Psychology - Research methods

Everything for research methods. 

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What does hypothesis mean?
A statement predicting the outcome of research.
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What does alternate hypothesis mean?
A statement which predicts a difference or correlation in results. They can be one-tailed or two-tailed hypothesis.
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What does null hypothesis mean?
A statement which predicts no difference or correlation in results.
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Give an example of an alternate hypothesis.
There is a difference in the stress levels of people working in noisy conditions compared with people working in quiet conditions.
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Give an example of a null hypothesis.
There is no difference in the stress levels of people working in noisy conditions compared with people working in quiet conditions.
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What is a one-tailed hypothesis?
A statement which predicts which way the experiment will go on, it can only go in one direction.
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Give an example of a one-tailed hypothesis?
There is a probability of 50% that a cat will catch a bird.
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What is a two-tailed hypothesis?
A statement which predicts which isn't certain which way the results can go, two ways.
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Give an example of a two-tailed hypothesis.
There is a probability that either: the cat will catch a bird over 50% or under 50%.
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What does a variable mean?
Anything that can be measured and can change.
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What does an independent variable mean?
The researcher has changed or manipulated these variables.
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What does a dependent variable mean?
The variable that is measured.
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The IV...
...affects the DV.
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The DV...
...depends on the IV.
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Give the IV and DV of this hypothesis: there will be a difference in the hyperactivity of people who eat sweets and people who eat vegetables.
IV: People who eat sweets and people who eat vegetables. DV: Hyperactivity levels.
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What does an extraneous variable mean?
Extra variables that might affect the results if not controlled and could give a false set of data.
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What are the two types of extraneous variables? 2 variables.
1. Participant variables. 2. Situational variables.
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What is a participant variable?
Difference between participants in the two groups.
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Give a few examples of participant variables. 3 variables.
1. Age. 2. Culture. 3. Gender.
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How can you control this?
Use a big sample size.
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What is a situational variable?
Aspects of the environment that might affect the results.
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Give a few examples of situational variables. 3 things.
1. Noise. 2. Whether. 3. Temperature.
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How could you control these variables?
By using a lab experiment.
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What does standardisation mean?
A way of controlling extraneous variables by keeping the extra variables the same in different conditions.
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Give two types of standardisation.
1. Standardised procedure. 2. Standardised instructions.
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What does standardised procedure mean?
Each participant is treated in exactly the same way: tasks, same orders, timings.
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What does standardised instructions mean?
Every participant must be given exactly the same instructions ideally by the same person and in the same way.
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What does experimental design mean?
A way of allocating participants to conditions in an experiment.
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What is a repeated measured design?
An experimental design in which participants take part in each condition.
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Give 2 advantages.
1. You can compare the results of how the participants acted in each condition. 2. Less time consuming as there are less participants.
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Give 3 disadvantages
1. Experience. 2. Have order and practice effect. 3. Demand characteristic: more likely to guess the aim of the study.
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What does independent groups design mean?
An experimental design in which participants are different in each condition.
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Give 3 advantages.
1. Order effects aren't there as they only do one condition. 2. No practice effect as they haven't remembered from the first condition. 3. Bigger sample size - more generlisable.
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Give 2 disadvantages.
1. Need more participants - time consuming. 2. There is a participant variable - one group might have better memory than the other group.
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What is a sample?
A smaller group selected from a larger population.
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What is target population?
The entire set of people researchers want to generalise their results to.
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What does representation mean?
An accurate reflection of a larger group.
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What does random sampling mean?
A sample for which everyone in the target population has an equal chance of being picked.
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Give 2 ways of doing a random sample.
1. Name generator. 2. Picking out of a hat.
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Give 2 strengths of a random sampling.
1. Everyone has the chance of being picked. 2. Gives representative samples.
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Give 2 weaknesses of random sampling.
1. Time consuming to find participants. 2. Not always very practical when there is a large population - it would take a long time to get all the names of all people in the target population and, even if they were drawn, they may not want to take part
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What is an opportunity sample?
A sample drawn from the target population because they are available and convenient.
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Give 2 strengths of an opportunity sample.
1. It is quick and easy as you don't need prior knowledge. 2. Likely to get people who are interested.
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Give 2 weaknesses of an opportunity sample.
1. Not representative of the target population. 2. Use people they know - sample type of personality (gender and culture bias).
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What does ethical considerations mean?
Issues of research that take into account the welfare of participants.
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What does informed consent mean?
