations + ae bocttherr emotional state and what he
‘You should be able to recognise case studies, and when anes about A tests also conducted when
itis appropriate to use one. You should also beable to qeerraent snot drearing, they are again wiser
aaasePzibl techniques that could be used incase tio Sd asked about their emotional tate FYI
Pe aren asked to Keep 2 dream dary tO record
Study. When making these decisions, its important
toconsider the validity and reliability of the findings
‘One way that the validity can be improved is through
viangulation, where different methods are used within problems wath nightmares started and how anes
the ease study to obtain the same information: for they occur
ra eathe bad dreams occut. Members of PMS
“erat have been interviewed to find out when he CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A Leve
{ you can, work in par Individually, look atthe
ice box and answer |
search methods n pract
| the following questions or share the question
| berween you with one person doing the
pumbered questions and one person doing the
‘odd-numbered questions
1 How many different methods and techniques
can you identify?
2 Give two reasons why this is a case study
3 The psychologist is concerned that if the
patient PMA wanted to withdraw from the
Prods, this might be quite difficult. Explain
why this might be so.
Explain the ethical reason forthe researcher
4
reterring to the patient as PMA,
5 Suggest one other ethical issue that might be
2 problem in this study.
15 Suggest one methodological issue that might
ibe 2 problem in this study.
Peer assessment
ook at the answers given by
our pais,
inven e sider the following point for
your partner. Con
each question:
1 each of the ideas given a research method
Bs technique? Are there any others?
re are only two features that make a
2 eet case study. Do they have them both?
‘atures, which are not strictly
study, also included?
1
‘Are other fe
processary for 8 caSe
isthe explanation complete?
Check the reason given. It should be
4 eretidentilty not ‘privacy’. Why would
‘privacy’ be incorrect?
ethical issue suggested relevant to this
5s, why? not, why not?
methodological issue suggested
the
: eet to this study? If so, why? If not,
why not?
PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
Questions
6 Damon and Inka are planning a case study of
2 person living with a Usability. t0 investigate
responses 10 situations imsohsing help.
a Suggest three techniques that Damon and Ir
might use in their case study
bi Describe two ethical problems that mig]
ane inthe study that Damon and Inka
are planning
ii For one of these problems, suggest a
Possible solution.
¢ Explain whether the results from Damon
and Inka’s study would be typical of the way
everyone would respond to such situations
1.4 Observations
(Obsseryations involve watchin !
‘There are many ET ce:
that observations are conducted and we will consider eat
intam, Anguatmeanal tes choices is important both
for understanding and planning obgervationalstadies
Thosettingiia Which the observation takes place is one
such choice: A-gaturalistiSGESERfinn is conducted in th
panicipants’ normal environment, wilSUFIMEATerenCe
From te eset incite th wiakorpiaal
eaviFORMERL. A controliedmatserratjon is conducted ina
situation that aS becn manipulated by the researchers
‘This may be in terms of the social environment, such as
varying gr0Up Sizes or adding a model, or in terms of the
physical environment, such as providing objects for play
different fo0ds or new locations. Controlled observations
‘can be done in either the participants’ normal environme
‘or in an aruficialisituation such as a laboratory
1: a study conducted
by watching the participants’ behaviour in their
without amar
the researchers in either the social or physical
‘environment
coampalagpabemnnnten: ‘a study conducted by
snatching the partcipants’ behaviour ina situation
in which the social or physical environment has
been manipulated by the researchers. It can
be conducted in either the panicipants’ normal
environment or in an artifical stuation hh
unstructured "@b¥€PVEHOR: a study in which the
le range of possible
usually confined to a p
ng of a study to refine the
jories to be observed
structured-observation®a study in which
inited'range |
the observe
behaviouralcategories: the activities
Yed in an observation. They should be
1 (clearly defined) and should
cecal 2 continuous streammof Bctiity intoiserate
fecordablerevents. They must be observable
Scions rather than infemadistates
[tthe beginning ofa study, observations may be non-
focused, that is, the whole range of possible behaviours
is considered. If this continues throughout the study, itis
called arvunstructured observation, More often, the range
being studied is narrowed to a fixed set of behaviours, a
technique is called a structured observation. The specific
activities to be recorded are clearly defied in behavioural
Categories. This helps the observers to be consistent,
ic it improves ihtersobserver reliability.
