relationships aqa a2 psychology

RELATIONSHIPS

Formation

Maintenance                    Breakdown  Reward / Need satisfaction theory – Byrne and clone Attraction through reward and punishment = operant conditioning

·         Behaviourist theory of relationship formation motivated to seek rewarding stimuli. What we find rewarding reflects our unmet needs

·         Rewarding stimuli produces positive feelings. Operant conditioning = repeat behaviours for outcome

·         More likely to meet people of you’re in a good mood. Neutral stimulus can become positively valued due to association

Positive reinforcement = fun company, family, reflects unmet needs

Negative reinforcement = removal of stress if you are upset and the stress is removed through support

Similarity – Byrne clore and Smeaton

Berscheild and reis = more likely to be attracted to people who have similar personality traits

Capsi and herbener = married couples with similar personalities tend to be happier

Attitude alignment occurs when partners disagree they modify their attitudes to become similar

A02 – Rosenbaum suggests dissimilarity is more important than similarity in relationship formation.

Social exchange theory – Tribaut and Kelly

All social behaviour is a series of exchanges that individuals use to maximise rewards and minimise costs. People exchange resources with expectation that they will earn profit.

Profit and loss = rewards could be being cared for, companionship or sex. Costs are effort, financial investment and time wasted.

Comparison level = Tibaut and Kelly proposed that we develop a comparison level this is a result of our previous experiences

If the potential profit in a new relationship exceeds our comparison level it will be judged as worthwhile. Comparison level of alternatives = person weighs up potential increase in rewards from a different partner minus costs.

A02

Profit and loss = Rusbult and Martz = when investments are high and alternatives are low, this could still be considered a profit situation and a woman might choose to remain in such an abusive relationship

Comparison level = Support can be found in looking at how people in a relationship deal with potential alternatives – can deal with them by reducing potential threats

Simpson et al = rated alternatives and people in a relationship gave lower ratings

Social exchange theory has been criticised for focusing too much on individuals perspective and ignoring social aspects of relationships eg communication. The theory has a selfish nature and it generalises individualist cultures.

Maintenance of romantic relationships

Equity theory – Walser et al

Inequality and distress = in social exchange theory all behaviour is a series of exchanges that minimise attempting to maximise rewards and risk.

Equity theory is an extension of the underlying belief assuming people strive to achieve fairness in a relationship. People will feel distressed if they feel the relationship is unfair.

In equity theory any kind of inequality has the potential to cause distress. The same is true for those who receive a great deal and give little in return. Inequitable relationship leads to dissatisfaction, the greater the perceived inequality the greater the dissatisfaction.

Ratio of inputs and outputs = equity does not necessarily mean equality. What is considered fair in terms of input and output is a subjective opinion. This is explained in terms of a person’s perceived ratio of inputs and a subjective assessment of relative outputs.

Equitable relationship = partners benefits minus costs = their partners benefits less their costs

A02

 Exchange and communal relationships

Clarke and Mills disagreed with the claim that all relationships are based on economics. They distinguished between exchange relationships and communal relationships. Exchange involves keeping track of costs and rewards but communal are governed by desire to respond to needs.

This disagrees with social exchange / equity theory and argues things will balance out in long run

BREAKDOWN OF RELATIONSHIPS

Duck:

·         Lack of skills – lack interpersonal skills, lack of social skills, others perceive them as not interesting

·         Lack of stimulation – in social exchange theory people look for rewards lack of stimulation could be boredom

·         Maintenance difficulties – can have a strain if don’t see each other e.g. long distance relationship

A01 Sexual selection – evolutionary

To enhance sexually reproducing species males are more brightly coloured to attract females this can be seen in the design of a peacock.

Intra sexual selection = mate competition. Members of one sex usually male compete with each other to access members of the other sex. The winner (victor) is able to mate and so sex contents passed onto next generation.

Intersexual selection = mate choice form of selection involves preferences of one sex. Men seek sex earlier in relationship

Short term mating preferences = men lower standards

Long term mate preferences = invest heavily poor mate choice would result in loss of valuable resources. Females attracted to physical protection. Females can only have one child a year.

Parental investment in relationships

Males can opt out of parental investment in a way that females can’t. Parental investment theory = sex that males larger investment will be more sexually discriminating. The sex that makes a smaller investment is competing for access to higher investing sex

Females invest more in offspring = more discriminating in choice of partner and males compete with other males for access to higher investing females

Parental investment = anything that parents put into children such as money, time, resources, these increase chances of survival at the expense that parents can’t invest in any other offspring. Parental investment may also be time spent protecting young and risks taken to protect them.

