1. Research Design  Experimental Methods  Standardization  Psychological Testing

2. Need for Psychological Research? Are intuition and common sense enough to bring forth answers about human nature?  Are they free of error? Examples:  “Opposites attract”

3. Need for Psychological Research?  Limits of intuition: Personal interviewers tend to be overconfident of their “gut feelings” about job applicants. Overconfidence:   We tend to think we know more than we actually do.   How long do you think would it take to unscramble the anagrams?   Anagram GRABE----------BARGE ETYRN----------ENTRY WREAT---------WATER   People said about 10 seconds.   On average they took about 3 minutes.  Errors in common sense: If you were to fold a piece of paper (0.1 mm thick) a 100 fold, how large do you think its thickness would be? Answer:Answer:   800 Trillion times the distance between the sun and the earth.

4. Need for Psychological Research?  The Amazing Randi 1 million dollar check to anyone that can1 million dollar check to anyone that can (under conditions agreed upon by both parties) prove the existence of any form of paranormal activity.

5. Need for Psychological Research?  Psychology is a unique blend of biology, philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, and sociology.  This makes psychology an important science because it merges all the “gray areas” of other scientific fields into one science.  Psychology gives us a place to answer philosophical questions with hard, scientific methods.

6. Schools of Thought Abnormal Biological Cognitive Comparative Counseling Clinical Critical Developmental Educational Evolutionary Forensic Global Health Legal Occupational Health Personality Quantitative Social School Industrial/Organizational

7. Schools of Thought

8. Normality

9. Experimental Psychology Research in psychology has five basic goals:  Describe  Explain Why did the subject produce the behavior?  Predict The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.  Control What can we do to change the behavior?  Improve

10. Experimental Psychology Two Main Types of Psychological Research: Basic: Study of psychological issues in order seek knowledge for its own sake. Basic: Study of psychological issues in order seek knowledge for its own sake. Applied: Study of psychological issues that have direct practical significance and application. Applied: Study of psychological issues that have direct practical significance and application.

11. Theory   Explains how a number of separate facts are related. An idea about a relationship. Testable model capable of predicting future occurrences or observations. Capable of being tested through experiment or verified through empirical observation. Experimental analysis is necessary in order to validate or invalidate a theory.  Empirical: Can be physically tested. Is understood through experience. Uses tools to weight and measure its boundaries.  Experiment: Manipulate a situation in order to prove/disprove a hypothesis.Manipulate a situation in order to prove/disprove a hypothesis.  Meta-Analysis: Summary of past research on a given topic.Summary of past research on a given topic.

12. Placebo  Placebo: No treatment givenNo treatment given Participant assumes treatment is present.Participant assumes treatment is present.  Confederate: Experimenter assumes the role of a participant or antagonist.Experimenter assumes the role of a participant or antagonist.  Hawthorne Effect : Subjects improve an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to being studied.Subjects improve an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to being studied.

13. Animal Model  Necessary for research: Rats have similar immune system as humans.Rats have similar immune system as humans. Mice have similar metabolism as humans.Mice have similar metabolism as humans. Monkeys have similar cognition processes as humans.Monkeys have similar cognition processes as humans.

14. Research Process “Too many cookies make penguins go crazy.” 1. Have a question or idea about a relationship. 2. Develop a Null Hypothesis: () 2. Develop a Null Hypothesis: (H0)  The reverse of what the experimenter believes will happen.  Cookies don’t make penguins go crazy.  Very easy to test this, all you have to do is find one case where this is not so. 3. Develop an Alternative Hypothesis: () 3. Develop an Alternative Hypothesis: (H1) Statement that attempts to describe or explain a given behavior.Statement that attempts to describe or explain a given behavior.  Leads to specific predictions of what will happen in very specific situations.  Certain types and quantities of cookies may make specific penguins go crazy.

15. Research Process 4. Conduct the Experiment: Variable: Anything that can be measured or is changed.Variable: Anything that can be measured or is changed.  Independent Variable: Input variable.  Dependent Variable: Outcome variable. Control Condition: No manipulation added.Control Condition: No manipulation added. Operational Definition: How the phenomenon is to be observed and measured.Operational Definition: How the phenomenon is to be observed and measured. Principal of Falsifiability: Hypotheses could be disproved if contradictory evidence were observed/introduced.Principal of Falsifiability: Hypotheses could be disproved if contradictory evidence were observed/introduced. 5. Complete the Result Section:  Collected data from experiment, prove or disprove the null Statistical Significance: Results are probably true, not due to chance.Statistical Significance: Results are probably true, not due to chance. Occam’s Razor: When conflicting results/solutions to a given problem occur, the shortest and least complex one is the correct choice.Occam’s Razor: When conflicting results/solutions to a given problem occur, the shortest and least complex one is the correct choice.

