• Internal and external validity have an inverse relationship
  • External validity : the degree to which the results of a study apply to individuals and realistic behaviors outside the study o Wants to know if it can apply to those individuals outside of the study and in everyday lives
  • Internal validity : the degree to which a study provides causal information about behavior o Controls for extraneous factors
  • Reliability : the degree to which the results of a study can be replicated under similar conditions
  • Operational definition : the definitions of an abstract concept used by a researcher to measure or manipulate the concept in a research study
  1. Naturalistic observation : wants to learn about behavior that naturally occurs for an individual without influencing the behavior o Unobtrusive
    • Primary advantage: behavior is more likely to be more realistic o This can increase the external validity of a study
    • This can also decrease the internal validity because the observers will have different operational definitions of the behaviors
  2. Survey’s/Questionnaires : used to measure mood, attitudes about a topic, or frequency of certain behaviors through self­reports from the participants o Closed ended response scale : only certain responses are valid responses to the items
  3. Allows the researcher to collect quantitative (numerical) responses so no coding scheme is needed

o Open ended response scale : they can respond in whatever way they wish

  • Requires the development of a coding scheme because the responses are qualitative

(nonnumerical) rather and quantitative

o Social Desirability : participants may also want to portray themselves more positively to the researcher and intentionally respond in a way that achieves that goal

  • Systematic Observations : data collection technique where control is exerted over the conditions under which the behavior is observed o Has the highest amount of control over behavior (this typically adds to the internal validity)

o External validity can be low for systematic observations because the behaviors being studied may be artificial

  • Archival Data: data collection technique that involves analysis of preexisting data o An observation technique
  • One can find data related to presidential approval ratings, consumer confidence, consumer spending, and opinion polls
  • Means of collecting data quickly o Few resources are needed
  • BUT the researcher has NO CONTROL over the circumstances under which the data are collected, the sampling technique used, or the measure used to observe behavior

 

  • Content analysis : a specific type of archival data observation technique that involves analysis of what someone has said or written o No interaction takes place between the research participant and the researcher 5. Case Studies : to gain insight into and understanding of a SINGLE individual’s behavior o Example : someone who suffered a brain injury (can study individuals while they are alive and even after they die)
  • Correlational Studies : research designed to examine the relationships between multiple dependent variables, without manipulating any of the variables o Allows for a researcher to examine relationships between variables and if a relationship is found, predict values for one variable from values on the other variables
    • Predictor variable : variable that is used to make the prediction o Outcome variable : variable that is being predicted o Positive relationship: variables change in the same direction o Negative relationship: variables change in opposite directions
    • Scatterplot: graph showing the relationship between two DV for a group
  • Experiments: involves manipulation of an IV, allowing control of extraneous variables that could affect the results o Levels of the IV: participants receives treatment (experimental group) while others don’t receive treatment (control group)
    • Confounding variable: an extraneous factor present in a study that may affect the results o Random assignment:  participants are randomly assigned to the levels of the IV in an experiment
  • Quasi­Experiments : where a comparison is made, as in an experiment, but NO random assignments of participants to groups occur

 

Chapter Summary:

  • What are some common ways psychologists observe behavior?
    • Naturalistic observation
    • Surveys/Questionnaires
    • Systematic observation
    • Archival data
  • What questions about behavior do the different research methods allow psychologists to answer?
    • Case studies: allows descriptive questions to be answered for a single individual
    • Correlational studies: allow descriptive and predictive questions to be answered about behavior
    • Quasi­experiments and experiments: allow comparisons among groups, with experiments answering causal questions about behavior
  • Which research method is best when asking about the cause of a behavior?

Ans: Experiments

  • _________ validity indicates that a study’s results can be generalized to other individuals and real­life situations. __________ validity indicated that a study’s results provide causal information about the variables tested

Ans: External, Internal

  • If a study finds that as self­esteem INCREASE, symptoms of depression DESCREASE, this study has found a _____________ relationship

Ans: Negative

  • ___________________ research designs are typically used when a researchers wants to explore the behavior of an individual or group of individuals to better understand unusual or atypical behaviors

Ans: Case study