Edexcel Psychology
  • Social Psychology
    • Obedience
    • Prejudice
    • Milgram 1963 Experiment of Obedience
    • Milgram's Variations
    • Hofling's Study of Nurses
    • Meeus and Raaijmakers
    • Sherif Study of Intergroup Relations
    • Key Issue
    • Research Methods
    • Practical (social)
  • Cognitive Psychology
    • Levels of Processing Model of Memory
    • Multi-store Model of Memory
    • Reconstructive Memory
    • Cue Dependent Theory of Forgetting
    • Displacement Theory of Forgetting
    • Godden & Baddeley's Study of Context Dependent Forgetting
    • Craik & Tulving's Study of Levels of Processing
    • Key Issue
    • Research Methods
    • Practical (cognitive)
  • Learning Approach
    • Classical Conditioning
    • Operant Conditioning
    • Social Learning Theory
    • Explanation of Gender
    • Treatments
    • Bandura, Ross and Ross Bobo Doll Study
    • Watson & Rayner Little Albert
    • Key Issue
    • Research Methods >
      • Practical (learning)
  • Psychodynamic Approach
    • Concepts
    • Explanation of Gender
    • Freud: Case Study of Little Hans
    • Axline: Case Study of Dibs
    • Key Issue
    • Research Methods
    • Practical (Psychodynamic)
  • Biological Approach
    • Genes, Hormones and Brain Lateralisation
    • Evaluation of Biological Explanation for Gender
    • Gottesmann & Shields: Twin Study of Schizophrenia
    • Dr Money: The case of Bruce Reimer
    • Key Issue
    • Research Methods
    • Scanning Techniques
    • Practical (Biological)
  • Statistical Tests
Correlations

Correlations are a way of establishing whether there is a relationship between two variables. Correlations can be positive – where one variable increases so does the other; or negative – as one variable increases, the other decreases.
Correlations do not identify the cause, they just indicate whether there is a relationship or not – both variables are equal (no IV or DV)
Correlation coefficients are a statistical method for assessing the strength of a correlation. The sign (+ or -) tells you the direction of the correlation. The number (between 0 and 1) tells you the strength

+ Allows study of hypothesis which cannot be studied directly – it is useful for identifying relationships between variables that might not have been considered previously

+ Fairly straightforward to conduct – few controls needed

+ Identifies further areas for research – shows relationships that may not have been expected

- Interpretation of results difficult.

-Cause and effect not established.

- Direction of cause is uncertain.

- Other variables may be acting.

Case Studies 

Case studies are a research method that allows data to be collected in depth and detail

It can be the study of one individual or a small group of individuals

Some case studies can be funded e.g. government studies when focusing on a particular issue

Case studies use interviews, questionnaires and observations. This data is then put into a case history which uses qualitative data. Using different techniques to gather data is called triangulation

Qualitative data is analysed by looking at themes and cross case analysis

+ A lot of detailed information is gathered

+ Gives a complete picture to reasons why and focuses on real life

+ Valid data is produced – natural setting so ecologically valid, has construct validity – measures what it has claimed and is true to life

- Only one person or a small group is studied – focuses on the individual and can therefore be unique however lacks generalisability

- Less reliable as unable to repeat them – difficult to assess whether the information it produces is useful

- Unscientific


Freud’s case study methods: Free Association, Dream Analysis, Slips of the tongue. Freud used case studies and these methods to access the unconscious

+ Qualitative data – lots of detail

+ Valid – from real situations difficult to gather data using other methods

+ Freud’s methods can be used as therapy as well as a research method - Method of understanding the unconscious and retrieving repressed memories (therapeutic)

- Free association

- Interpretation of data

- Accessing the unconscious and this is not measurable in a scientific way

Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal studies are used to study the same participants over a set period of time e.g. BBC Child of Our Time is following families from pregnancy until the children are 20

+ useful for looking at developmental trends e.g. how development affects different characteristics, able to establish norms e.g. for walking

+ Uses the same participants

- Participants may drop out – may lead to a biased sample

- Researchers may change, move away or lose funding for the study

Cross Sectional Studies



Cross sectional designs use a measure taken at one moment in time and results measured and compared. E.g. language acquisition – sample 2 and 5 year olds and compare the data

+ Immediate results, cheaper, easier to organise

+ More ethical

- Different participants – individual differences e.g. upbringing

- Other variables may not be controlled and may affect findings



Types of data:
Nominal – categories are recorded e.g. number of yes/no responses (numbers are numbers in categories and not scores)
Ordinal – ranking data, number applies to scores e.g. rank attractiveness on a scale of 1 – 5
Interval/Ratio – numbers have equal intervals and can be treated mathematically e.g. height, weight 




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