Male attitudes to parenting might be shaped using evolutionary explanations of parental investment. Cuckoldry = investing resources in a child which is not your own. Infidelity = cheating on your partner.

A01

Influence of childhood on adult relationships

Attachment

What we experience as romantic love in adulthood is a mixture of 3 behavioural systems acquired in infancy = attachment, care giving and sexuality systems. Attachment is related to an internal working model by bowlby, the model can lead to attachment disorders.

Child abuse

Physical abuse in childhood can lead to depression and anxiety. Sexual abuse has been associated with psychological impairment in adulthood. It could also affect trust and isolation from others.

Interaction with peers

Childhood friendships

Children learn from experiences with other children. The way a child thinks about themselves is determined by specific experiences which are internalised. Friendships are training grounds for adult relationships.

Adolescent relationships

Attachment shifts from parents to peers. Romantic relationships redirect intense interpersonal energy towards a romantic partner. Relationships allow emotional and physical intimacy. Dating in adolescent is advantageous can also become maladaptive.

A02

Support parental relationships

Frayley meta analysis = there is a relationship between attachment style and later adult relationships. They found correlations from 10 to 50, one reason for low correlation is because insecure anxious attachment is more unstable.

Childhood abuse

Berenson and Anderson support the claim abused children have a difficult time developing adult relationships. Women who had been abused in childhood displayed negative reactions towards another person but only with people who reminded them of their abusive parents. = Process could lead to individuals using inappropriately learned behaviours.

aggression a2 psychology AQA

AGGRESSION

Bandera and Walters believed that aggression could not be explained using traditional learning theory.

SLT suggests we learn by observing others. Our biological makeup creates potential for aggression, the actual expression of aggression is learned.

Observation = learn aggressive responses through observation. We watch behaviours of our role models then imitate this behaviour. Whereas skinners operant conditioning claims that children take place through direct reinforcement.

A01

·         Mental representation = Bandura claimed that in order for social learning to take place a child must form a mental representation of events in social situations. A child must represent the rewards and punishments for aggressive behaviour in terms of expectancies of future outcomes. Appropriate behaviours arise as the child displays learned behaviours.

Production of behaviour=

·         Maintenance through direct experience if a child is rewarded for a behaviour they are likely to repeat it. A child who has a history of successfully bullying other children will come to attach value to aggression.

·         Self efficiency expectancies In addition to forming expectancies of the likely outcomes of aggression, children develop confidence in their ability to carry out aggressive actions. If the behaviour has been bad in the past they have less confidence to use aggression.

DEINDIVIDUATION (when you lose your identity as part of a crowd)

Deindividuation is a combination of anonymity, suggestibility and contagion. The theory was based on Gustave le bon’s 1895 crowd theory. It explains how an individual can be transformed when they were part of a crowd.  The combination of anonymity, suggestibility and contagion form a collective mind that takes possession of the individual. The individual looses self control and acts against social norms. 

Deindividuation is a psychological state characterised by lower self evaluation. It is aroused when a person joins a large group. If you are part of a group you feel a sense of shared responsibility. If you have a mask or are anonymous, you may not evaluate your actions as you know you won’t be judged.

Institutional Aggression

Importation model

·         Interpersonal factors Irwin and Cressey = prisoners bring their own personal social histories with them into prison; this influences adaption to prison environments.  Prisoners are not blank slates. Many of the normative systems developed would be imported with them into prison.

·         Gang membership = gang membership is related to violence members of street gangs offend at higher levels

·         Situational Factors =deprivation model this model argues that prisoner or patent aggression is the product of stressful or oppressive conditions. This could be overcrowding and how it increases fear and frustration.

·         Pains of imprisonment Skyes described deprivations that imitate experience within prison which could be linked to an increase in violence. These included loss of liberty, loss of autonomy, and loss of security.

The importation model argues that the reason why aggression exists is because people bring past aggression with them into prison. Irwin and Cressy = prisoners do not enter as blank slates.

The deprivation model argues prison aggression is the result of oppressive and stressful conditions inside such as overcrowding. The loss of freedom and lack of opportunity leads to aggression and frustration.

Institutional aggression: Genocide

Institution may refer to a whole section of society defined by ethnicity, religion etc

Violence may occur when institution relationships with another is characterised by hatred and hostility.

