a level pyscholgy
what is an experiment
a way of conducting research to measure cause and effect, where one variable is made to change (IV), and one variable is measured or observed (DV) , all other variables are keft constant
participants are randomly selected
what are the strengths of experiments
- high level of control
- easy to replicate so that reliability can be checked
what are weaknesses of an experiement
- low ecologicall validity (doesnt reflect a real life setting)
- problems of demand characteristics ( when participants know they are being studied they may act in a certain way and affect validity)
what is an independent variable
the variable the psychologist manipulates and controls to see how it affects behaviour
what is a dependant variable
the variable which is measured (usually the participants behaviour) by the psychologist
what is an aim
a broad statement about what the reseach is intending to investigate
what does a well written aim include
- be focussed
- be feasible
- be researchable
- use specific language
what is operalising variables
ensuring all variables are in a form that can be easily measured
what is a directional hypothesis for an experiment
predicts the kind of difference ( more or less ) or relationships ( positive or negative) between two groups of participants or between different conditions
specifically used when previous research suggests a direction
people in IV CONDITIONS will score higher/lower on operationalised DV than people in IV CONDITION 2