1. Psychology Life Hack of the Week
Want to fall asleep quicker? Blink slowly 100 times. The muscle memory will suggest to your brain that you are falling asleep (Ancoli-Israel).
Psychology Life Hack of the Week

2. With the person next to you, discuss:
Discussion recap
With the person next to you, discuss:
Bronze questions
Silver questions
Gold questions
Define the following: independent groups design, repeated measures design, matched pairs design.
Identify strengths and weaknesses of each type of experimental design.
Explain how you can overcome the following problems: order effects in repeated measures designs, participant variables in independent groups designs, investigator effects and situational variables.

3. Experimental Research - Exam Practice
7 minutes

4. Year 1 Research Methods: Experimental Research and Ethics
AO1
All students will review their knowledge of experimental research by designing an experimental study in response to a given brief.
All students will name the major principles of the BPS code of ethics and describe ethical issues in psychological research.
All students should use their knowledge to analyse ethical issues in specific examples of research.
All students could explain how to deal with ethical issues raised by a given research scenario.
AO1
AO2
AO2

5. Plan an experimental study- page 2
Group Task: Discuss the proposed study and write down the required details on the paper provided – aim, IV, DV, hypothesis, type of experiment, experimental design and controls. Be prepared to present your plan to the rest of the class – use pictures to help you.
People learn more quickly in a quiet environment than in a noisy one.
2. The more times you meet someone, the more positively you rate them.
3. Alcohol causes an increase in reaction time.
4. People remember items better if they are presented as a picture than if they are presented as words.
Finished? Have a go at planning some of the other studies.

6. Remember this study?

7. BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct (2018)
Respect – respect for the dignity of people.
Competence – provide services to a professional standard.
Responsibility – psychologists must accept responsibility for what is within their power or control (e.g. welfare of participants)
Integrity – being honest, truthful, accurate and consistent in behaviour.
Page 3

8. Page 3
Ethical issues are dilemmas that occur when there is a conflict between the rights of participants and the needs of researchers to produce valid, worthwhile data.
Excuse me…you did say you’d put it back after the experiment, didn’t you?

9. Group task
Read the guidelines for ethical research on page 4 of the handout
Read the summaries of four studies that have been placed on your table.
Use your knowledge to identify the ethical issues raised by each study – note these down on a Post-it.

10. 2 1 3 4

11. Dealing with Ethical Issues
Informed Consent
1. Presumptive consent – find a similar group of people to your participants and tell them about the study. If they would consent to participate, presume your participants would too.
2. Prior general consent – tell people that you may be studying them at some time and ask them if they would generally consent to participate.
3. Retrospective consent – ask participants for consent after the study. Give them the right to withdraw their data.
Page 5

12. You are a member of an ethics committee
You are a member of an ethics committee. Read the research proposals on page 6.
Explain the ethical issues with each study.
Explain how the researcher might have dealt with these issues.
Explain whether you think the research should take place – would the benefits of what is learned from the research outweigh the costs to individual participants?
Challenge: Explain how you could redesign the study to make it more ethical.

13. Exam Practice Page 7 Ethical issue: ‘One ethical issue is …’ [1mark]
How psychologists could deal with this issue: ‘Psychologists could deal with the issue by …’ [1 mark for brief mention of how issue could be dealt with + 2 further marks for elaboration]
Page 7

14. Have a go at question 2 on page 8.
Ethical issue: ‘One ethical issue is informed consent.’
How psychologists could deal with this issue: ‘Psychologists should make efforts to make Peter understand the nature and outcome of his participation in the study. In addition, as he is from a vulnerable population, they should seek consent for his participation from a person who is legally authorised to give it on Peter’s behalf.
Have a go at question 2 on page 8.

15. Page 7
Read the research scenario. What information would need to be given to participants for them to make an informed decision about taking part?
• The purpose of the study
• The length of time required of the participants
• The fact that participants would have to be isolated in a research institute for the duration of the study
• Details about the diet
• Right to withdraw
• Reassurance about protection from harm e.g. the availability of medical supervision
• The requirement to undertake a series of psychological tests
• Reassurance about confidentiality of the data

16. Can you remember the ethical issues and guidelines?
R…………… to w…………………..
P…………………….. from h…………
C……………………………………..
P……………………………
All participants should be b………… before a study and thoroughly d…………………………afterwards

17. Answer the question on the sheet you have received.
Plenary
Take a sheet of paper and write one question about the content of today’s lesson – don’t make it too easy!
Scrunch up the sheet of paper and throw it to someone on a different table.
Answer the question on the sheet you have received.