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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

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

6. 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

7. 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”

8. 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

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

10. 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

11. 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

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

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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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)

18. 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)

19. 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