Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. PSYCHOLOGY: MAKING CONNECTIONS GREGORY J. FEIST ERIKA L. ROSENBERG

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Conducting Psychological Research Chapter Two

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Preview Questions How is psychology like physics or biology or other sciences? How is psychology like physics or biology or other sciences? How do psychologists study behavior and mental processes? How do psychologists study behavior and mental processes? Is it safe to participate in psychological research? Is it safe to participate in psychological research?

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter Preview The Nature of Science The Nature of Science Research Methods in Psychology Research Methods in Psychology Making Sense of Data with Statistics Making Sense of Data with Statistics Research Ethics Research Ethics Making Connections in Psychological Research: Can Experience Change the Brain? Making Connections in Psychological Research: Can Experience Change the Brain?

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Nature of Science

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Common Sense and Logic Science must combine logic with research and experimentation Science must combine logic with research and experimentation

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Limits of Observation Interpretation of sensor experiences may vary from person to person Interpretation of sensor experiences may vary from person to person Generalization Generalization

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. What is Science? Physical Physical Biological Biological Social Social

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. What is Science? Cumulative Cumulative Process more than a product Process more than a product Attitude Attitude –Question authority –Open skepticism –Intellectual honesty

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Scientific Method Observation Observation Prediction Prediction Testing Testing Interpretation Interpretation Communication Communication

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. What Science Is Not: Pseudoscience Lacks the cumulative progress seen in science Lacks the cumulative progress seen in science Disregards real-world observations and established facts/results and contradicts what is already known Disregards real-world observations and established facts/results and contradicts what is already known Lacks internal skepticism Lacks internal skepticism Only vaguely explains how conclusions are reached Only vaguely explains how conclusions are reached Uses loose and distorted logic Uses loose and distorted logic

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Research Methods in Psychology

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Principles of Research Design Research design Research design –Variable –Population –Samples –Social desirability bias

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Descriptive Studies Descriptive designs Descriptive designs –Study designs in which the researcher defines a problem and variable of interest but makes no prediction and does not control or manipulate anything

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Descriptive Studies Case study Case study Naturalistic observation Naturalistic observation Interview and survey Interview and survey –Representative sample

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Correlational Studies Correlational designs Correlational designs –Studies that measure two or more variables and their relationship to one another, not designed to show causation

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Positive Correlation

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Experimental Studies Independent variable Independent variable Dependent variable Dependent variable Confounding variable Confounding variable

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Experimental Studies Random assignment Random assignment Experimental group Experimental group Control group Control group Placebo Placebo

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Experimental Studies Single-blind studies Single-blind studies Double-blind studies Double-blind studies Experimenter expectancy effects Experimenter expectancy effects –Robert Rosenthal –Self-fulfilling prophecy

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Meta-Analysis Research technique for combining all research results on one question and drawing a conclusion Research technique for combining all research results on one question and drawing a conclusion –Effect size Standardized statistic Standardized statistic

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Commonly Used Measures of Psychological Research

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Self-Report Measures Written or oral accounts of a person’s thoughts, feelings, or actions Written or oral accounts of a person’s thoughts, feelings, or actions –Interviews –Questionnaires

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Behavioral Measures Based on systematic observation of people’s actions either in their normal environment or in a laboratory setting Based on systematic observation of people’s actions either in their normal environment or in a laboratory setting

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Physiological Measures Measures of bodily responses used to determine changes in psychological state Measures of bodily responses used to determine changes in psychological state –Blood pressure –Heart rate –Sweating –Respiration

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Multiple Measurement Use of several measures to acquire data on one aspect of behavior Use of several measures to acquire data on one aspect of behavior –Offsets limitation of any single measurement

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Commonly Used Measures in Psychology

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Making Sense of Data with Statistics

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Making Sense of Data with Statistics Statistics Statistics –Collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of numerical data Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics –Techniques that show what observations collected in research actually look like by summarizing and describing data

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Making Sense of Data with Statistics Mean Mean –Average Median Median –Separates the upper half from the lower half Mode Mode –Most common

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Making Sense of Data with Statistics Standard deviation Standard deviation –Measure of how much scores, in a sample, vary around the mean –Most common way to represent variability in data

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Research Ethics Informed consent Informed consent Respect for persons Respect for persons Beneficence Beneficence –Debriefing –Institutional review boards (IRBs) Privacy and confidentiality Privacy and confidentiality Justice Justice

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Ethical Research with Animals Very controversial Very controversial Strict laws and standards govern treatment Strict laws and standards govern treatment

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Making Connections in Psychological Research: Can Experience Change the Brain?

Copyright 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Quasi-experimental Design Method similar to an experimental design except that it makes use of naturally occurring groups rather than randomly assigning subjects to groups Method similar to an experimental design except that it makes use of naturally occurring groups rather than randomly assigning subjects to groups