1. Psychologists do more than just wonder about human behavior: they conduct RESEARCH

2. Two Types of Research Used in Psychology Applied Research Applied Research –clear and practical reasons and uses for research –If a psychologist was trying to come up with a new behavior therapy to stop heroin use, it would be applied research Basic Research Basic Research –no immediate, real-world uses but explores interesting questions –Studying the differences between cultures and physical beauty is an example of basic research

3. Things that make research scientific  Research Must Be Replicable  Must be able to be copied by others to get similar reliable data  the best and most reliable studies are replicated over and over

4. Things that make research scientific  Research Must Be Precise  Meaning research has to be to the point and easily understood  To be precise psychologists use  Operational Definitions  a definition of terms so basic that when others read your study they know exactly what you are looking for or measuring  Try to capture the essence of the concept so that others can observe it  Example – if you are trying to measure sense of humor – how would you make it precise?  presence of more laughter, more smiling, greater number of laughs at jokes

5. Operational Definitions Explain what you mean in your hypothesis. How will the variables be measured in “real life” terms. How you operationalize the variables will tell us if the study is valid and reliable. Let’s say your hypothesis is that chocolate causes violent behavior. What do you mean by chocolate? What do you mean by violent behavior?

6. What can cause research to go wrong?? What exactly do I mean by bias??

7. Bias Bias  Any influence in research that unfairly increases the possibility we will reach a particular conclusion Types of Bias  Researcher Bias, Confirmation Bias, Experimenter Bias when researchers look for and accept evidence that supports their beliefs and ignore or reject evidence that prove false their beliefs when researchers look for and accept evidence that supports their beliefs and ignore or reject evidence that prove false their beliefs  Participant Bias (or subject bias) when research participants respond in a certain way because they know they are being observed when research participants respond in a certain way because they know they are being observed act how they think the researcher wants them to act act how they think the researcher wants them to act  Hindsight Bias when researchers believe, after learning the outcome of research, that they knew it all along when researchers believe, after learning the outcome of research, that they knew it all along

8. Hawthorne Effect the term is used to identify any type of short- lived increase in productivity Just the fact that you know you are in an experiment can cause change So even a control group may experience changes and affect results of experiment Whether the lights were brighter or dimmer, production went up in the Hawthorne electric plant.

9. 2-9 Scientific Method in Psychology Scientists develop theories through the scientific method The scientific method is the process used in psychology to discover knowledge about human behaviour and mental processes

10. 2-10 Scientific Method in Psychology (cont’d) The first step is to state the problem Psychologists must ask questions that can be answered The questions must be specific and defined in a clear way

11. 2-11 Scientific Method in Psychology (cont’d) The second step is to develop a hypothesis A hypothesis is an educated guess about the answer to the question that has been posed Hypotheses often emerge from theory

12. 2-12 Scientific Method in Psychology (cont’d) Step three is to design a study Researchers must identify key variables and choose a suitable method for investigation Researchers also must consider how many participants will be required and who the participants will be

13. 2-13 Scientific Method in Psychology (cont’d) The fourth step is collect and analyze data Techniques must be selected that do not bias the results Statistical methods help summarize the data that have been collected

14. 2-14 Scientific Method in Psychology (cont’d) The fifth step is draw conclusions and reporting results Researchers report results to the scientific community by making presentations at conferences or by publishing their findings in a journal

15. 2-15 Experimental Method Psychological research often takes the form of an experiment An experiment is a procedure in which researchers systematically manipulate and observe elements of a situation to test a hypothesis

16. 2-16 Experimental Method (cont’d) A variable is characteristic of a situation or a person that is subject to change or that differs within or across situations or persons

17. 2-17 Experimental Method (cont’d) The independent variable is manipulated by the experimenter The dependent variable is the behaviour or response that is expected to change because of the experimenter’s manipulation

18. 2-18 Experimental Method (cont’d) A sample is the limited number of people researchers select to be part of the experiment and who represent a larger group

19. 2-19 Experimental Method (cont’d) An operational definition is a definition of a variable in terms of the methods or procedures used to study that variable Studying defined as 20 minutes per day over three days is an operational definition

20. 2-20 Experimental Method (cont’d) Participants are the individuals who take part in an experiment and whose behaviour is observed and recorded

21. 2-21 Experimental Method (cont’d) The experimental group “receives” the independent variable The control group is a comparison group who are tested on the dependent variable but do not receive the independent variable

22. 3 Types of Research you will have to know!!!  Descriptive Research  Correlational Research  Experimental Research

23. Descriptive Research  Any type of research that describes the “who, what, when, where” of a situation NOT only  NOT concerned with causes or how something works only about describing what is going on What is going on in this picture? We cannot say exactly, but we can describe what we see. This is called… Research Type #1

24. 3 Types of Descriptive Research The Case Study The Survey Naturalistic Observation

25. The Case Study Descriptive Research Type #1 The Case Study Where one person (or situation) is observed and studied in depth to gather information. What is the strength and weakness of using a case study to study a topic like this?? For example, if I wanted to study personality and abnormal behavior how would a case study go about it??