Dehumanisation = may make humans feel worthless and not worthy of moral consideration

Obedience to authority = milgram believed holocaust was a result of situational pressures that faced Nazi soldiers to obey their leaders

5key stages:

·         Difficult social situations leading to

·         Scape-goating (someone who takes blame) less powerful groups

·         Dehumanisation of less powerful groups

·         Moral values and rules incapable to less powerful groups = this is where killing begins

·         If others are passive in this violence the process is enhanced

Neutral and hormonal mechanisms in aggression

Neurotransmitters = chemicals in the brain which transmit messages

Serotonin = reduces aggression as you are less reactive to emotional stimuli. Low levels of serotonin associated with increased impulsive behaviour, aggression and violent suicide.

Mann et al used questionnaires and found that serotonin reducing drugs increased hostility and aggression in males but not in females.

Dopamine

The link between dopamine and aggression is less well established than the link between serotonin and aggression. 

A01

Lavine said that giving amphetamines which increase dopamine increases aggression. Buitelaar said that giving antipsychotics which reduce dopamine reduced aggressive behaviour in violent delinquents

A02

Raleigh – velvet monkeys.  Individuals with a diet that increased serotonin exhibited decreased aggression and vice versa. This suggests the difference in aggression could be linked to serotonin

Coupis and Kennedy – dopamine link may be a consequence not a cause of aggression. In mice dopamine is a positive reinforce in response to aggressive events. This suggests individuals will seek out aggressive situations because they are rewarded for them.

 Hormonal Mechanisms

Testosterone is thought to influence aggression from early adulthood due to its action on the brain areas which control aggression.

Dabbs et al = measured salivary testosterone levels. Those with high levels had a history of violent crime. Measure 692 prisoners, higher levels in rapists and violent offenders than in burglars.

Cortisol mediates aggression related hormones such as testosterone. High levels of cortisol inhibit testosterone, so low levels of cortisol are associated with increased aggression.

Virkuunen found low levels of cortisol in habitual violent offenders. Tennes and Kreye found the same in violent school children.

A02

Mazur – need to distinguish between aggression and dominance. Aggression is one form of dominant behaviour. In humans the influence of testosterone on dominance is likely to be expressed in more subtle ways than in non human animals where the influence of testosterone on dominant behaviour may be shown through aggression.

Mc Burnett et al = longitudinal study on the effect of cortisol on aggressive behaviour in boys with behavioural problems. Those with low cortisol began antisocial acts at a lower age and exhibited three times more aggressive symptoms than boys with high cortisol levels.

A02C

Gender bias – most research done on animals and males however it is known that there is biological differences between men and women

Deterministic – ignores human choice in how we behave. Implies people are not personally responsible for their behaviour.  

Genetic Factors in Aggression

Trying to determine the role of genetic factors in aggression is a question of nature nurture.

Monozygotic= identical twins share genes

Dizygotic = non identical twins share 50% of genes

Coccaro et al – tested adult twins nearly 50% of the variance in direct aggressive behaviour is down to the genetics

A02 – Miles and Carey = Meta analysis 24 twin and adoption studies genetic influence accounts for 50% of variance in aggressive antisocial behaviour

ROLE OF MAOA – no specific gene has been identified in human aggression. The gene responsible for the production of MAOA which regulates the metabolism of serotonin has been related to aggression. Low levels of serotonin are linked to depression and aggressive behaviour.

Genetics and violent crime – Brunner et al = studied dutch family many male members were violent, aggressive and had been involved in crime. These men had low levels of MAOA in their body.

Why is it difficult to establish genetic contributions to aggressive behaviour?

·         More than one gene is usually responsible and contributes to the behaviour

·         As well as genetic factors there are non genetic such an environmental

·         These influences interact with each other – genetic factors may affect which environmental factors have an influence ( gene environment interaction)

Problems assessing aggression in terms of criminal inheritance:

Many studies of aggression have relied on parental or self report; where as other studies have used observational techniques

Ø  Methodological limitations

Ø  Inconclusive evidence

Using non human animals is important as you can use experimental manipulation. This could be selective breeding programs to eliminate a specific gene. Young et al identified genetic mutation that causes violent behaviour in mice. A counterpart does not exist in humans although its function is not known.

Evolutionary explanations of aggression

Evolutionary psychologists argue that the different reproductive challenges faced by our ancestors lead to sex differences.

Male sexual jealously as a result of suspected infidelity is the cause of violence in interpersonal relationships.

In many cultures the murder of an adulterous wife is encouraged.

A01

·         Daly and Wilson

They claim that men have evolved different strategies to deter female partners from having an affair. These range from vigilance to violence and are all fuelled by jealously. This is an adaption that has evolved to deal with uncertainty.