Another decision to be made is the role of the observ
in the social setting. This may be participant or non-
participant. A is part of the social
operationalise
Setting so may, for example, engage in conversation with
adults or play with children. Aw
does not become involved in the situation being studied.
This can be achieved by watching through one-way
lass or by keeping apart from the social group of the
participants, for example by sitting in a separate place
such as a bench in a park.
the consistency between
two researchers watching the same event, i.
whether they will produce the same records
researcher who watches
Fom the perspective of being part of the
|
social setting
Per Eescome involve
aresearcher who does |
the situation being studied |
1 ch methods
The r
is obvious
hidden or disguised so the participants do not know
individual is an observer). A participant observet
would be overt, if they were holding a clipboard. When
+ is disguised as a member of the
‘a non-participant
CTY),
a participant obser
social group (Figure 1.9) or whe
observer is physically hidden (eg. by using
they are covert |
Participants cannot be aware that they are being
watched if the observer is covert. This increases validity
roi is unlikely that participants would be affected
by being observed, so demand characteristics and the
effects of social desirability are reduced. However,
ise practical issues, as the observer
covert observations ra
thust be either hidden, far away or disguised in their role
This may make data collection more difficult, potentially
ind reliability. Furthermore, covert
reducing validity a
as the participants
observation raises ethical issues
cannot give informed consent, and if they work out
mnt observer's role this can cause distress
a partiipal
Stseret: the role of the observers
fo the participants
‘eovertiobserver: the role of the observer is
ot obvious, e.g. because they are hidden
eaguced
Figure 1.9: Acovert participant observer is disguised by
being part ofthe social group >
Evaluating observations
Naturalistic o
turalistic observations have the advantage that the
behaviours seen are true to life. They are more
reflect the way the individuals really behave then fhe
is interference inthe situation from researchers as isthe
case in controlled observations. However, there is no
suarantee thatthe behaviours bein studied will actualy
‘cur ina naturalistic situation, so it may be necessary
to use a controlled observation, :
Using an unstructured observation ensures that any
important behaviours that happen are apcommtsed and
recorded. However, it may be very difficult to collect
data on all the activities agouratelwand many behaviours
may betamlamaide the aims of the study. Itis therefore
likely especially when only epesifiometivitis are of
interest, that a structured observation will produce more
reliable data as the observer will only need to focus on
a small number of categories.
The role played by the observer, and the participants’
awareness of this, affect validity If participants are
‘unaware of the observer, or can ignore them, theit
activities are more likely to reflect their normal
behaviour. This means that covert observers would
Produce more valid results than overt ones. However,
in the case of covert participant observers there is an
ethical issue of deception. The participants may interact
‘with the observer in ways that they might have chosen
not to if they had been aware thatthe individual was a
researcher. This could invade their privacy and cause
harm by distressing them. However, an overt observer
‘may alter the behaviour of the participants as they
are aware that they are being watched. This would
reduce the validity of the findings as the activities being.
recorded are less likely to reflect real-world behaviour.
Applying your knowledge of
observations to novel research
situations
(Observations can be used either as a research method
of as a means to collect data in other research methods
such as case studies, experiments or correlations.
‘You should be able to distinguish between these two
situations. Observation is being used as a research
method in itself when the study consists solely of a
means to collect data by watching participants and
recording their behaviour directly to provide data.
Observations are used as a technique to collect data
CAM v1
SRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
about variables in other research methods when they are
used to measure the dependent variable in an experiment
or one or both variables in a correlation. In a case study,
observations can be used alongside other techniques to.
