1. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 1 Beginning Psychological Research Chapter 1

2. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 2 Stroop Demo Introduction –Are aspects of reading automatic? Method –Conflict vs. No Conflict is manipulated Task familiarity – we read everyday and expect the words to make sense –Time is what is measured –Confounds?

3. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 3 Stroop Demo (2) Results –Participants took longer to count+’s than to read digits and took longer to count #’s than the other conditions –You will notice similar patterns with the colored words

4. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 4 Stroop Demo (3) Discussion –The automatic nature of reading interferes with our ability to complete the assigned task. –What are some problems with the task as we performed it in class? –What other Stroop-like examples can you think of?

5. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 5 Types of Research Applied –Human Factors –Industrial/Organizational –Clinical/Counseling/Health Basic –Social –Developmental –Cognitive –Personality

6. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 6 Making Sense of the World Social Loafing –Do you like to work in groups? –Group output is not equal to the sum of maximum individual outputs –Free-rider effect –Sucker effect –Rope pulling, yelling, domain does not really matter

7. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 7 Social Loafing Why do groups perform poorly on these kinds of tasks? –Diffusion of responsibility (Latané, 1981) Does diffusion of responsibility only apply to work? –Helping behavior (Darley & Latané) –Decision tree model of helping Notice – Interpret – Assume responsibility – Help

8. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 8 Social Loafing Demonstrates the overlap between basic and applied research –Sometimes we have applied questions that lead to basic research –That basic research can then be applied to real problems –Research is inspired by critically evaluating phenomena in the world

9. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 9 Cockpit Design

10. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 10 Cockpit Design (2)

11. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 11 Types of Psychological Research Applied –Human Factors –Industrial/Organizational –Clinical/Counseling/Health Basic –Social (attitudes, attraction, persuasion, conformity) –Cognitive (language, memory, decision making) –Developmental (age-specific function levels) –Personality (traits, motivation, individual differences)

12. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 12 Goals of Research 1.Description Describe a behavioral phenomenon 2.Explanation Develop explanations for behavior 3.Prediction Attempt to predict behavior or performance 4.Control Psychotherapy or therapeutic interventions

13. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 13 Goals of this Class Conducting Research –Contribute to the evolution of knowledge –Different researchers ask different questions –Different researchers approach the same questions differently Evaluate Research –Critical Thinking skills –Awareness of scientific methods/process

14. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 14 Experimental Research Components of Experiments –Variables Operationalize the variables Independent Variable (IV) Dependent Variable (DV) Confounding Variables –Control Control groups Avoid bias

15. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 15 Sources of Research Ideas Observations –Notice events in the world and seek explanations –Understand what conditions are best for performance Experts –Psychology Faculty all have different and varied interests Literature Search –Keep a database or journal of ideas that hit you while reading –Think about conditions/limitations of research articles

16. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 16 Characteristics of Good Research Theoretical Framework –Theory (integration of facts and ideas) Thesis  Antithesis  Synthesis –Hypothesis (testable prediction about the relationship between 2 or more variables) Standardized Procedures Generalizability from a Sample Objective Measurement

17. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 17 Bias in Research Inadvertent researcher bias –Researchers are fallible and have own ideas, beliefs, politics Avoiding bias –Double-blind studies Removing bias in interpretations –Placebo studies –Control groups

18. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 18 Communication Issues Definitions –Is bowling a sport? Figure skating? Skeet shooting? Fishing? –Operational Definitions A definition of a concept in terms of the operations that must be performed to demonstrate the concept Like a recipe: Judge, scoring system, direct competition between two or more persons or teams, requires physical skill or prowess, etc.

19. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 19 Sources of Understanding Charles Sanders Peirce (1877) –Authority Parents, experts, religious leaders, etc. Domain specific –Tenacity Maintain beliefs despite contrary evidence Self serving –A priori Beliefs without prior study or examination

20. Southern Methodist UniversityPSYC 3382 20 Science vs. Fixed beliefs Science is empirical –Data, experience Science is self-correcting –Allows for reconciliation of different opinions