2.  Psychology is a science, and therefore, based on research.  Many people count on “intuition,” but that often leads us astray.  Hindsight Bias – “I knew it all along.”  Kinds of research  Applied research – to solve practical problems like what is the best way to teach children, or the effectiveness of a “quit-smoking” program

3.  Kinds of Research, cont  Basic Research – explores questions of interest to psychologists, but not intended to have immediate, real-world applications.  How do people form their attitudes?  How do different cultures define intelligence?

4.  Most psychological research is guided by hypothesis. Hypothesis expresses a relationship between two variables.  Variables are things that can vary among the participants in research The dependent variable depends on the independent variable.

5.  Hypothesis: Watching violent television programs makes people more aggressive.  Independent variable – watching television (because a change in the independent variable will produce a change in the dependent variable – aggression)

6.  They sometimes grow out of theories. A theory aims to explain some phenomenon and allows researchers to generate testable hypothesis.  Researchers must name the variables AND provide operational definitions of them. How will you measure it? What programs will be considered violent? Which behaviors will be considered aggressive?

7.  Research is VALID when it measures what the researcher set out to measure; it is accurate  Research is reliable when it can be replicated; it is consistent.  If another researcher conducted the same research in the same way, they would get similar results.  Bandura and his bobo dolls  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCETgT_Xfzg

8.  The individuals on which the research will be conducted are called participants (or subjects)  The process by which participants are selected is called Sampling.  In order to select a sampling, you must first identify the population from which he sample will be selected.

9.  The sampling must be representative of the larger population.  Random selection is used to make sure that every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.  Best random sampling is done by computer, or pulling names out of a hat

10.  The larger the sampling, the more likely it is to represent the population.  Stratified Sampling:  If the population is 50% white, 30% African- American and 10% Hispanic, the sampling should be the same.