explore a single instance in detail,
‘You will need to be able to decide when itis appropriate
to use observations as a method, or as a technique within
other methods You should be able to
chores about
to be able to suggest ways of achieving these, such as how
‘to make an observer participant, or covert
In addition to being able to select and evaluate the
‘observational method and the different techniques, you
should beable to plan studies using any of the techniques
in.a way that is appropriate to a given aim. All ofthe
‘technique’ decisions (eg. naturalistic, structured,
participant, overt) need to be made for every observation,
So, you may need to choose and describe the location for
a naturalistic observation or how the environment will
be controled; to be recorded
ina structured observation; how observers would aim to
be included inthe socal seting (participant observation)
‘or avoid the socal setting (non-partiipant) and how an
observer could be made covert
Se easing ae
Dr Huang is interested in whether her students
detect each others emotions and plans a controlled
observation. She asks tree students to act 2s
confederates. They are told to take iin tums to
appear quite sad in the common room at lunchtime
| Dr Huang ison lunch duty wth a colleague so they
‘ean act as non-partcipant, overt observers as they
walk through the common room. The students will
|, take no notice of them as they are used to them
being there. Dr Huang suggests that she and her
| colleague use a lis of specific behaviours to record,
0 they are doing a structured observation. This wll
also help to raise interobserver raiabilty as they
will be working from the same definitions, such as
recording shows concern without action’ if people
look atthe confederate without moving towards
them, if someone goes up to
the confederate and asks them ifthey are OK and
‘takes action’ ifthey engage in a behaviour such as
putting their arm round the confederate of buying
them a drink
a a |
2 > Look at the Research methods in practice box
«Suggest one other behavioural category that
might have been included in the structured
‘observation and define it
If Dr Huang had conducted an unstructured
‘observation, how would the method
have differed?
‘An alternative plan would have been to have
conducted a naturalistic observation and
watched to see if any students appeared to
be sad and how others responded. Outline
one way it would have been ethically more
acceptable and one way in which it would
have been ethically less acceptable.
Suggest how Dr Huang could have used a
participant, covert observer rather than being
an overt observer.
Questions
7 Debra and Jin want to use observations to find
‘out about the behaviour of animals. Debra wants
to go to the park and hide in a tree to observe the
animals that lie there. Jin thinks it would be better
to set up an artificial situation and watch laboratory
rats interacting with objects they would put ina
special box
‘a Who is suggesting a naturalistic observation
and who is suggesting a controlled observation?
b Explain whether the observers in Debra’s study
would be overt or covert.
¢ Foreither Debra’s or Jin’s suggestion,
decide whether it should be conducted as an
unstructured or a structured observation and
justify your choice.
1.5 Correlations
A correlational analysis isa technique used to
investigate a link between two (measured
variables). Gonzelatons are useful when itis possible
nly to measure variables, rather than manipulate ‘hem,
ie. when an experiment cannot be conducted: This
may be because changing the variables would Not be
practical or would be unethical. For example, it would
1. Research methods
not be practical or ethical to conduct an experiment
which controlled children's longsternfexposure (0
television and it would not be ethical to increase real-
life exposure to violent television programmes. Both of
these could, however, be investigated using correlations
Real-life exposure of a group of children to violent
sie ‘could be measured and correlated with
another measured variable, such as how aggressive their
behaviour was in school. =
“-cowariables: the two measured variables in
‘a correlation
‘eorretation: a research method that looks for a
relationship between two measured variables
‘A change in one variable is related to a change
in the other (although these changes cannot be
assumed to be causal)
‘causabirelationshipea link between two variables
such that a change in one variable is responsible
for (i.e. causes) the change in the other variable,
such as in an experiment
‘To look fora correlation between two variables each
variable must exist over a range, sometimes called
continuous data',and it must be possible to measure
them numerically. Suitable variables would include
durations of time, totals of tallies aumbers from a
rating scale or test scores, Several techniques can be
{ised to collect data for correlations, such as self-reports,
bservations and different kinds of tests and tasks
Itisimportant to recognise that any link found between
two variables in a correlation cannot be assumed to be
causal relationship, that is, we cannot know whether
the change in one variable is responsible for the change
{nthe other variable (Figure 1.10). Ths is possible in the
vise of an experiment, as we can know that there is @
‘ bt & st
EvEnuEe € ¥ COUPSEBOOK
A
Questions to embark on a course of treatment. such as a new drug
8 EAus and Tok ae regime or people experiencing a hfe change, such as at
has and Talos are goung to ind mut f ther 3 IBeepinnng GPR pregnaeey.
Sortelation beeen te amount of cffe people
ber of dreams they recall
3 Explain why th
not an expenment
tional study and
Suggest whether the results will show a positive
correlauion or a negative correlation.
© i Su
IgEest OMe Way to measure the amount
of cotlee that people drink.
Explain either one strength or one
weakness of the way you have suggested
‘measuring this vanable.
1.6 Longitudinal studies
A is one that follows a single group of
participants over time, studying one or more variables -
a By measuring variables over weeks, months,
years or even decades, a longitudinal study can detect
changes in individuals. People change over time, not
just as they age but as they accumulate life experiences.
