Test 1 Study Guide Part II 1 What is a debriefing When does it occur What does it involve debriefing the experimenter answers questions the participant might have and fills them in about the purpose of the study it is not absolutely essential that participants be informed about all aspects of the study immediately after their participation debriefing can serve two related purposes dehoaxing revealing the purpose of the experiment to participant and the hypotheses being tested desensitizing process of reducing any stress or other negative feelings that might have been experienced in the session subjects are also informed that if they wish they may have their data removed from the data set the amount of time spent debriefing depends on the complexity of the study the presence and degree of deception and the level of potential distress some studies show that debriefing can effectively remove harm and leave no lingering effects others indicate that debriefing is not effective is not believed and may result in increased suspicion finally there is some evidence that debriefing only further annoys or embarrasses participants 2 This is something we did not cover in lecture to a large extent but please know about obtaining consent in studies involving children Who must we obtain consent from in these cases What is assent and who do we obtain assent from because children might not be able to fully understand a consent form their parents or legal guardians are the ones who give consent unless the participant is an infant or is otherwise not capable of skilled language use researchers are obligated to inform the child about the study and to gain what is referred to as assent give the child as much information as possible to gauge whether the child is willing to participate assent occurs when the child shows some form of agreement to participate without necessarily comprehending the full significance of the research necessary to give informed consent assent also means that the researcher has a responsibility to monitor experiments with children and to stop them if it appears that undue stress is being experienced What is the difference between a quantitative and qualitative theory 3 quantitative theory theory expressed in mathematical terms related numerical values of variables to one another predicted outcomes expressed numerically information integration theory how do we form an impression of a stimulus is a person we meet caring or uncaring we collect information do they stop to help someone in need do they listen to others do they smile etc assign a weight to that information and then combine using a formula result is a number R in this example an index of how caring or uncaring someone is qualitative theory theory that states relationships between variables in verbal rather than mathematical terms social learning theory watching someone behave aggressively and seeing that aggression rewarded increases aggressive tendencies 4 What are the differences between descriptive analogical and fundamental theories descriptive theory theory that merely describes the relationship among variables arousal theory there is some optimal level of arousal for performing a task you re not falling asleep but you haven t had 15 cups of coffee analogical theory theory that explains the relationship among variables through analogy to some well understood model models of memory computer analogy short term memory RAM long term memory hard drive fundamental theory theory that proposes a new structure to explain the relationships among variables beyond analogy highest level of theory uncommon in psychology cognitive dissonance theory of motivation 5 What is a mechanistic theory What is a functional theory mechanistic explanation describes mechanism underlying behavior describes how behavior works doesn t always answer why ex theories of how memories are stored in the brain functional explanation mate describes why system or attribute exists ex theories of what the hippocampus does describes an attribute in terms of its function ex beauty functions to attract a a complete understanding includes both mechanistic and functional theories but often knowing how a system works will help reveal its function 6 What are the properties of a good theory good theories share the same properties as good explanations ability to account for data theory must account for existing data and well established facts within its domain explanatory relevance theoretical explanation must offer good grounds for believing that the phenomenon would occur under specified conditions testability a theory must be testable must be capable of failing some empirical test prediction of novel events a theory should predict phenomena that the theory was not specifically designed to account for but that are within its domain parsimony a theory should explain phenomena within its domain with the fewest possible assumptions 7 Know the difference between a conformational and disconfirmational strategy Hint If a positive result provides support for a theory you are using a conformational strategy if a positive result is not predicted by a theory you are using a disconfirmational strategy confirmational strategy look for evidence to confirm predictions from a theory important part of theory testing but has limits confirmation does not prove a theory is correct confirmation may occur when predictions are too loosely defined disconfirmational strategy using a positive research result to disconfirm a theory s predictions 8 From the text book know the limitations of a conformational strategy What is the difference between a primary and secondary source 9 primary includes a full report of a research study including methodological details primary sources are preferred secondary summarizes information from a primary source these should be used sparingly because they may be incomplete biased or inaccurate What is the difference between a refereed and non refereed journal 10 refereed journal papers submitted that undergo peer review the peer review process reviewers two or more people with the expertise to judge your article read it comment on it and recommend decision editor reads the paper reads the review and comes to a conclusion accept reject or revise it nonrefereed journal papers submitted that do not undergo peer review without peer review we are uncertain about the quality of the work most non refereed journals will publish articles for a fee vanity presses
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