26. Case Studies A detailed picture of one or a few subjects. Tells us a great story…but is just descriptive research. Does not even give us correlation data. The ideal case study is John and Kate. Really interesting, but what does it tell us about families in general?

27.  Can study a behavior in depth and get quality info on that case  The results of the case study are usually not generalizable to the rest of the population. not generalizable to the rest of the population.  One persons case would not be a valid representation of the whole population Weakness Strength

28. The Survey Descriptive Research Type #2 The Survey Uses interviews or questionnaires to gather information like attitudes and beliefs The Good –Allows generalization –Cheap and anonymous –Can get a diverse and large population Has both pros and cons when used

29. Survey Method: The Bad Social Desirability BiasSocial Desirability Bias –Give socially acceptable answers not truth Volunteer BiasVolunteer Bias –People who volunteer may not be representative of whole population Problems with wording and answer optionsProblems with wording and answer options How accurate would a survey be about the frequency of diarrhea?

30. Naturalistic Observation Descriptive Research Type #3 Naturalistic Observation Observing and recording behavior in natural environment –No interacting with subjects at all – just an observer –“taking the lab into the field” What are the benefits and detriments of Naturalistic Observation? + = natural behavior - = observers may see different things - = can’t control the environment or outside factors

31. Field Trip We will stay together as we walk around the school grounds. We are to stay quiet and observe There is nothing special set up, I just want you to LOOK

32. How many signs in the hallway? How many paw prints around the school? How many times did you see the word Huskies? How many cars in the parking lot? Did a plane fly over? How many people did you pass?

33. Correlational Research  Explores relationships or links (correlations) between variables “correlated”  Example – mothers smoking during pregnancy is “correlated” with increased risk of SIDS in babies  Descriptive Research - - - describes  Correlational Research - - - links or relationships between things Research Type #2

34. Correlational Research #1 Thing to remember in Correlational Research Correlation does not equal causation!!!!! It is important to understand that CR does NOT say that one variable causes another but rather that they are somehow related There is a correlation between ice cream and murder rates. Does that mean that ice cream causes murder? For Example… Remember…correlation does not equal causation!!!!!

35. We may not be able to determine cause, but we can measure the strength of a relationship… correlation coefficientRelationship of variables is measured using correlation coefficient –A statistical measure (a number) of strength of relationship of variables (ex. Ice cream and murder rates) –Can vary -1.00 to +1.00 –Can vary -1.00 to +1.00 (more on this later) Correlations or relationships can go in two directions –Positive –Negative

36. Types of Correlation Positive Correlation The variables go in the SAME direction. Negative Correlation The variables go in opposite directions. Studying and grades hopefully has a positive correlation. Heroin use and grades probably has a negative correlation.

37. Experimental Research cause and effect Explores cause and effect relationships by manipulating and measuring variables Eating too many Onions causes Bad Breath Research Type #3

38. How do we explore cause and effect?? 1.Form a Hypothesis – a testable prediction 2.Pick Population The group who you are experimenting on -First by Random Selection -Then randomly assign them to one of two groups - control group – those who do not receive the experimental treatment - experimental group – those who do receive the experimental treatment 3.Operationalize the Variables 4.Identify Independent and Dependent Variable We set up, design, and run an Experiment Operationalization Exercise

39. Independent Variable  Factors that are manipulated in an experiment The variable that should cause something to happen The variable that should cause something to happen Dependent Variable  The variable that should show the effect of changing the IV  the way you can figure this out is …”If…then…” If = IV then = DV - “If students study for a quiz before going to sleep, rather than in the morning, then they will get higher test scores” Experimenters try to hold everything else constant so that the independent variable is the cause of the observed effects but this doesn’t always happen because of…

40. Independent Variable Whatever is being manipulated in the experiment. Hopefully the independent variable brings about change. If there is a drug in an experiment, the drug is almost always the independent variable.

41. Dependent Variable The dependent variable would be the effect of the drug. Whatever is being measured in the experiment. It is dependent on the independent variable.

42. Extraneous or Confounding Variables  variables that you don’t count on that could change or influence the DV you want to check for these to make sure they don’t mess up what you are looking for with the IV 1.Determine the type of experiment: Blind vs. Double Blind - blind – participants are kept in the dark about purpose or about hypothesis - double-blind – both the participants and researcher are kept in the dark - placebo – an inactive pill that has no known effect (sugar pill) 2.Gather Data 3.Analyze Results

44. 20 students randomly assigned to experimental group Wear headphones daily in study hall Average grades at the end of the quarter 40 students randomly selected All Study hall students (population) Average grades at the end of the quarter Not allowed to wear headphones in study hall 20 students randomly assigned to control group Hypothesis – students who are assigned to wear headphones in study hall will have higher average grades at the end of the quarter than those banned from wearing headphones Sample IV DV