Debriefing refers to a procedure conducted at the end of an experiment in which the researcher provides human participants with as much information about the study as possible, making sure no participant leaves feeling confused, upset, or embarrassed.
Other definition:
Debriefing refers to the the procedure whereby the purpose of the study and exactly what transpired is explained to participants at the end of an experiment
deception
the procedure whereby participants are misled about the true purpose of a study or the events that will actually transpire
dependent variable
the variable a researcher measures to see if it is influenced by the independent variable; the researcher hypothesizes that the dependent variable will depend on the level of the independent variable
experimental method
the method of choice to study cause-and-effect relationships; the researcher randomly assigns participants to different conditions and ensures that these conditions are identical except for the independent variable (the one thought to have a causal effect on people's responses)
external validity
the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and other people
factorial design
an experimental design in which there is more than one independent variable; each independent variable has more than one version, or level; and all possible combinations of these levels occur in one study
field experiments
experiments conducted in real-life settings, rather than in the laboratory
independent variable
the variable a researcher changes or varies to see if it has an effect on some other variable; this is the variable the researcher thinks will cause a change in some other variable
informed consent
the procedure whereby the nature of the experiment is explained to participants before it begins and their consent to participate in the experiment is obtained
interjudge reliability
the level of agreement between two or more people who independently observe and code a set of data; by showing that two or more judges independently come up with the same observations, researchers ensure that the observations are not the subjective, distorted impressions of one individual
internal validity
making sure that nothing else besides the independent variable can affect the dependent variable; this is accomplished by controlling all extraneous variables and by randomly assigning people to different experimental conditions
mundane realism
the extent to which an experiment is similar to situations encountered in everyday life
negative correlation
a relationship between two variables wherein increases in the value of one variable are associated with decreases in the value of the other variable
observational method
the technique whereby a researcher observes people and systematically records measurements of their behavior
participant observation
a form of systematic observation whereby the observer interacts with the people being observed, but tries not to alter the situation in any way
positive correlation
a relationship between two variables wherein increases in the value of one variable are associated with increases in the value of the other variable
probability level (p-value)
a number, calculated with statistical techniques, that tells researchers how likely it is that the results of their experiment occurred by chance (due to the failure of random assignment) and not because of the independent variable(s); the convention in science, including social psychology, is to consider results significant if the probability level is less than 5 in 100 that the results might be due to chance factors and not the independent variable(s) studied
psychological realism
the extent to which the psychological processes triggered in an experiment are similar to psychological processes occurring in everyday life; psychological realism can be high in an experiment, even if mundane realism is low
random assignment to condition
the process whereby all participants have an equal chance of taking part in any condition of an experiment; through random assignment, researchers can be relatively certain that differences in their participants' personalities or backgrounds are distributed evenly across conditions
random selection
a way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of a population, by making sure that everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample
replication
repetition of a study, often with different subject populations or in different settings
systematic observation
a form of the observational method whereby the observer is a trained social scientist who sets out to answer questions about a particular social phenomenon by observing and coding it according to a prearranged set of criteria Flickr PhotosThese pictures about "Debriefing" have been delivered by flickr on a random basis. We have no influence on it.
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