Unlike women, men can never be 100% sure that they are the father of their children; men are at risk of cuckoldry. The consequence of cuckoldry is that men might unwillingly invest his resources into a child that is not his own.

Buss suggests male partners have strategies that have evolved for the purpose of keeping a mate. These include restricting their partner’s autonomy. ‘Direct guarding’ and negative inducements in the form of violent threats to prevent them from straying.

Male sexual jealously is claimed to be the biggest motivation for killings in domestic disputes in the US.

Another problem linked to male violence is sexual infidelity. This could be the voluntary sexual relations between someone married and someone who is not their partner.

A consequence of men’s perceptions or suspicions of their wives sexual infidelity is sexual correction or partner rape.

A02

Uxoricide = wife killing

Jealousy = early indication that man could be violent = real world application to friends and family to alert them of the danger signs

Shackelford et al = this study shows clear relationship between sexual jealously, mate retention strategies by males and violence towards women

Physiological basis for jealousy based aggression = Takanshi et al

Group displays as an adaptive response

Social psychological theories such as Deindividuation don’t tell the whole story about aggression in groups. Aggressive group displays are a product of external stimulus that triggers behaviour.

Sports

Wilson claims xenophobia is the fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners. This has been documented in every group of criminal’s displayer higher forms of social organisation.

Natural selection has favoured those genes that caused altruistic behaviour to people in our group but intolerant to outsiders.

Podalari and Balestri = found evidence of xenophobic tendancies in analysis of Italian football crowds

Territorialitly – Threat display

Another explanation for the evolution of group’s displays in sport is based on territoriality,   the protective response to an invasion of one’s territory.  Territorial behaviour is common in animal species which show threat to outsiders. This can be seen in football matches to make the opponents feel intimidated. It is an adaptive as our ancestors would have been protecting valuable resources.

Testosterone and territorial behaviour

Neave and Wilson found that football teams playing at home were more likely to win than visiting players. This could be evolved from defending home territory which leads to aggressive responses. An increase in testosterone did not occur before away games.

Evolutionary explanation for war is that any behaviour are because of adaptive benefits for the individual and their offspring.

Benefits of aggressive displays = sexual selection

In societies that experience frequent warfare, males are more likely to escape infanticide than females because of their usefulness in the battle. Displays of aggression and bravery are attractive to females.

Acquisition of the status within groups = displays of aggression could lead to peers respecting them more and would strengthen bond in group

Costly displays signal commitment – Anthropologists suggest one of the primary functions of ritual displays is the promotion of group solidarity in terms of collective action.

A02  

+ Foldesi – provides evidence to support the link between xenophobia and violent displays among Hungarian football crows = racist conduct lead to an increase in violence

This could have a cultural bias as it was done in Hungary

Lewis et al = among football fans crowd support rated most important factor contributing to home advantage

Research has provided support for the importance of aggressive displays in determining sexual attractiveness of male warriors. Palmer and Tilley found male youth street gangs have more sexual partners than ordinary males.

War is not in the genes – war emerged when moved from nomadic to settle lifestyle. People could no longer walk away from their troubles as they were tied down to one single settlement.

A2 PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH METHODS

RESEARCH METHODS – NON EXPERIMENTAL METHODS:

Self report techniques (Questionnaires and Interviews)

+ They hold the advantage that you can access what people think. You can also use observation; you can make guesses from how the person behaves.

-          It may be unreliable as the person might choose not to give you a valid answer

Good questions in a Questionnaire:

1.      Clarity questions need to be written so that the reader understands what is being asked of them.  One way to do this is to operationalise certain terms = make sure there is no ambiguity

2.      Bias any bias questions may lead to the respondent giving a certain answer. Need to avoid any leading questions. Main problem is social desirability bias – people prefer to give answers that make them look like a good person may not be truthful

3.      Analysis questions should be designed with analysis in mind. Once a researcher has collected the data the answers need to be summarised s that conclusions can be made.

-          Filter questions (include some irrelevant questions to mislead ppt)

-          Sequence of questions(start with easy questions do hard at end so they don’t get anxious)

-          Pilot (allows you to test questions and ensure there is no bias, ambiguity and that it is easy to analyse)

Quantative and Qualitive analysis

Qualitive data = WORDS

Quantitive = NUMBERS

For quantitive data you need closed questions which have a limited number of answers

+it is easier to analyse

-          Respondents may be forced to select answers that do not represent their real thoughts

For qualitive data (data that expresses the quality of things) you need open questions

+can provide rich, unexpected data on a topic where researchers can learn new things

-          It’s more difficult to analyse than quantitive data. Harder to detect patterns

Interviews

Interviews are a questionnaire held face to face or on a telephone. It can be structured or unstructured. In a structured interview the questions are decided in advance. In a semi-structured or unstructured interview some or all of the questions are developed at the interview.

