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Realism. The aim of any study is to provide information about how people behave in ‘real-life.’ IF the set-up of the study is too artificial then the participants may not behave as they normally would (demand characteristics) . Mundane realism – how an experiment mirrors the real world.
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Realism • The aim of any study is to provide information about how people behave in ‘real-life.’ • IF the set-up of the study is too artificial then the participants may not behave as they normally would (demand characteristics). • Mundane realism – how an experiment mirrors the real world. • Mundane = ordinary.
Generalisability • The point of realism in psychological research is to be able to generalise the results beyond the particular unique research setting. • In particular to be able to understand behaviour in everyday life. • Lab study – difficult to generalise to real-life. • Sample – all American students – difficult to generalise findings to other cultures/ages.
Demand Characteristics • An aspect of the research situation which triggers a predictable response in participants causing them to respond in a similar way. • Particular cues in an experimental situation may communicate to the participants what is expected of them and what the researcher hopes to find (may guess the aim). • The outcome is that the results are biased in favour of research hypothesis, confirming the researcher’s initial beliefs.