In addition, longitudinal studies can explore the effect?
of specific ‘experiences’ such asiteryentios or events!
ondevelopmenty
The use of longitudinal studies is an alternative to
‘cross-sectional studies as a way to look at effects over
time. In differences betweell
people of differing ages, or at diferent stages (such as!
different periods after an intervention) are explored by*
comparing different groups at one point in timé For
‘example, to explore changes in WHiSQMUIRERS with age, 2
cross-sectional study could look at 10-,20-, 30-, 40- and
$0-year-olds (Although a cross-sectional study allows
researchers t0 investigate dongstermaniiuences, it is
difficult to separate changes over time from differences
due to the individuals growing up at different times. For
example, if a cross-sectional study looking at helpfulness
in people of different ages found a pattern in the results,
this could be due to differences in upbringing at the time
‘when they were children or the changing expectations of
Society rather than their agefSuch problems are avoided «
jna longitudinal study.as a a groupof
participants sare
articipants all selectp aestuneme Mpeorsta,
chosen and tested at different time pomtg A cohort +
‘might be individuals born in a certain year, people about
Loupdina sendin may hae ications
or deagne Some es COCO TSEPOPE
in sarates wo inves atetbem, ch a BATE
tanouons or belts as we grt olde, Other stds
record longitudinal changes in two or more vanables
to investigate possible comets Between thera, such
tSenponee i2a aultcaaral ciety ood prejudice.
Yetotber we an experimental design whee one or
of time, are expected to change as a consequence
of a deliberate manipulation. In the last case, the
Vanables being measured are dependent variables and
the testing at different time points in relation to the
deliberate manipulation is an independent variable.
To provide a baseline for tracking long-term change,
the variable is usually measured at the outset of the
study, and again after one or more periods of ume.
This procedure can be thought of as a very long-term
repeatgd measures design, so is sometimes referred to
as “gesSimamenl This procedure can
be usedcTor example, to measure the consequences of
interventions such as educational healthy mental iealth{
‘or occupational ones that aim to improve outcomes
‘One level of the independent variable is the baseline test
or’ time point and one or more repeat
testing sessions occur, providing a ‘posteimteryeation’
level of the independent vanable and possibly more
time points during or long after the interveation as a
follow-up.
(USRGRUSEPHURY: 2 research method that
follows a group of participants over time, weeks
to decades, looking at changes in variables
to explore development or changes due to
| experiences, such agintenventions, drugs.or
therapies
compares people at
| different ages or stages by comparing different
| groups of participants at one point in time
egohomaa group of participants selected at the
J | ee
Evaluating longitudinal studies
‘A longitudinal study has the clear advantage over a
fross-seetional study in that researches can be confident
any changes they detect are due to the passage of time
and not the effect of differences between the cohorts of
participants representing each age or stage. This has two
benefits Loma diem, ie repeated measures
‘designs retest the same individuals. This means that
the researchers can be confident that differences are not
{ue to participant variables A second consequence is
tat it also overcomes
For example, in the Terman study of highly intelligent
‘children (see Figure 1.11), differences in educational
pathos cre oppor unis and other octal con
{that could have lematic in a cross-sectional
tidy would not influence this longitudinal study.
‘Confounding variables such as this, which are aspects
Of the environment, are called situational sariables. This
imethod is therefore the most valid test of developmental
‘changes
Figure 1.11: Lewis Terman, who began a long-running
longitudinal study in 1922
1n experimental design
Where the same participants are tested on two or
more occasions over a long time, e.g. before and
after a six-month intervention
le: a confounding variable
caused by an aspect of the environment, for
example the amount of light or noise
‘ataligeneequotiantiiGlng measure of general
feasoning and problem solving ability
1 Research methods
A very long-running longitudinal study isthe Terman
Lie Gye Say of Chien wit ign aan
which began in 1922. Although the study eventaally
debunked the myth that a high intellgenceqemtient
‘WQvinevitaby leads to success, some of is parti
did become famous such ashe prycbologit Lee
Cronbach, who specialised in psychological testing
and measurement, became president ofthe American
PsychologicalAssociation.
