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What aspects of human behavior and
mental processes would you most like to
study?How would you go about studying
these issues?
Imagine you are at Merrill Park and you saw bullies ganging
up on an innocent kid. What would YOU do?
Imagine you are at Merrill Park and you see a young man and woman fighting.
Every time the woman tries to stand up, the man restraints her and pushes her
back down. What would YOU do? What do you think other people would do? Do you think men & women would differ in how
they handle this situation? Would it change if the couple was married?
Imagine you’re in NYC riding in a taxi…the driver begins an extensive rant filled with hateful ethnic
slurs. Would you tell him to stop? Would be remain
silent? Would you join in?
You’re shopping in your local convenience store. You notice woman stealing items and placing them into
her purse. Do you think anyone would tell the owner? Would you tell the
owner? What factors would influence your decision to act or not act?
At Menlo Mall in the food court, you’re sitting with your friends. You overhear a woman calling a little boy
stupid. She threatens that if he doesn’t behave, she’s going to leave him alone in the mall. What would
YOU do?
Chapter 2Research Methods in Psychology
Create a studyMaterials: Coke, Pepsi, cups
Answer:
1. What do you want to know?
2. What do you need?
3. Who’s involved? Be specific.
4. How will the participants be chosen?
5. How will you conduct it?
6. Make predictions
Psychology is an experimental scienceClaims MUST be supported by evidence
SCIENTIFIC METHOD:
1. Form a research Question
2. Form a Hypothesis
3. Test the hypothesis
4. Analyze the results
5. Draw Conclusions
Research questions are best directed by behavior rather than psychological constructs (should be measurable)
Hypothesis educated guess; statement [if-then]
For findings to be confirmed, a study must be replicated (if repeated produce same results)
NEW questions and hypotheses come from studies
Everyone has heard of the freshman 15! College students typically gain about 15 pounds
during their first year in college. What would be a good hypothesis
to study this?
Surveys!
Take a laptop and paper from desk
Go to: http://www.socialpsychology.org/expts.htm#pinternet
Surveys, Samples, & Populations
To find out about people’s attitudes and behaviors…
Surveys people are asked to respond to a series of questions
- written questionnaires
Advantages: rapidly survey thousands
Disadvantages: may lie; please interviewers; in person vs. over phone
Important concepts…Target population whole group you want to study or describe
Sample part of target population; should accurately represent population
Random sample individuals are selected by chance from the target population
Stratified sample all subgroups of population is represented proportionally
Generalizing
Volunteer bias predisposition to a certain point of view [why are they volunteering?] ; could skew results
Review…in notebooks
1. What is a sample?
2. What is the WHOLE group that a psychologist is studying?
3. If a sample is large enough, will it be stratified?
4. What are the steps of the scientific method?
5. How do psychologists develop research questions?
Methods of Observation
Surveys
Testing method
Case study
Longitudinal studies
Cross-sectional studies
Naturalistic observation
Laboratory observation
Correlation
DOES NOT EQUAL
Cause & Effect
Analyzing Data
Correlation measure how closely one thing is related to another
Positive correlation
Negative correlation
In the next chapter, we will be discussing the role our nervous system plays in behavior, but we will also be discussing the nature vs. nurture debate.
- What are your thoughts on the nature vs. nurture debate? (Nature: born with traits; Nurture: How you’re brought up)
- Do you believe your traits are inborn or developed over time due to your environment?
- When you are an adult, if you had the option to choose your future child's traits, would you? Why or why not? If so, what traits would be most important to you?
Experimental Method
cause --> effectVariables factors that can vary
Independent factor manipulated
Dependent depends on independent variable
Experimental group receive treatment
Control group don’t receive treatment
***ALL other factors MUST be controlled to ensure results are due to the treatment being studied***
“Does psychotherapy work?”
Our expectations affect what happens to us
Placebo effect
Placebo substance or treatment that has no effect apart from a person’s belief in it
How can researchers avoid the influence of expectations?
Single-blind study participants don’t know whether they are in experimental or control group
Double-blind study participants AND researchers [required by FDA]
Measures of Variability
Central tendency mean/average
To understand the distribution of data…
- standard deviation
- range
APA’s Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists
Using recognized standards of competence and ethics, psychologists plan research so as to minimize the possibility of misleading results. Any ethical problems are resolved before research is started. The welfare and confidentiality of all participants are to be protected.
Psychologists are responsible for the dignity and welfare of participants. Psychologists are also responsible for all research they perform or is performed by others under their supervision.
4 Major Considerations
1. Informed consent
2. No harm
3. Confidentiality/anonymity
4. Debriefed
**IRB** Institutional Review Board
Confidentiality
Records are private
Exception: to protect the well-being of the client or of other people
Deception
New drug experiments often use placebos
May use deception in the following situations:
- when they believe that the benefits of the research outweigh its potential harm
- when they believe participants would have been willing to participate if they understood the benefits
- when participants receive an explanation of the study after it has occurred
Double-blind studySigmund FreudCase studyCross-sectional studyLongitudinal studySkinner boxesNaturalistic observationsLaboratory observationsStandard deviationSurveyTarget populationconclusionSampleRandom sampleStratified sampleControlledCentral tendencyAverageIntelligence
CorrelationHypothesisScientific methodExperimentalTestingAptitudePersonalityIndependent variableDependent variableControl groupExperimental groupResearch questionGeneralizingVolunteer biasAnalyzeReplicatedPlaceboGenie
