Unit One: Chapter Two Introduction of Psychology

Warm Up How do we come up with new scientific discoveries?

Conducting Research The scientific process Forming a Research Question ▫Aimed at explaining behavior ▫Something common that you are genuinely interested in explaining Forming a Hypothesis ▫Educated guess ▫Usually “if-then” statements  Ex: “If you play in the street, then you’ll get hit by a car.”

Conducting Research Testing the Hypothesis ▫Hypothesis cannot be considered a fact or true unless it is tested ▫Usually done several times Analyzing the Results ▫Look over the data collected from testing hypothesis

Conducting Research Drawing Conclusions ▫Does the data support your hypothesis ▫Does the data not support your hypothesis Replication ▫Study must be repeated ▫If you get different results, the study is probably invalid

Conducting Research New Questions ▫Findings may lead to other things they want to study. ▫The process then repeats itself with new research

Chapter Two Vocabulary Hypothesis Replicated Survey Target population Sample Random sample Stratified sample Bias Case study Longitudinal method Controlled experiment Placebo Single-blind study Ethics Informed consent Cross-sectional method Naturalistic observation Laboratory observation Correlation Positive correlation Negative correlation Experiment Variables Independent variables Dependent variables Experimental group Control group Double-blind study Standard deviation

Warm-up Have you ever filled out a survey? What was the survey asking you about?

Surveys, Samples, and Populations Survey Method ▫People respond to questions on a certain topic ▫Either through questionnaires or interviews ▫People do not always tell the truth

Surveys, Samples, and Populations Populations and Samples ▫The group of people you conduct the study on is important ▫Target populations – group you want to study  Relevant to the study  Sample is part of target population

Surveys, Samples, and Populations Selecting Samples ▫You want samples to accurately represent your target population ▫Random sample – everyone in target population has an equal chance of being chosen ▫Stratified sample – target pop. Proportionally represented.

Surveys, Samples, and Populations Volunteer Bias ▫Researchers cannot control who participates in their study ▫People who volunteer might have a different perspective than those who chose not to volunteer

Design your own experiment Design a psychological experiment using the scientific method. Include: ▫a description of each component of the experimental method ▫Problems that may arise ▫What methods you would use to reduce bias

Warm-up How do you think an observation would be different from a survey? Which one do you think is used the most often?

Methods of Observation Testing Method ▫IQ, personality, and aptitude tests The Case-Study Method ▫In depth investigation of a person or small group of people ▫Ex: the case of Genie (language development) ▫Problems with memories of people being interviewed

Methods of Observation Longitudinal Methods ▫Observing a group of people over a certain length of time  Usually years ▫Conduct interviews about once a year usually ▫Very time consuming Cross-Sectional Method ▫Sample being studied vary in ages ▫Generalizations because they don’t know specifically the reason for the differences

Methods of Observation Laboratory-Observation ▫Behaviors or Mental Processes observed in a controlled environment Analyzing Observations ▫Correlations – how things are related  Positive correlation - both go up  Negative correlation – one goes up and the other goes down  Correlations are not causation

Activity Copy the chart on page 38 beneath your notes Then answer question #3 in the section review on page 40

Warm-up Has your mother (or anyone else) ever kissed a scrape to make it feel better? Or given you “a lucky charm”? What was the circumstance? Did it make you feel better?

Experimental Method Variables ▫Independent is changed ▫Dependent is what changes as a result of the independent variable Groups ▫Experimental receives the treatment from the experiment ▫Control do not receive treatment  Controlled experiment has a control group

Experimental Method Placebo Effect ▫People are given treatments that is not meant to be effective, but they still get better ▫It works because the person believed it would work Single-Blind Study ▫The participant in the study does not know if they are part of the control or the experimental group

Experimental Method Double-Blind Study ▫Neither the participant or researcher knows which group is the experimental or control group Central Tendency ▫Mean – all scores added up and divided by the # of scores there were ▫Median – middle score when #s arranged lowest to highest ▫Mode – most frequent score

Experimental Method Dispersion ▫Range – lowest score subtracted from highest score ▫Standard deviation – how far away the scores are from the mean  The larger the standard deviation the more spread out the scores were

Activity Mean, Median, Mode, and range worksheet

Warm-up How could a psychological be considered inethical?

Ethical Issues Ethics ▫Proper and responsible behavior

Ethical Issues Research with People ▫Cannot do something that would harm person they are studying ▫Study those already under conditions they are curious about  Damage to part of the brain  Other factors may be an influence ▫Records must be confidential

Ethical Issues Research with People ▫Informed Consent  The people you are testing need to know what they will be doing in the study ▫Deception  Placebo studies and other instances that studies would not work if the participant knew what was going on  Is deceiving participants ok? Are there limits?

Ethical Issues Research with Animals ▫Use of animals to avoid harming humans ▫Has benefitted humans ▫APA does have regulations Ethics in Using Data ▫Bias in favor of your hypothesis  Must present all data even if it disproves hypothesis

Argumentative Essay Write an argumentative essay about the ethical standards of psychological research in regards to human and animal testing. Clearly state your opinion. Provide evidence for your opinion.