1. Research Methods The science of Psychology

2. Psychology is the science of :  How the human mind works.  How the mind enables people to adjust to their environment.  Attempt to understand human behavior.

3. Being an Objective Observer Scientific Method Principles of the Scientific Method Advantages of the Scientific Method

4. Principles – “Nulluis En Verba” Accuracy Objectivity Skepticism Open-Mindedness

5. Observe behavior & form a theory Make a prediction (Hypothesis) Confidenc e Decreases Theory is Rejected Test your Hypothesis (Research) Modify Theory Confidence Increases Flow Chart p. 21

6. Advantages Common Sense doesn’t work Standardization Reduce bias in the findings –Confirmation bias –Availability Heuristic

7. Research Methodology Descriptive –Direct Observation –Case Study –Archival –Survey Experimental –Group Research Between Within –Small N Correlational Research p. 32

8. Things to Consider… Sampling Random Assignment Confounds

9. How to interpret data Descriptive Stats –Central Tendency Mean Median Mode –Variability Range Variance Standard Deviation Inferential Stats –Normal Curve –Correlation Coefficients Appendix A

10. Research Ethics The History –Vivisection (1900’s) –Little Albert (1920) –Nuremberg Code (1946) –Stanford Prison Study (‘73) –Current APA Code (‘92) Checks and Balances –IRB –Informed Consent –Debriefing –Use of deception Animal Research –When & Why?