However, precisely because longitudinal studies lat
fora long time, the sample sie ikly to fal this
iscalled ‘Terman’ initial sample, in
1922, was 1528 children, Ina compas between dala
collected in 1996 and 1999, although 162 questionnaires
were returned in 199 just 119 partipants provided
data on both occasion (Hoan & Velasquer, 2011),
Where did they go? Participants may levestadies
for many reasons, but thes tend to be more apparent
ina longitudinal study. They inciode- growing older
and deciding to withdraw consent (eg when consent
was orginally given bya parent, boredom (Com
bing repeatedly tested), moving home and becoming
uncontactabl life events that prevent participation
(oor physical or mental health, lack of time becoming
homeless or going to prison) and, ultimately, dying.
‘sample.attrtionsthe loss of participants from
2 sample overtime. This ay be de to many |
reasons, such a losing contac, the deseo |
discontinue, for example though boredom, being
Unavailable or death |
‘A smaller sample is likely to belessrepresentative, but
especially so in this case. Sample attrition means that
generalisability is progressivelytareatened as the sample
‘becomes concentrated on willing, motivated, people who
live stable, healthy, law-abiding lives. These people may
not be the most psychologically interesting! The people
‘who stay ina longitudinal study may even do so because
they feel ‘special’ by participating, creating an issue for
validity. For example, Terman’s participants knew they
hhad high 1Qs and the sense of being important was
reinforced by having a name: they were referred to as
Terman's ‘Termites’ Participation could, for example,
have given them a motive to compete or succeed, or &
sense of community ie. the very act of participation
will had made these individuals different from non-
participants, even ones of similarly high intelligence.
REESE
a) CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVE
Another problem caused by theghurationot
longitudinal studies relates to re!
lit. To ensure
thal data collection at each time point is consist
the measures used need to be standardised, Ho
over tume, ways to measure variables may be improved.
Potentially leading to the need to introduce different
better measures. In addition, researc
the study may move on so, f
hers working on
for example, the individuals
administering interviews may not remain constant,
Conversely, if researchers continue working on a study
for a long period of time, they are likely to get to know
the participants if they have direct contact with them
The changing development of these rela
nt of these relationships can
also be confounding variables i
Finally, longitudinal studies can present particular
cthical issues For studies starting with children,
obtaining consent in a way that the children understand
’s desirable, as well as gaining consent from their
Parents or guardians. Furthermore it is harder to
decide whether a child wants to withdraw from a
study than itis with adults, who are more likely to
speak up for themselves. Participants must also be
repeatedly asked for consent (and reminded of their
right (o withdraw) and must be recontacted at each time ,
point. This requires the maintenance of an extensive
bank of contact details, which presents an issue for
confidentiality
Applying your knowledge of
longitudinal studies to novel
research situations
Longitudinal studies provide information about
long-term changes. They are therefore suitable for
that relate to development and
ageing, but also to any other life changes. Such changes
include both those that are the result ofa life event, such
as recovery from an illness or the effects of a marriage
or divorce, and those that are the consequence of a
manipulation, such as attending a course or planned.
‘exposure to social groups. You should be able to identify
the variables being measured and whether these are
simply being tracked aver regular time points to monitor
ible changes. or whether there 1s a manipulation
nfluence Which 1s acuively intended to cau
In the latter ca Id be "before, durin
after and follow-up’ in relation to the manipulation
This situation Would be a Igngirudiastudy wi an
experimental design,
time points ¢
You will need to be able to decide when to use a
Jongitudinal study rather than any other method.
and which type of longitudinal study is appropri
in a given situation. You should also be able suggest
variables to study and ways to using
a test, questionnaire, interview of observation, and how
the results could be analysed and used
In addition to being able to select and evaluate the
longitudinal method, you should be able to plan a
longitudinal study in a way that is appropriate to a
given aim, such as whether or not there is a manipulated
independent variable. Remember that you need to
identify one or more variables to investigate, consider
hhow they will be measured, and decide om the intervals
between the testing time points and how you wil
standardise procedures to ensure consistency overtime
as well as planning how to re-contact participants to
retest them
Questions
9 Hanif is planning a lo
changes in professional ability as adults pr
through their careers. He has a
participants from different types of employment
and has various measures of cai
such as how much they earn, the senionty of their
position in their organisation and how many stalT
in the organisation are above and below
udinal study to measure
a Suggest how often Hanif should cont.
participants to track their progress.
b Hanif wants to measure how happy they
are in their career. Suggest how Hanif could
measure this.
