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How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions?
Operationalism
Replication
What’s Your Methodology?
• 1. Descriptive Methods
• 2. Correlational Methods
• 3. Experimental Methods
1. Descriptive Methods
• A. Case Study
• B. Survey
• C. Naturalistic Observation
Case Studies
• Observational technique in which one organism is studied in depth in the hope of revealing general principles
• Kanzi the Bonobo• Phineas Gage
Surveys
• Be careful of the wording!
One of the most startling set of survey results were reported in 1992 when 1 out of 5 Americans doubted that the Holocaust had occurred, while another 12% said they were not sure.
The question posed by the respected research firm Roper Starch : “As you know, the term Holocaust usually refers to the killing of millions of Jews in Nazi death camps during World War II. Does it seem possible or does it seem impossible to you that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened?”
Surveys
When a Gallup poll asked respondents the much simpler, “Do you doubt that the Holocaust happened, or not?” 9 % said they doubted the truth of the holocaust, and another 4% said they were unsure.
Surveys
• Random sampling is IMPORTANT!
• Make sure that everyone in your population has an equal chance of participating
Naturalistic observation
Naturalistic observation
What’s Your Methodology?
• 1. Descriptive Methods
• 2. Correlational Methods
• 3. Experimental Methods
Correlation
• Describing behavior is a first step toward predicting it.
Correlation
Activity: Practice Problems
Important Point!
• A correlation may suggest causation but does NOT prove causation!
• Discussion: “Eating ice cream increases the murder rate.”
• Activity: Forming Impressions of Others
What’s Your Methodology?
• 1. Descriptive Methods
• 2. Correlational Methods
• 3. Experimental Methods
Experimental Methods
• Researchers can determine cause and effect with an experiment that utilizes random assignment.
– Manipulate the factor of interest
– Hold constant (control) other factors
Validity Within an Experiment
• Internal Validity: how confidently one can conclude that the change in the dependent variable was produced solely by the independent variable and not extraneous ones
• External Validity: extent to which a study's results can be generalized/applied to other people or settings
What’s Your Methodology?
• 1. Descriptive Methods
• 2. Correlational Methods
• 3. Experimental Methods
What’s Your Methodology?
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