17. Potential Contamination of Results  Selection Bias: Occurs when differences between groups are present at the beginning of the experiment. Solution:Solution:  Random Assignment- Assigning the subjects to each group based on chance rather than human decision.  Placebo Effect: Involves the influencing of performance due to the subject's belief about the results. Solution:Solution:  Blind Study- Subjects are not informed of the purpose of the experiment. Subjects are basically blind to the expected results.

18. Potential Contamination of Results  Experimenter Bias: Changes in the results caused by the experimenter. Experimenter behaves in a manner that influences the participant. Solution:Solution:  Double-Blind Study- Both the experimenter and the subjects are blind to the purpose and anticipated results of the study.  Volunteer Bias: If they care enough to be there then their opinions/results may differ from ones that remain silent. Solution:Solution:  None

19. Standardization After an experiment is complete and the results obtained are successful the next step is to standardize the experiment: All subjects must be given the same instructionsAll subjects must be given the same instructions All subjects must be presented with the instructions in the same mannerAll subjects must be presented with the instructions in the same manner All data must be collected in exactly the same wayAll data must be collected in exactly the same way Experiment needs to be replicated with different subjectsExperiment needs to be replicated with different subjects Experiment must be reliable and valid:Experiment must be reliable and valid:  Reliable: Test/Experiment produces the same results from one time and place to the next.  Valid: Test/Experiment measures what it is suppose to measure. Basically a test is considered to be standardized when it is said to have:  “Stood the test of time”

20. Types of Research  Naturalistic Observation: Observing behavior in its natural environment. Can involve counting specific behaviors. Advantage: Provides more qualitative informationAdvantage: Provides more qualitative information than the other methods. Disadvantage : Presence of an observer modifies the participant’s behavior. No two observers produce theDisadvantage : Presence of an observer modifies the participant’s behavior. No two observers produce the same results.  Case Study: Following a single case for an extended period of time. Advantage: Gather extensive information, bothAdvantage: Gather extensive information, both qualitative and quantitative and can be helpful in better understanding rare cases. Disadvantage: Only one case is involved severelyDisadvantage: Only one case is involved severely limiting generalization.

21. Types of Research  Survey: Questionnaires gather info from asking people directly. Advantage: Can gather large amounts of information in a relatively short time, cost effective.Advantage: Can gather large amounts of information in a relatively short time, cost effective. Disadvantage: Based solely on subjects’ responsesDisadvantage: Based solely on subjects’ responses which can be inaccurate due to outright lying, misunderstanding of the question, placebo effect, and even the manner in which the question is asked.

22. Types of Research  Correlational Study: Determine if a relationship exists, what direction the relationship is, and how strong it is. Positive Correlation: As one increases the other increases, as one decreases the other decreases.Positive Correlation: As one increases the other increases, as one decreases the other decreases. Negative Correlation: As one increases the other decreases, as one decreases the other increases.Negative Correlation: As one increases the other decreases, as one decreases the other increases. Advantage: Measures the strength of a relationship between two groups.Advantage: Measures the strength of a relationship between two groups. Disadvantage: Can’t make any assumptions of cause and effect. No knowledge of effect of a third variable.Disadvantage: Can’t make any assumptions of cause and effect. No knowledge of effect of a third variable. Positive:Negative:

23. Positive Correlation

24. Negative Correlation

25. Psychological Testing Measure personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, and values. Usually measured as a single score.Usually measured as a single score.  Objective Tests: Participants is awareParticipants is aware Feelings, attitudes, beliefsFeelings, attitudes, beliefs Asking questions directlyAsking questions directly  Projective Tests: Participants are unawareParticipants are unaware Unconscious feelingsUnconscious feelings Examples: Rorschach Test, Draw a Person, Play Therapy, Draw-A-Person, Sentence CompletionExamples: Rorschach Test, Draw a Person, Play Therapy, Draw-A-Person, Sentence Completion

26. Psychological Testing Psychological testing categories:  Achievement and aptitude  Intelligence  Neuropsychological  Occupational  Personality  Specific Clinical Justification for using tests:  It is easier to get information from tests than by clinical interview.  The information from tests is more scientifically consistent than the information from a clinical interview.  It is harder to get away with lying on a test than an interview.