+questionnaires can be difficult for some e.g. children who find writing difficult. Interviews are a better data collection method for them

+an experienced interviewer can get lots of information through the use of questioning

+semi structured or unstructured interview, more data can be gathered as questions can be changed to fit the respondent

+interviewer can clarify more ambiguous questions or give more information if needed

-          Person may choose to give an invalid answer people may feel uncomftable revealing personal information face to face, may prefer to write to down

-          Interviewer bias certain words may be empised and this could give a biased answer

Issues of validity and reliability in self report techniques:

§  Social desirability bias

§  Interviewer bias

§  Leading questions

§  Content validity

Assessing validity

§  Lie scale (one way to asses if participants are telling the truth, can insert questions to act as lie detectors)

§  Face validity( concerns the issue of whether a self report measure looks like it is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring)

§  Concurrent validity ( comparing performance on a new self report measure compare scores to demonstrate concurrent validity)

§  Predictive validity(predict outcomes you can assess the predictive validity of a measurement)

§  Constructive validity (looking at underlying construct of a test e.g. should represent theoretical views

Observations

§  Naturalistic observation (everything left how it normally is = high ecological validity)

§  Controlled observations (variables controlled by researcher = low ecological validity)

§  Unstructured observational technique (researcher notes all behaviour used with unpredictable situations. – may not pick up on more subtle details)

§  Structured observational technique (also called systematic observations, researcher uses various systems to organise observations such as: research aims deciding on area to study, observational systems how do you record all the behaviour, sampling procedures who you observe and when.

§  Participant and non participant (observer may be participant in study too likely to affect objectivity)

§  Overt and covert (overt is when participants are aware they are being observed this may reduce validity as they change their behaviour)

Designing observational studies

§  Recording data need operationalisation -divide the behaviour into a set of component behaviours. This is called a list of behavioural categories or  behaviour checklist

§  Sometimes each behaviour is given a code to make recording easier = coding system

§  A further method is to provide a list of behaviours and characteristics and use a rating scale

Behavioural categories should:

§  Be clearly operationalised and objective. Observer shouldn’t be able to make inferences

§  Cover all component behaviours and avoid waste basket category

§  Be mutually exclusive, should only mark one category at a time 

Sampling procedures

§  Event sampling (counting number of times behaviour occurs)

§  Time sampling( recording behaviours in a time period)

Evaluation of Observational method

+what people say is often different to what they say they do and observations are more valid than self report techniques

+naturalistic observations give realistic picture and have high ecological validity

+observational research provides a means of conducting preliminary investigations this produces a hypothesis for future research

-little control of extraneous variables in naturalistic observation

-observer may see what they expect to see = observer bias

-if observers don’t know they are being observed it can cause ethical issues

- If they do know they are being observed they may change their behaviour

Content Analysis

Observations can be made directly (observe first hand) or indirectly (through tv or magazine.) Content analysis is the analysis of content of something. It is a form of indirect observation.

§  Sampling method (e.g. time or event sampling)

§  Method of recording (behavioural categories or coding system)

§  Method of representing data (quantitive or qualitive data)

+ high ecological validity as it is based on observations of what people actually do      +sources can retained or accessed by others so it is replicable and therefore tested for reliability

-Observer bias can reduce objectivity and validity of findings

-          Likely to be culturally biased as interpretation will be affected by language and culture of observer.

Correlational analysis: inferential statistic tests

WILCOCON T TEST  This test is used for tests of difference where pairs of date are related, such as when repeated measures design has been used. A matched pairs is also a related design as participants have been matched.

WHEN TO USE = the hypothesis states a difference between 2 sets of data. Two sets of data are pairs of scores from one person, or a matched pair. Data has to be ordinal or interval.

One tailed	0.05	N is the degree of freedom. You have 15 participants, using a 2 tailed study and looking at a significance level of 2% the critical value is 25. Observed value is 19. To be significant the observed value must be smaller than or equal to critical value.   0.01
Two tailed	0.10	0.02
N
9	8	5
13	21	17
15	30	25
19	53	46

Mann-Whitney U test

This is a test of difference. It enables us to test if there is a difference between two sets of data. Tests of difference are usually used for experiments, for example seeing if noisy conditions reduce the effectiveness of revision.