¢ The participants will need to be recontacted
cach time Hanif wants to test them. Si
how Hanif could do this 1,7 The definition,
manipulation,
measurement and
control of variables
variables are factors that change or can be changed. In
Mettriments these are te independent and dependent
abibles as wel as variable that ae or are not
ontroled, In correlations, there are two measured
‘atiables called co-variables
_ Baperiments look for changes or differences in the
Mependent variable (DV) between two or more levels
ye: independent variable (IV), which are set up
«By the experimenter. tis important that the IV is
© gperationalised, so that the manipulation of the
Ronditions represents the intended differences. At
is sere of tis chapter, we discussed the idea
BE the afm of a study, that is, what the researcher is
ying to find out. The aim refers to the variables but
ot necessarily very clearly. Operational definitions of
ables help to add clarity to the intention expressed
the aim,
Consider a study testing the effect of age on
usceptiblity to false memories. The TV would be age,
for example, ‘young, ‘middle-aged’ and ‘old’
{BrOUp It is important to know how old the people in
the groups are; this is operationalisation. You might
‘perationalise ‘young’ as under 20 years old, ‘middle-
‘aged’ as 40-50 years old and ‘old’ as over 70. The DV
Bist also be operationalised, soit can be measured
effectively. We could operationalise the DV by counting
the number of details ‘remembered’ about the false
fiemory or how convinced the participants were that it
was true,
KEY WORD
aim: the intention of the study, the idea being
tested or the such as to
investigate a question or solve a problem
1 Research methods
Dr Huang is thinking about buying new chairs for
her classroom. Het aims to explore whether hard
Gr soft chars help her students to work better
(Figure 1.12), She wonders whether to predict
non-directional (two-tailed) hypothesis: There is
2 difference in work rate of students sting on
‘comfortable and uncomfortable chairs. Another
psychology teacher says that students respond
well to other comforts ike access toa drinks
machine or snack bar, and the soft chairs might
‘make them happier, so they work harder. Or Huang
rewrites her prediction as a directional (one-tailed)
hypothesis, saying: Students on comfortable chairs
wall have a higher work rate than ones sitting
‘on uncomfortable chairs. third teacher is not
Convinced and suggest that if the students are too
comfortable, they wil become sleepy and lazy, 0
«work ess. The hypothesis would then be: Students
«on comfortable chairs will have a lower work rate
than ones siting on uncomfortable chairs. Ths s
also a directional (one-tailed) hypothesis. Her null
hypothesis in all cases) would be: Any difference
in work rate of students sitting on comfortable and
Uncomfortable chairs is due to chance.
‘Now imagine a study that aims to look for a link
between sleep and emotions. A non-directional
hypothesis might be: There will be a correlation between
amount of sleep and emotional reactivity. A possible
directional hypothesis could say: There will be a positive
correlation between amount of sleep and how emotional
someone is. Note that the hypothesis does not say
that one factor causes the other to change. The null
‘ypothesis here would be: Any correlation between
‘amount of sleep and emotional react
ty is due to chance.
Figure 1.12: Would you work harder in lessons if you had
more comfortable classroom chairs? Controlling of variables
Psychologists need to control variables in their stud
tebe more certain aout he ince oe
salidty In particular, in experiments itis impornnt to
that i, ones that have
8 consistent effect 0 they confound, Le ceo ne
results, Confounding variables act on the DV selectively
in one level of the TV so can interfere with the recite i
one of two ways. One possiblity i that they ean work
against the effect of the IV, counteracting its effect on
the DY, so preventing areal effect from being identified
Alternatively, they can increase the apparent elfect of
the TV and so suggest that there isan effet that doesnt
really exist. These variables are the most important
to control
Other uncontrolled variables, which have a random
effect on the DV across all levels of the IV, are not so
Problematic. The difficulty isto identify which variables
Will be important to control before the experiment starts.
This is one function of a pilot study, a preliminary test
of the procedures of a study. The intention isto identify
potentially and
control them. This prevents or limits their effect to avoid
‘making the results difficult to interpret if it is hard to
separate their effects from those of the TV.
Consider Dr Huang'’s study of students and chairs.
