Chapter 1
Research in Psychology
LEQ’sWhat are the positive and negative traits
that interfere with research?How do psychologists gather and interpret
data?What role does psychology play in research
in other fields?
Psychological ScienceThis is the method of looking at a problem
from a scientific standpoint, eliminating human fallacies.
This section looks at methods of gauging experiments and the use of science to search unbiased truths
Dangers to Scientific StudyIntuition, or ability to judge something based
on our instincts, is a phenomenal tool that allows us to use our value system to tell us how to respond to challenging stimuli.
Common sense is known as the ability to see things for what they are, not what we want them to be, and respond rationally.
Hindsight Bias-the tendency to believe that someone had foreseen something happening after it happened (aka I know it all along)
Overconfidence-the tendency to think we know more than we really do or are more capable than we really are.
Dangers and RealityNone of these four human characteristics, all
valuable in their own way, can be depended on to help with a scientific study on psychology.
Each has a specific drawback that causes it to be excluded from the research processCommon sense-not always scientificIntuition-does not allow for consistent proceduresHindsight bias-leads to overconfidence and
errorsOverconfidence-leads to false conclusions and
errors
The Scientific AttitudeScientists believe their work should be
RepeatableSubject to scrutinyAttempting to answer questions about lifeHumble Inspired by curiosityInvolve Critical Thinking
This Has Proven-Massive brain tissue loss at an early age
can be minimizedBabies recognize their mother’s smell and
voice within daysBrain damage can leave people able to
learn new skillsDiverse people show a relatively
comparable amount of happiness with lifeElectric shock therapy can relieve severe
depression
This Has DisprovenSleepwalkers are acting out their dreams
and sleep talkers are verbalizing their dreams
Our past experiences are recorded verbatim in your brain
Most people suffer from low self esteemOpposites attract generally
The Scientific MethodTheory- and idea or belief you with to proveHypothesis- how your idea or belief is
tested in a predictable mannerOperational definitions-the procedures
used to define the variablesReplication- repeating the main
components of a research program.
Types of TestsCase Study-observing one person in depth to
obtain universal principalsSurvey-gaining the self-reporting attitudes of
people in a random sampleWording Effect-the way a question is worded can
effect the answer outcomeFalse Consensus Effect-the tendency to overestimate
the extent that others share our beliefsPopulation-all the cases in a group used for a studyRandom Sample-a sample that attempts to
represent the population equallyNaturalistic Observation-watching a subject in
their natural environment to see how they react to stimuli
Correlation
What is correlation and how does it effect research?
CorrelationIs a measure of the extent to which two
factors vary together and how well they predict each other.
The correlation is measured by a correlation coefficient. It is measured between -1 and +1. -1 means there is a negative correlation0 means that there is no correlation+1 means there is a positive correlation
All three of these are represented on a scatterplot manner.
Negative CorrelationWhen the X axis
value goes up, the Y axis value goes down.
An example would be if you have a test comparing miles ran with age, the higher the age, the lower the number of miles you can run.
Positive CorrelationIf the X axis value
increases, the Y axis value increases as well.
If you are measuring days of training and miles ran, as the training days increase, so do the miles ran.
No CorrelationThere is no
relationship between values on X and Y axis
Your IQ and your weight have no relationship.
Correlation and CausationCorrelation allows us to predict possibilities,
and eliminate intuition.An important point to remember is that
correlation does not mean causation. One facet does not cause the other to happen.
An example, low self esteem and depression have a correlation, but one does not cause the other. Why?
Illusory CorrelationThe perception of a correlation where none
exists. Superstitious beliefs are a good example of
illusory correlationIt is easy for many people to apply
correlations to random events.
Order and Random EventsWe attempt to seek order in random
sequences, where no order exists.Random sequences can appear to not be
random. Our experiences and biases allow us to
think that we can predict how coin flips will go in a pattern.
If you toss the coins enough times, patterns may be seen intermittently. This is also a random act.
ExperimentationCause and EffectTherapyIndependent and Dependent Variables
ExperimentationThis is the research method used to
manipulate factors to observe the effect on behaviors or mental processes.
This is accomplished byManipulating the factors of interestHolding control of the variables
Therapies Experimentation can take on several forms
Double blind procedure-keeping the research staff and participants ignorant of whether they have received treatment or a placeboExperimental condition- the condition of the experiment
that exposes people to treatmentControl condition-the condition of an experiment that
contrast the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effectiveness of treatment.
Placebo effect-results are judged by expectations alone.
Random assigning-people are assigned to control groups and experimental groups by chance
VariablesIndependent variables- the factor that is
manipulated or tested to prove or disprove a theory.
Dependant variables-the outcome factor, the one that changes based on the response to manipulation of the independent variable.
StatisticsData is the most essential component of
proving a theoryHow does data show correlations?
Measure of Central TendencyMeasure of Variation
Central TendencyTo describe data, you need to organize it.
Then you need to put them in perspectiveMode-the most frequently occurring scoreMean-the average of a distributionMedian-the middle score in the distribution
VariationThis method looks at how to measure the
similarities and differences in data scoresRange-the gap between the lowest and
highestStandard deviation-a measure of how much
scores vary around the mean score.Statistical significance-how likely it is the
results were obtained by chance.
Ethics in Psychology
What are ethics? Why do they matter?
EthicsThe set of moral guidelines that control our
decision making and guide us when we are not sure how to act.
The psychological tests conducted in any situation has ethical considerations to evaluateParticipants must give their concentParticipants must be comfortable and safeInformation is confidentialFully explain the results
Final QuestionAre value judgments dangerous to
psychological research?
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