WHEN TO USE:

·         If the hypothesis states a difference between two sets of data

·         Two sets of data are from separate groups (INDEPENDENT GROUPS DESIGN)

·        

N1 ppt in group 1

The data is ordinal or interval

	4	6	8	10
4	1	3	5	7
6	3	7	10	14
8	5	10	15	20
10	7	14	20	27

One tailed <0.05

N2 Ppt in group 2 You have 4 participants in group 1 and 6 in group 2 the critical value is 3. To be significant the observed value must be equal or less than the critical value. If the observed value is 9.24 the result is not significant.

Spearman’s Rho (spearman’s correlation test)

This test is used to determine whether a correlation between 2 variables is significant or not. A perfect positive correlation is +1; a perfect negative is -1.0. A figure of 0 = no correlation.  In this test as the no. of ppts increases the number needed for significance decreases. E.G. Rahe et al found a positive correlation of +118 due to the number of ppt (2,700) the correlation is significant.

WHEN TO USE =

·         If the hypothesis states a correlation between the two co variables

·         If the two sets of data are paired scores (if they are related)

·         If the data is ordinal or interval

There is no requirement to learn any calculation. You need to know how to determine if a correlation is coefficient is significant. If the observed value is 0.58 and you have 30ppt using a one tailed test we can say it is significant at p<0.05 as 0.58 is >0.306

WHY WE USE IT =

·         State the alternative and null hypothesis

·         Record the data and rank each co variable and calculate the difference

·         Find observed value of rho (correlation co efficient)

·         Find critical value of rho

·         State the conclusion

Chi-Squared (x2) Test

A chi squared test is used to test the significance of nominal data. We use this test when we have counted how many occurrences there are in each category (frequency data.)

WHEN TO USE =

·         If the hypothesis states a difference between two conditions or an association between co-variables

·         The sets of data must be independent

·         Data must be in frequencies (nominal) frequencies must not be percentages

Yes

There is no requirement to learn calculation. You need to know how to determine if an observed value is significant. If x2=1.984 and there was 4 ppt using a 2 tailed test we can say that the test is not significant as 1.984<9.49

 4 levels of data (NOIR) =

1.      Nominal (names)

2.      Ordinal (order)

3.      Interval (gaps)

4.      Ratio (has a true 0)

3types of experimental design =

1.      Repeated measures design (same ppt do each condition)

2.      Independent group design (different ppt per condition)

3.      Matched pairs design (ppt matched together according to variables)

Inferential statistics help us draw inferences (conclusions) from the data tested. Different inferential tests are used depending on the level of data used and the experimental design used.

To find the critical value you need:

·         The degree of freedom (number of participants in study)

·         One or two tailed test

·         Significance level

·         Whether the observed value needs to be < or > the critical value, to be significant

      EXAMPLE:

There are 20 people in your study. You used a directional (1tailed) hypothesis. 5% significance level and you have an observed value of 53.  T< tells us that it needs to be bigger than. 53 is smaller than 60 which is the critical value. 0.05 is the significance level.

One tailed test	0.05	0.01
Two tailed test	0.10	0.02
N	T = 53 T<
19	53	46
20	60	52
21	67	58
22	75	65

The scientific process

Induction = reasoning from particular to general. Make observations create testable hypothesis, conduct a study, draw conclusions then propose a theory.

Deduction = reasoning from general to particular. Make observations, propose theory, generate hypothesis based on theory, theory tested and conclusions drawn.

Peer Review = the assessment of scientific work by others who are experts in the field. The intention of peer review is to ensure it is published to a high quality.

3 main purposes:

1.      Allocation of research funding (funded by governing bodies or charities it’s in their interest to ensure they are not wasting money)

2.      Publication (ensures that research is correct and not fraudulent)

3.     

Standard deviation = measure of the spread of data (don’t need to work it out in an exam) +more precise as lots of data taken into account. - Affected by extreme values Range = difference between smallest and largest. +easy to calculate -          Affected by extreme values

Assessing research rates of universities ( funding can depend on if peer review ratings are good)

Issues with peer review=

·         Hard to find expert

·         Rival researchers

·         Publication bias

·         Preserving status quo

Biological + behavioural = psychology is a science

Psychodynamic + cognitive = psychology is not a science

Based on empirical, falsifiability, replicable, objective, theory construction and hypothesis

LAYOUT FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORT:

1.      Title

2.      Abstract (summary of everything)

3.      Introduction (literature review, aims and hypothesis)

4.      Method (procedure, design, sampling)

5.      Results ( visual representation of data eg chart significance of results)

6.      Discussion (conclusion relate back. Supporting refuting evidence, flaws in study, extraneous variables)

7.      References (sources / bibliography)

8.      Appendices

   Histograms = continuous data, interval or ratio. No gaps between bars

Bar charts = compare nominal data with categories

Scatter graph = 2 sets of data looks at correlation. Can only have 2 variables Ordinal or ratio or interval but not nominal. 

