CHAPTERs 2 & 3 Research in Psychology: Getting Started & measurement

Varieties of Psychological Research Basic designed to describe and understand fundamental psychological phenomena. Applied designed to shed light on the solution to real-world problems. Example: effect of cell phone use on driving

Varieties of Psychological Research Laboratory greater control minimal mundane realism Field more realistic maximum mundane realism Experimental realism – the extent to which the study has an impact on the subjects, forces them to take the matter seriously, and involves them in the procedures. Mundane realism- how closely a study mirrors real life experiences

Varieties of Psychological Research Quantitative Includes quantitative data and statistical analysis Qualitative Includes narrative descriptions, content analyses, interviews Much research includes elements of both Depression, anxiety studies

Basic concepts Variables Sampling and Measurement Statistical relationships between variables Differences between groups Correlations between quantitative variables Correlation is not causation

Developing Research Ideas: Asking Empirical Questions Answerable with data Terms precisely defined Operational definitions variables defined in terms of a clearly specified set of operations Hunger : 12 hours without food Aggression: car honks, delivering shocks, # of fights on playground Especially important for animal research Important for replication

Where to Research Ideas Come From? Our own observations Kitty Genovese (1964) Bystander effect Sometimes from serendipitous events (discovering something while looking for something else) Hubel and Wiesel (1959, 1962): “edge detectors”

Developing Research from Other Research Research teams and the “What’s Next?” Question Programs of research Series of interrelated studies Research teams and the apprentice model Replication and extension Exact replication rare The norm in Pavlov’s lab, to train new workers Extension  partial replication, with new features added to extend the findings

Sections of a Scientific journal article Cover Page Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion References Tables & Figures

Reviewing the Literature: scientific journal articles Computerized database searches In psychology  PsycINFO/ Google Scholar Search tips Using truncated search terms to avoid being too narrow Search results Take note of source (e.g., journal article, book, dissertation) Read Abstracts provided when you click on the title

CHAPTER 3: MEASUREMENT What to Measure: Varieties of Behavior Developing measures from constructs Relates again to operational definitions Research Example – Habituation Construct  understanding of gravity Measures  preferential looking and time spent looking

What to Measure: Varieties of Behavior Research Example – Reaction Time Construct  visualization/ visuo-spatial sketchpad Measure  reaction time

Scales of Measurement assigning numbers to events, characteristics, or behaviors 4 Scales of Measurement: nominal scales ordinal scales interval scales ratio scales

Nominal Scales assign numbers to events to classify them into one group or another numbers are used as names [categorical] How used: assign individuals to categories count the number of individuals falling into each category (reported as frequencies) Example: Verdict: 0 = not guilty, 1 = guilty

Ordinal Scales numbers are used to indicate rank order How used: rank order (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) individuals based on one or several other pieces of data Example: 4 students’ class rank (based on GPA): 1, 2, 35, 100

Interval Scales scores indicate quantities equal intervals between scores score of zero  just a point on the continuum a score of zero does not indicate ‘absence’ of something How used: calculate score from participants’ responses on a test Examples: temperature, IQ scores, scores from personality tests (see Box 4.2)

Ratio Scales scores indicate quantities equal intervals between scores score of zero  does denote ‘absence’ of something How used: calculate score from participants’ responses on a test EXAMPLES: # words recalled, # errors made in maze learning task, time to make a response (reaction time)

Evaluating Measures Reliability: extent to which it produces the same result when applied to the same person under the same conditions; the consistency of a measure Over time (test-retest reliability) Across items (internal consistency) Across researchers (inter-rater reliabilty) Religiosity Scale I feel God’s presence I experience a connection with all life I find strength in my religion I find comfort in spirituality I listen to music in the morning Level of Agreement (1-5) 1 2 3 4 5

Evaluating measures Validity: extent to which the scores from a measure represent the variable they are intended to. Face validity Content validity Criterion validity Convergent validity Discriminant validity