Edexcel Psychology for A Level Yr 2 Revision Guide

Chapter 1 Issues and debates Practical issues in the design and implementation of research Check it 1. Discuss the practical issues faced by psychologists when designing and implementing research in social and biological psychology. (8) 2. Evaluate the practical issues in the design and implementation of Watson and Rayner’s (1920) study. (12) 3. Applications in psychology include clinical psychology, criminological psychology, child psychology and health psychology. Assess the practical issues faced by psychologists when designing and implementing research, with reference to any two of these applications. (20) Revision booster Note that many of the I&D questions are synoptic (referring to two or more topics) as well as I&D. This is generally the case in the Issues and debates section of AL Paper 1 (Section E) and the Review of studies section of AL Paper 3 (Section B) as well as Section C of Paper 3. Does it do what it says on the tin? If the answer’s yes, then it’s got validity. Validity refers to trueness or legitimacy. Validity Validity versus ethics High validity – deception reduces demand characteristics. But ethical issues arise if concealing aims. Social desirability Questionnaires/interviews – design so that participants’ wish to ‘look good’ is limited, e.g. don’t make people with mental health issues feel bad about revealing their symptoms. Measurement Measuring variables in valid ways. Psychodynamic approach – measures of the unconscious have poor credibility (‘id’ cannot be observed). Brain functions/clinical psychology – measures themselves are valid but it is hard to interpret what brain activity means. Controls Confounding variables. Controlling confounding variables enhances validity. e.g. Skinner box controls what a rat sees, hears and feels. Also the rats’ weight is controlled so they are hungry and will press a bar for food. Ecological validity Setting/task may mean findings can’t apply to other situations. e.g. memory studies use nonsense syllables (control), but real-world memory rarely involves such material. Applies to both lab and field experiments. Reliability Standardisation Increases reliability – procedures identical for participants. Easy in lab studies but harder to achieve in field experiments. Reliability over time Test-retest reliability. Detects whether measurement in studies is consistent from one time to the next. Only reliable measures can ensure that observed changes in the dependent variable are due to the independent variable. Reliability between researchers Interviewers compare data from same person (inter- interviewer). Observers compare observations of same behaviour (inter- observer). Qualitative data is interpreted, and therefore there are differences between researchers (quantitative is more objective, so more reliable). Generalisability The sample Wider samples are more generalisable but sometimes narrow samples needed (e.g. to focus on special groups). Generalising from animals Complexity of human brains, cognition, etc. may mean animal research lacks relevance to people. Reliability is consistency. D O E S W H A T I T S A Y S 24