Frequency/ line graph = continuous data. Individual points plotted no grouping.

Tables = use mean and standard deviation.

Correlational Analysis

A correlation is a relationship between two variables. If two variables increase together then they are co-variables. There can also be zero correlation if nothing is happening. Correlation is not a research method, it’s a method of analysing research data.

Scatter grams

A correlation can be illustrated using a scatter gram. For each individual we obtain a score for each co-variable. The co-variables determine the X and Y position of each dot. In other words for one co-variable you locate its position on the X axis (horizontal) and for the other co-variable you locate its position on the x axis (vertical.)

Correlation Coefficient

The scatter of the dots indicates the degree of correlation between co-variables. If the dots are closely grouped together roughly forming a line from bottom left to top right this indicates a positive correlation. The closeness of a correlation is described using a correlation co-efficient. A correlation co-efficient is a number, and it has a maximum value of 1.0. +1.0 is a perfect positive correlation and -1.0 is a perfect negative correlation.

Some correlation coefficients are written as -.76, whereas others are +.76. The plus or minus sign shows whether it has a positive or negative correlation.

The coefficient number tells us how closely the co variables are related. -.76 is just as closely related as +.76, it’s just that -.76 means that as one variable increases the other decreases.

A correlational hypothesis

In a study using correlational analysis there is no independent or dependent variable. When conducting a study using correlational analysis you need to produce a correlational hypothesis that states the expected relationship between co-variables.

Linear and curvilinear

If the relationship is not linear it is curved then it is called a curvilinear correlation. For example anxiety and performance do not have a linear relationship.  Performance on many tasks is lowered when anxiety is high.

+ Can be used when it would be unethical or impractical to manipulate variables and can make use of existing data

+ If a correlation is significant then further investigation is justified. If correlation is not significant then you can rule out a simple linear relationship.

+ As with experiments the procedures can be repeated again this means that the findings can be confirmed.

-          Cannot demonstrate cause and effect

-          People misinterpret correlations, this can lead to public misunderstandings

-          There may be intervening variables that can explain why the co-variables are linked.

-          Using Correlational analysis means the study lacks internal and external validity

How to know if it is an Investigation = it does use a questionnaire to collect data, it’s not an experiment as they have an IV and DV, and it’s not a case study or observation.

Cross Cultural Studies

This is a way of seeing if cultural practices affect behaviour. It is a kind of natural experiment

+ This technique does enable psychologists to see whether some behaviours are universal.

-          Observer bias can be a problem because researchers have expectations about how the study should go and this could affect their measurements. The use of local researchers can help overcome this

-          Could be communication difficulties which can be overcome by using indigenous (local) researchers

-          Researchers may use test or procedures developed in the US this may make other cultures seem abnormal. This is called imposed ethic.

-          Group of participants selected for study may not be representative of that culture and we may make generalisations.

Meta analysis

This is when the results of many studies that have a similar hypothesis are combined. The IVs tend to be measured in different ways so the researcher uses ‘’effect size’’ as the DV in order to asses overall trends.

+ analysing the results from a group of studies rather than just one study means that the conclusions are more reliable

-          Studies are not truly comparable as they use such different research designs.

The Multi- method approach = Very few studies use one method. A combination of all sorts of methods is called the multi method approach.

Role Play

In some investigations participants are required to take on a certain role and their behaviours can be observed as if they were everyday life.

+ This enables researchers to study behaviour which might otherwise be impractical or unethical to observe.

-          Role play is acting and so peoples actual behaviour can be questioned as role play is only a prediction.

Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies

Longitudinal study is conducted over a long period of time in order to observe long term effects. In a cross sectional study one group of participants are young and one are old and they are compared for example.

+ Longitudinal studies have high control over participant variables

+ Cross sectional studies have the advantage of being quick.

-           In a longitudinal study there is the problem of attrition (study getting smaller because people drop out) a certain type of person may drop out and this may leave the study bias

-          In longitudinal study participants are likely to become aware of the studies aims and this may affect their behaviour

-          Longitudinal studies take a long time to complete and take lots of finance

-          In a Cross sectional study the participants may vary in more ways than just the behaviour being researched

Cohort effects occur because a group (or cohort) of people who are all the same age share certain experiences

·         In longitudinal studies they may only consider one cohort and that isn’t generalisable because of the unique characteristics of the cohort.