Perhaps Dr Huang compares one class in a room with
the new (soft) chairs and another class in a different
room with the old (hard) chairs. If the room containing
the new chairs happens to have better lighting,
Dr Huang may find that the students in the ‘soft chairs’
condition perform better. However, this may be due
\o the confounding variable of brighter lighting rather
than the comfort level of the chairs. This is an example
of a situational variable, because lighting is an aspect,
of the environment. Another possible confounding
variable is how hard-working the individual students
are. We might expect normally hard-working students
to be randomly distributed among the different classes,
in which case this variable isnot a problem. However,
suppose that all the students in the ‘soft chairs’ class do
arts and humanities subjects and all the students in the
ard chairs’ class do maths and sciences. If Dr Huang
A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
happens to use a test of data analysis as her,
the DV, she might find that the students in the “hard.
chairs’ level of the IV perform better. This would
suggest that the soft chairs make students perform worse
but could in fact be due to the uncontrolled variable
of subject groups. This is an example of a participant
variable, because the difference has been caused by a
feature of the individuals, ie. their ability in maths
Standardisation
Controls make sure that the levels of the IV represent
what they are supposed to, ie. that the differences
between them are going to create the intended situations
to test the hypothesis. This helps to ensure validity. tis
also important that every participant is treated in the
same way. This is the process of standardisation. One way
that this is achieved is by having standandined instructions
that give the same advice to every person in the stu).
Imagine a questionnaire testing attitudes to helping
behaviour. All participants would need to have the same
advice about how to fill it in, so that any effects of social
desirability-the influence of needing to give answers that
were acceptable to society-were equally likely.
‘Seafdareisediinstruetion® the written or verbal
information given to participants at the beginning
and sometimes during a study that ensure the
experience of all participants, regardless of level
of the IV, is as similar as possible
The procedure itself also needs to be standardised. This
involves having equipmeat or tests that are consistent,
ice that measure the same variable everytime and always
do so in the same way. Consider the questionnaire about
attitudes to helping again. Al the questions should
focus on the same aspect of behaviour, ie. helping,
rather than some looking at a different but possibly
related factor, such as being friendly or happy. In
Taboratory experiments, standardisation is easier than
in other studies, as equipment is likely to be consistent,
for example stopwatches or brain scans. However, some
of these measures, such as brain scans, may need to be
interpreted and this must also be done in a standardised
way (Figure 1.13). 1 Research methods
“igure 1.13: Scientific instruments are likely to produce
ive, reliable data
ditions (to achieve validity) and to measure the DV
consistent (reliable) way, and to be able to justify
ee choices You will also need to beable to decide
hat controls it is appropriate to use and to suggest how
ese can be implemented. a
Pilh Or Huang’s experiment about classroom
irs, the IV of hard and soft chairs must be
Operationalised. The text also referred to them
8 ‘comfortable’ and ‘uncomfortable’ chairs, but
fthis still does not make clear what is meant by
figte'c! and ‘soft’. This could be done by saying
Pe chairs with wooden/plastic seats’ and ‘chairs with
Padded seats’. Operationalisation of the DVis also
Needed. The text referred to working ‘better’ and
‘harder’ but this is also incomplete. We need to
‘expand on the idea of work rate, which was also.
Used. This might be measured by counting the
umber of pieces of homework handed in late, or
the time spent doing extra work. Either of these
Would indicate the amount of work being done.
There are many confounding variables that could
be important in this study, for example, some of
the students might work harder anyway or the rate
Cf work might vary with the weather. f students
worked harder on sunny days, this would be a
situational variable. The important variables to
control are those that could confound the results
For example, if there was a choice of chairs, the
students who chose to sit on comfy ones might be
the laziest. fleft as an uncontrolled variable, this
could alter the results by making it look as if soft
chairs made students work less.
In the description of the correlation on sleep and
‘emotions, the co-variables were the ‘amount
of sleep’ and ‘how emotional someone is’ or
their ‘emotional reactivity. It is important to
operationalise variables in correlations too. An
operational definition of ‘amount of sleep’ could
be the hours and minutes spent unreactive,
or could be identified with an EEG indicating
rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye
movement (nREM) sleep. A questionnaire could
be used to measure their emotions, with an
operational definition of ‘emotional reactivity’ as
how likely @ person is to respond negatively to
innocent comments, or how often they argue.
a Nane
Look at the Research methods in practice box.
For the experiment:
Suggest one other way the IV could
be operationalised.
‘Suggest one other way the DV could
be operationalised.
Would a possible difference between how
lazy students were be a situational variable or
a participant variable?
Suggest one other possible uncontrolled
variable.
the correlation:
Suggest one other way the variable of
‘emotions’ could be operationalsed.
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