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7/29/2019 MyersExpPsych7e IM Module 02
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Research Strategies: HowPsychologists Ask and Answer
Questions
Module 2
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How Do Psychologists Ask
and Answer Questions?
The Scientific Method
Goals and Tools of Psychology
Description Correlation Experimentation
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Why Do Psychology?
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How can we differentiate betweenuniformed opinions and examinedconclusions?
The science of psychology helps makethese examined conclusions , which leadsto our understanding of how people feel,
think, and act as they do!
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What About Intuition & CommonSense?
Personal interviewers may rely toomuch on their “gut feelings” when
meeting with job applicants.
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T a xi /
G e t t yI m
a g e s
Many people believe thatintuition and common sense
are enough to bring forthanswers regarding humannature.
Intuition and common
sense may aid queries, butthey are not free of error.
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Hindsight Bias and Overconfidence
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Hindsight Bias is the “I-knew-it-all-along”phenomenon.
After learning the outcome of an event, manypeople believe they could have predicted that
very outcome.Anything seems commonplace once explained.
Overconfidence: Sometimes we think we know
more than we actually know.
Both hindsight bias and overconfidence lead us tooverestimate our intuition.
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The Scientific Attitude
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The scientific attitude is composed of
curiosity (passion for exploration),
skepticism (doubting and questioning) and
humility (ability to accept responsibility whenwrong).
Critical thinking does not accept arguments andconclusions blindly. It examines assumptions,evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions.
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The Scientific Approach
• Most people have greater difficulty thinking ofpsychology and other behavioral sciences asscience. In part this is because many peoplemisunderstand what science is. Researchinvolving molecules and chromosomes seemsmore scientific than research involving emotions,memories, or social interactions, for example.
• Whether an area of study is scientific has little todo with the topics it studies. Rather science isdefined in terms of the approaches used to studythe topic.
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Can we study EVERYTHING
scientifically?
• Is there life after death?
• Are there angels?
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Solvable Problems • Science only deals with solvable problems.
Researchers can investigate only those questionsthat are answerable, given current knowledge andresearch techniques.
• In sum, to be considered scientific:
1. the questions addressed must be potentiallysolvable
2. observations must be systematic and empirical3. research must be conducted in a manner that is
publicly verifiable
• Pseudoscience involves evidence that masqueradesas science but that fails to meet one or more of thethree criteria used to define science.
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How Do Psychologists Ask &
Answer Questions?
Psychologists, like all scientists, use the
scientific method to construct theories thatorganize, summarize and simplify
observations.
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Theory
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A theory is an explanation that integrates principlesand organizes and predicts behavior or events.
For example:Social Learning Theory
People learn through observing others' behavior.
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Hypothesis
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A hypothesis is a testable prediction , often prompted by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject or revise the
theory.
For example:
One hypothesis from the Social Learning Theory:
People who watch violent films display moreaggressive behavior.
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Research
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Research would require us to administer surveys orexperiments.
For example:
Conduct a research study to examine if there isa relationship between frequency of watching
violent films and aggressive behaviors.
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The Scientific Method
Operational Definition
a statement of procedures (operations)used to define research variables
How you are going to measure aggression isyour operational definition for aggression.
Operational definition for violent films.
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Example
• violent movies and aggression
• Hypothesis?
– There is a relationship between frequency of watching
violent films and aggressive behaviors
• Operational definition of variables?
– Exposure to violent movies: number of times a personwatches violent movies in a week in the last 3 months
– Aggression: Frequency of behavior that aims to harmother people.
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Research Process
(1) Theory: Social learning theoryPeople learn through observing others'behavior.
(2) Hypothesis:
People who watch violentfilms display moreaggressive behavior.
(3) Research and observations:
Is there a relation betweenfrequency of watching violentfilms and aggressive behaviors
WHY?
Theory explains theunderlying reason
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The Scientific Method
Replication
repeating the essence of a research studyto see whether the basic finding extends toother participants and circumstances
usually with different participants in
different situations
Example
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Goals of Psychology
1. To describe behavior and mentalprocesses
2. To predict behavior and mentalprocesses
3. To explain and understand behaviorand mental processes
4. To influence/control behavior andmental processes
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Descriptive Methods
1.To describe human and animal behavior and mental processes
• Case study• Surveys
• Observations (naturalistic or lab)
Goals and Tools of Psychology
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Descriptive Methods
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Case Study
A technique in which one person is studied indepth to reveal underlying behavioral principles.
Example: Is language uniquely human?
S u s a nK
uk l i n
/ P
h o t o
R e s e a r c h
e r s
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Descriptive Methods
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Case Study
Researchers make case studies to examine rarecases:
Example: school shooting
Case studies can suggest hypotheses for
further studies.
Problems: Cannot make generalizations.Conclusions can be misleading.
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SurveyA technique for ascertaining the self-reportedattitudes, opinions or behaviors of people
(usually done by questioning a representative,
random sample of people)Examples: Media surveys Koç University student satisfaction survey
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h t t p : / / w w w .l ynn
e f e
a t h e r s t on
e .
Descriptive Methods
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Survey
Wording can change the results of a survey.
Q: Should cigarette ads be allowed on television?
Q: Should cigarette ads be forbidden on television?