Agreement to do the study.
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How is informed consent dealt with?
Getting parent's permission if they are under 16 and getting them to sign a document that tells you have agreed to do it.
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What does right to withdraw mean?
The participants can leave at any time and can take their data with them.
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How is right to withdraw dealt with?
By telling them in the debrief and in a document that they signed for their consent.
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What does confidentiality mean?
Keeping the participants names a secret.
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How is confidentiality dealt with?
Giving them a number or letter but, not their name.
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What does deception mean?
Deceit - lying.
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How is deception dealt with?
Not lying to them and in the debrief, give them the aim of the study.
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What does protection of participants mean?
Not physically or psychologically changing someone.
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How is protections of participants dealt with?
Not harming them in any way: not giving them distress.
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What does debrief mean?
Telling them the aim and reminding them they have the right to withdraw.
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How is debriefing dealt with?
Given after the experiment written in a document or verbally given.
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What does an experiment mean?
A method by which the researcher controls variables and measures their effect.
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What is a lab experiment?
An experiment carried out in a controlled environment.
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Give 2 strengths of a lab experiment.
1. You control the variables easily: noise, light and heat. 2. Makes the study valid and so more ethical.
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Give 2 weaknesses of a lab experiment.
1. Not ecologically valid as it is done in a controlled environment so it isn't in a natural environment. 2. They are likely to guess what they experiment wants - demand characteristics.
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What does a field experiment mean?
An experiment that is carried out in a natural environment.
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Give 2 strengths of a field experiment.
1. High ecological validity because it has a natural environment and is related to real life. 2. There are less likely to be clues for what the experiment's aim is: no demand characteristics.
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Give 2 weaknesses of a field experiment.
1. More extraneous variables that will affect the results. 2. As there real life situations, people may get stressed from it, and so they won't like it - unethical.
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What does a questionnaire mean?
A set of pre-determined questions which are the same for each participant.
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What type of method is a questionnaire and why?
It is a self report method because they give their own experiences.
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Give two types of questions a questionnaire uses.
1. Opened questions. 2. Closed questions.
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What are closed questions?
These are questions where there is a set response, often given in a multiple-choice answer.
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What are open questions?
These are questions with no set response and they can give more detail.
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Give 3 advantages of using a questionnaire.
1. It is used to access people's thoughts and feelings. 2. They are all asked the same question so it is easy to compare the results. and find trend or patterns. 3. It is quick and easy to get answers from a large population.
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Give 3 disadvantages of using a questionnaire.
1. Participants may not understand the question so they don't give a reliable answer. 2. People may lie or exaggerate. 3. Asking the same question to everyone, doesn't allow the research into individual responses.
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What dos interviews mean?
A face to face questioning where the answers are usually open than closed, giving in-depth answers.
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What type of method are interviews and why?
They are self report methods because they give their own experiences.
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Give two types of interviews.
1. Structured interviews. 2. Unstructured interviews.
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What is a structured interview?
Interviews where the questions are pre-determined so everyone interviewed are asked the same questions.
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Give a strength of an interview.
It can access thought and feelings.
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Give a weakness of interviews.
People can lie or exaggerate as there is no way on seeing if they had given the truth or not. They may give social desirability answers than real answers.
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What does an unstructured interview mean?
Not having the same answers as the other participants so they come up with questions based on the interviewees responses.
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Give a strength of an unstructured interview.
The interviewer can double-check the responses given.
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Give a disadvantage of an unstructured interview.
Interviews rely on saying their thoughts and feeling, some find that hard.
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What does an observation mean?
Watching participants' reactions, responses and behaviours and recording what is observed.
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Give 4 different types of observations.
1. Overt. 2. Covert. 3. participant. 4. Non-participant.
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What does overt mean?
The participants are aware they are being observed.
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Give a strength of an overt observation.
It is ethical as you have to get consent before watching them.
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Give a weakness of an overt observation.
Likely to behave differently then what they normally would behave like. This gives an observer effect which makes it less valid.
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What does covert mean?
The participants aren't aware they are being observed.
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Give a strength of a covert observation.
They will act more naturally because they don't know they are being observed.
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Give a weakness of a covert observation.
It is difficult to record data accurately without being discovered.
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What does a participant observation mean?
They researcher joins in as they do the experiment.
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Give a strength of a participant observation.
The researcher can actually experience from the participants' point of view. This gives realistic results.