·         In a cross sectional study may also suffer from cohort effects.

PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH METHODS (EXPERIMENTAL METHOD):

Experimental hypothesis = prediction of what we think is going to happen

Null hypothesis = if there is no correlation and no relationship

Alternative hypothesis = something is happening in our experiment

Directional (one tailed) hypothesis = states that one thing is going to happen

Non directional (2 tailed) hypothesis = states that a few things  could happen

Probability = measure of how likely something is going to happen. Can never be 100% sure, use probability of 95% to express degree of uncertainty. This = p = 0.05.

 90% sure would have a P value of 0.1..  5% p level is compromise between being lenient and stringent.  In some studies you need to be really certain, so probability p=0.01 or even 0.001

Value of p = SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL

"less than or equal to" sign:  ≤    The "greater than or equal to" sign: ≥

		TRUTH	TRUTH
		DRUG WORKS	DRUG DOES NOT WORK
TEST RESULT	DRUG WORKS	TRUE POSITIVE	FALSE POSITIVE
TEST RESULT	DRUG DOES NOT WORK	FALSE NEGATIVE	TRUE NEGATIVE

Type 1 error = we think something is going on, but there is not. (P VALUE TOO LEIENT)    Type 2 error = we think nothing is going on, but there is.(P VALUE TOO STRINGENT)

LAB EXPERIMENTS conducted in controlled environment

+ can infer cause and effect

+the experiment is replicable and therefore reliable

-          Demand characteristics, investigator effects

-          Reduced internal validly as it is not like the natural setting

-          Low ecological validity

FIELD EXPERIMENT natural environment

+high ecological validity, experiment is replicable

+less experimenter effects because participants are less aware that they are in a study

-          IV harder to control

-          Lower external validity because it’s in natural environment so there are other outside factors

NATRUAL EXPERIMENT makes use of existing IVs, iv not manipulated

+high ecological validity as it is peoples real experiences

- Participants not randomly selected this reduces validity

- Study is not easily replicated

- Extraneous variables hard to control

Internal reliability = measure if something is consistent within its self

Internal reliability assessed by:

·         Use the split half method to compare a person’s performance. There should be a close correlation as a measure of high internal reliability

·         Face validity = does it look right?

·         Concument validity = compare performance

Improve internal reliability = select test items that have the most similarity remove certain items to make the relationship stronger

 External reliability = a measure of consistency over several different occasions outcome should always be the same

External reliability asses = test retest method. Leave it long enough so don’t forget what was said the first time. Give same test to save participant different occasions

External reliability improved = depends on experimental method used. It could be that the test questions are ambiguous or it could be that the interviewer needs more training

Internal validity = concerns what goes on inside study whether researcher did what they intended to do  

Factors affect internal validity =

·         Situational variables e.g. time of day, order effects

·         participant variables e.g. age

·         participant effects e.g. demand characteristics

·         experimenter bias e.g. can be direct or indirect

·         individual differences e.g. temperature

External validity = things outside of study, the extent to which the results of the study can be generalised to other situations and other people

3 types of external validity =

1.      ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY

2.      POPULATION VALIDITY

3.      HISTORICAL VALIDITY

External validity improved = enhanced through replication

Mundane realism = when research replicates everyday life

Ecological validity = if we can apply it to the real world

Design	strengths	limitations
REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN	easy to compare results, no problem with participant variables, save time and money as don’t need as many participants	Order of conditions may affect performance, may have practice effects. People may do better in condition2, can deal with this by counter balancing – split into 2 groups both do each condition
MATCHED PAIRS DESIGN	Controls participant variables	Time consuming and difficult to match participants, should always do pilot study
INDEPENDENT GROUPS DESIGN	No issue with order effects No practice effects	No control of participant variables eg age intelligence

Ethical issue	How is it managed
Protection for physical and psychological harm	Reassure participants that they can stop the study if they are distressed. Also have someone observing for people being harmed
Informed consent	Sign waver beforehand about what is going to happen. Or if under 18 get parent or guardians permission
Privacy issue	Don’t release names or details, also protect human rights
deception	Full de brief before the study letting them know what will happen. Or you can get presumed consent
Right to withdraw	Tell participant before study that can withdraw from the study at any point even after it has finished
Confidentiality	tell participants that no personal details will be used if results are published – sign agreement before hand letting them know