(allowed vs. forbid)
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Wording Effects
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Survey
If each member of a population has an equal chanceof inclusion into a sample, it is called a random
sample (unbiased).If the survey sample is not random, the results may
not be representative.Examples:
Media surveys Koç University student satisfaction survey
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Random Sampling
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Random Sampling
Population
all the cases in a group, from whichsamples may be drawn for a study
Random Sample
a sample that (fairly) represents a
population because each member has anequal chance of inclusion
Randomly pick from the student list
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Naturalistic Observation
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Descriptive Methods
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Naturalistic Observation observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring
situations (or in more controlled environments) withouttrying to manipulate and control the situation
Examples:
Observing and recording the behavior of animals in thewild
Observing preschool children’s social behaviors Recording self-seating patterns in a multi-racial school
lunch room.
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Descriptive Methods
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Descriptive Methods
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1. To describe human and animal behavior and
mental processes• Case study• Surveys• Observations (naturalistic/lab)
Summary
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Goals of Psychology
2. To predict behaviors, thoughts, feelings,change and so on…
Mainly by way of assessing the relationship between two or more variables
- Correlational studies
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Definition of Variable
VariableAny characteristic or attribute that variesin amount and kind
Examples:
•Age•Weight•Height•Self-esteem•Reaction time in a learning experiment•Stress level•Achievement motivation
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Correlation
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Correlation Coefficient is astatistical measure of the
relationship between two variables.
When one trait or behavior accompanies another,we say the two correlate.
Correlationcoefficient
Indicates directionof relationship
(positive or negative)
Indicates strength
of relationship(0.00 to 1.00)
r = 0.37+
Prediction
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Prediction
• Positive correlation: one variable incerases, theother one also increases, or vice versa.
Example: r = +.22 (age and intelligence)
• Negative correlation: one variable decreases, the
other one increases.
Example: r = -.85 (self-esteem and depression)
Correlation
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Q: Which of the following correlationcoefficients reflects the strongest correlation?
• A) +.10
• B) -.64
• C) +.35
• D) -.10
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Correlations do not permit inferring causality
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Violenceviewing
Actualizedviolence
Actualizedviolence
Violenceviewing
OR
Inferring Causality
If we know that two variables are highlycorrelated, can we determine the causalrelationship between them?
Correlation does not mean causation!
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Instability athome
Violenceviewing
Actualizedviolence
A third variable could cause A and B:
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or
Another Example
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In order to determine causality we mustturn to experimental methods.
CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLYCAUSATION
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Goals of Psychology
3. To explain and understand behaviorand mental processes
• Experimentation
Like other sciences, experimentation is the backbone of psychological research.
Experiments isolate causes and their effects.
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Experimentation
Experiment
an investigator manipulates one or morefactors (independent variables) to observe
their effect on some behavior or mentalprocess (the dependent variable).
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Experimentation
Independent Variable (IV)
the experimental factor that is manipulated
the variable whose effect is being studied
Dependent Variable (DV)
the experimental factor that may change in
response to manipulations of theindependent variable
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Experimentation
Wacth violentfilms
Aggressive behavior
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Experimentation
Experimental Condition the condition of an experiment that exposes
participants to the treatment (to one versionof the independent variable)
Control Condition
the condition of an experiment that does notexpose participants to the treatment
serves as a comparison for evaluating theeffect of the treatment
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Example:
The Bobo Doll ExperimentParticipants: 72 3- and 6-year-old children.
The total of 72 children were split
in to 2 groups.
One group was put into anaggressive model scenario: theadult attacked the Bobo doll by
hitting it.
Another group was used as acontrol group and not exposed toany adult model at all.
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Example:
The Bobo Doll Experiment
Measure: The final stage of theexperiment took place in a roomin which the child was left alonefor 20 min. with a series of
aggressive and non-aggressivetoys to play with.
Results: Children exposed to theaggressive model were more
likely to act in physicallyaggressive ways than those whowere not exposed to theaggressive model.
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Figure 7.1
Watch nothingWatch violent model/movie
Measureaggressivebehaviors
ExperimentalCondition
ControlCondition
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Many factors influence our behavior. Experiments(1) manipulate factors that interest us, while other
factors are kept under (2) control. Effects generated by manipulated factors isolate cause and effect
relationships.
by random assignment of participants theexperiment controls other relevant factors
Exploring Cause & Effect
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Figure 7.1
Watch nothingWatch violent movie
Measureaggressivebehaviors
ExperimentalCondition
Control Condition
Other variables here can be:
socioeconomic background (income)
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Experimentation
Random Assignment
assigning participants to experimental andcontrol conditions by chance
minimizes pre-existing differences betweenthose assigned to the different groups
E i i
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Experimentation
Single-Blind Procedure the research participants are uninformed
(blind) about what treatment, if any, they arereceiving.
Do antidepressant drugs really work?
Placebos can have significant antidepressanteffects
To show superior efficacy to placebo
E i i
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Experimentation
Placebo
an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed
active agent, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent.
E i t ti
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Experimentation
Double-Blind Procedure both the research participants and the
research staff are ignorant (blind) aboutwhether the research participants have
received the treatment or a placebo commonly used in drug-evaluation studies
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Another Example
• Study: One of the factors for prejudice is lack ofknowledge about members of the other group
Hypothesis: Watching a documentary filmabout the history of the outgroup will resultin change in prejudice (reduce prejudice)
• IV• DV
• Manipulation (Experimental stimulus)
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