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Give a weakness of a participant observation.
The researcher can affect the dynamics of the group, they become different will an additional member.
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What does a non-participant observation mean?
The observer watches from a distance, not interfering with the group.
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Give a strength of non-participant observation.
Researcher is more objective when standing back, when researchers get too involved, they can become subjective.
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Give a weakness of participant observation.
They are likely to miss things that will affect the results.
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What does observer bias mean?
The researcher see what they want to see and interpret behaviours from their perspective . They should have more than one observer.
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What does a case study mean?
an in-depth study of one person or a group of people over a period of time.
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What method are you likely to use?
Interviews
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What does correlation study mean?
Two variables that influence each other.
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Give 3 different types of correlation.
1. Positive. 2. Negative. 3. None
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Which methods do you use? 3
1. Interviews. 2. Questionnaires. 3. Observations
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What does a longitudinal study mean?
A study carried out over a period of time.
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Give a strength of a longitudinal study.
Useful for studying psychological development on charts to show change.
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What is a weakness of a longitudinal study?
They are time consuming and so expensive.
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What does a cross-sectional study mean?
A study where two or more groups are compare, to investigate changes or differences.
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Give a strength of a cross-sectional study.
It generalises to the whole population if you use more than one culture.
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Give a weakness of a cross-sectional study.
The researcher isn't using the same participants so, any differences are due to individual differences.
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What does quantitative data mean?
Numerical data.
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What does qualitative data mean?
Descriptive data.
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Give a strength of quantitative data.
Easy to analyse.
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Give a weakness of quantitative data.
Doesn't give in-depth results.
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Give a strength of qualitative data.
Gives personality differences due to in-depth analysis.
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Give a weakness of qualitative data.
Hard to analyse.
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What does mode mean?
The most often number
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What does median mean?
The middle number.
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What does mean mean?
AN average overall the data.
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Give 3 ways you could represent data.
1. Bar chart. 2. Line graph. 3. Table.
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What does table mean?
A way of representing data by summarising it under headings.
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What does bar chart mean?
A chart that summaries data by using bars to represent the different frequencies of categories.
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What does a line graph mean?
A graph that summaries data using a line to show changes in the frequencies of scores.
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What does validity mean?
The data reflects the truth.
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What does ecologically valid mean?
The data relates to real life.
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What does reliability mean?
The consistency of the findings and whether the findings replicate.
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What does inter-rater reliability mean?
When two or more researchers agree on their findings.
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What does demand characteristics mean?
The cues in the experiment which gives away the aim and may cause participants to behave differently.
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What does observer effect mean?
When participants behave differently from normal because they know they are being observed.
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What does social desirability mean?
Responses that participants gives when they say what they believe the researcher wants to hear.
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What does bias mean?
Only viewing things from a certain perspective.
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What does gender bias mean?
Viewing things from the perspective of one gender.
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How does gender bias occur?
This occurs when one gender is favoured over the other so the findings are based on one sex more than the other.
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What is most common with gender bias in experiments?
They mainly use males, which gives gender bias as it isn't representative to the female sex. This is because females may give different findings and overall, make the study depend on the sexes.
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What does culture bias mean?
Viewing things from the perspective of one culture.
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When does culture bias occur?
This occurs when one culture is favoured to the others as the findings are based on one culture. The findings are affected by how the culture behaves.
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What is most common with culture bias in experiments?
They mainly use one culture which makes it culture bias as it isn't representative to other cultures, They have found that, different cultures show different findings and so the overall findings of all the cultures are different to which culture.
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What does experimenter bias mean?
Setting up an experiment and/or interpreting the results to fit a certain idea or theory.
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How does experimenter bias occur?
One theory/hypothesis is favoured over the others. As there are different approaches to how humans think and behave, different psychologists prefer different approaches. The psychologists will have expectations on what will occur with each approach.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What does alternate hypothesis mean?

Back

A statement which predicts a difference or correlation in results. They can be one-tailed or two-tailed hypothesis.

Card 3

Front

What does null hypothesis mean?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Give an example of an alternate hypothesis.

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Give an example of a null hypothesis.

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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