Psychology Definitions Part 4

Psychology Definitions Part 4

1. Reliability = consistency

   • Internal reliability = A measure of the extent to which something is consistent within itself.
   • External reliability = The extent to which a measure varies from one occasion to another. Low external reliability would mean there is quite a bit of variation over time.
   • assessing reliability
     • Inter - rater reliability = The extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour.
     • Test - retest reliability = A method used to check external reliability. The same test or interview is given to the same participants on two occasions to see if the same results are obtained.
     • Split half method / reliability = A method of assessing internal reliability by comparing two halves of, for example, a psychological test to see if they produce the same score.

2. Validity = refers to whether an observed effect is a genuine one.

   • Internal validity = The degree a study or test is measuring what was intended to be measured.
   • External validity = The degree to which a research finding can be generalised to other situations and people.
   • Specific validity issues
     • Researcher bias =Anything that an investigator does that has an effect on a participant's performance in a study other than what was intended. This includes direct effects (as a consequence of the investigator interacting with the participant) and indirect effects (as a consequence of the investigator designing the study). Investigator effects may act as a confounding or extraneous variable.
     • Demand characteristics = A cue that makes participants unconsciously aware of the aims of a study and helps participants work out what the researcher expects to find.
     • Social desirability bias = A distortion in the way people answer questions - they tend to answer questions in such a way that presents themselves in a better light.
   • Ways of dealing with/ assessing validity
     • Concurrent validity = A means of establishing external validity by comparing an existing test or questionnaire with the one you are interested in.
     • Predictive validity = Correlating the results of a test with some other example of the behaviour that is being tested.
     • Face validity = A form of external validity the extent to which test items look like what the test claims to measure.
     • Content validity = Aims to demonstrate that the content (e.g. questions) of a test/ measurement represents the area of interest; concerns internal validity.
     • Construct validity = Demonstrating the extent to which performance on the test measures an identified underlying construct; concerns internal validity.

3. Ethics - concerns questions of right and wrong. They arise in research where there are conflicting sets of values between researchers and participants concerning the goals, procedures or outcomes of a research study. There can be an ethics committee in a research institution and ethical guidelines (code of conduct).

   • Deception = A participant is not told the true aims of a study (e.g. what participation will involve) and thus cannot give valid consent.
   • Risk of stress, anxiety, humiliation or pain/ risk of harm = During a research study, participants should not experience negative physical or psychological effects, such as physical injury, lowered self - esteem or embarrassment - beyond what would be normal for them to experience.
     • Stress = The subjective experience of a lack of fit between a person and their environment (i.e. where the perceived demands of a situation are greater than a person's perceived ability to cope). In research, is the stress more than they would experience in everyday life.
     • psychological harm.
   • Risk to a participant's values, beliefs, relationships, status or privacy.
     • Privacy = A person's right to control the flow of information about themselves.
   • Valid consent = Participant must be given comprehensive information concerning the nature and purpose of the research and their role in it, in order that they can make an informed decision about whether to participate.
   • Working with vulnerable individuals (including children) and working with animals.
   • Managing the risk posed by ethical issues
     • ethics committees = A group of people within a research institution that must approve a study before it begins.
       • Ethical guidelines (code of conduct) = A set of principles designed to help professionals behave honestly and with integrity.

4. Confidentiality = Concerns the communication of personal information from one person to another, and the trust that the information will be protected.

5. The role of the scientific community in validating new knowledge

   • peer review = The practice of using independent experts to assess the quality and validity of scientific research and academic reports.
     • format for reporting psychological investigations.