Title: Research Methods Experimental
1Research Methods Experimental Non-Experimental
2What is psychology?
the scientific study of thought, feeling and
behavior
3What do psychologists do?
- Help people with problems
- Measure and test
- Teach
- SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
4Where do psychologists work?
- Clinics
- Schools
- Colleges
- Businesses
- Laboratories
- Government agencies
5 Schooling in Psychology
6Some psychological research topics
- origins of stereotypes
- development of language
- causes of Alzheimers disease
- accuracy of eyewitness testimony
- personality musical preference
- treatment of eating disorders
- causes of romantic love
7Sampling Psychology Examples of Psychological
Research Findings
- visual perception optical illusions
- information processing judgment
- human memory
- self-evaluation
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10Which center circle is larger?
11Here are the same circles again.
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15 Do you see the flashing dots?
The flashing is all in your head.
16GREEN BLUE YELLOWREDBLUE YELLOW REDBLUEGREEN
RED
17ORANGE BLUE GREEN YELLOW ORANGE GREEN
PURPLEGREEN BLACK YELLOW
18 The effect you experienced is the STROOP
INTERFERENCE EFFECT. TO THINK ABOUT OR
DISCUSS
- Some behavior is AUTOMATIC. Its impossible NOT
to read color words. - Would a person who cannot read experience the
effect? - Could this test be used to measure language
fluency?
19A memory test 1. Please listen carefully to
the following list of words. 2. Please DO NOT
write the words down. Just listen carefully.3.
In a little while, Ill ask you to remember the
words.
20Now count backwards with me slowly, by threes,
from 45 to 3
45, 42 3
21- Write down each word below ghost cake
blanket sweet rabbit candy2. Circle
only the words you heard on the list. 3. If you
VIVIDLY remember hearing a word, circle it twice.
22Now examine the list carefully
- sour
- candy
- sugar
- bitter
- good
- taste
- tooth
- nice
- honey
- soda
- chocolate
TO THINK ABOUT OR DISCUSS Should this make us
worry about eyewitness testimony?
23- Now we are going to do a simple activity
involving letters of the alphabet. - Based on your gut feelings, quickly write down
- Your six FAVORITE letters
- Your six LEAST FAVORITE letters
24Look over each list and circle all of the letters
that occur in your own first name. Count the
number of circled letters in each list.
Which list included more of the letters
from your own first name??
25The preference for the letters in ones own name
is the name letter effect. TO
THINK ABOUT Would people be more likely to
purchase a product if the product resembled his
or her name?
Should the musician depicted here like MMs more
than the average person does?
26Psychological Science
- addresses important questions
- can improve peoples
- lives
- is a lot of fun!
27Basic Concepts of Research
Research Methods In Psychology
- Basis of scientific method
- Making observations in systematic way (empirical
studies) - Follow strict rules of evidence
- Critical thinking about evidence
28Theories and Hypotheses
Research Methods In Psychology
- Theories tentative explanations of facts and
relationships in science - Hypothesis a prediction based on a theory
- Tested to confirm or refute
- Can be revised or abandoned
29Representativeness of Samples
Research Methods In Psychology
- Sample
- Representative of larger group or population of
interest - Small group of humans or animals
- Unrepresentative sample misleading or biased
test of hypothesis - Replication of research removes most doubt
30Research Methods
Research Methods In Psychology
- Descriptive or Qualitative studies
- Simplest method of scientific inquiry
- Describe behavior and mental processes
- Most widely used
- Survey method ask peoples opinions
- Naturalistic observation watch, describe
- Clinical method observe in clinic setting
- All have advantages and disadvantages
31Research Methods
Research Methods In Psychology
- Correlational Studies
- Correlational method measure two variables for
statistical relationship - Variable anything that can be assigned a
numerical value - Uses quantitative measures
32Research Methods
Research Methods In Psychology
- Correlational Studies
- Correlation coefficient
- Measures each variable
- Indicates strength ( 0 to ?1) and direction
(negative or positive) of relationship - Correlation does not mean causation
33Fig. 2.2
Hypothetical data illustrating a correlation
coefficient of 1.00
34Fig. 2.3
Hypothetical data illustrating a correlation
coefficient of -1.00
35Fig. 2.4
Hypothetical data illustrating a correlation
coefficient of zero
36Formal Experiments
Research Methods In Psychology
- Tests relationship of two or more variables
- Allows conclusions about cause-and-effect
- Quantitative measures of behavior compared in
different conditions created by researchers - Evidence supports or rejects hypothesis
37Formal Experiments
Research Methods In Psychology
- Elements
- Independent variable gets manipulated
- Dependent variable amount of change
- Experimental group exposed to independent
variable or conditions expected to create change - Control group presents normal behavior used for
comparison - Random assignment
-
- Experimental control
38Fig. 2.6
39Fig. 2.7
Full population of interest
Randomly assign into control and experimental
groups
Experimental group exposed to independent
variable view violent film
Control group View nonviolent film
40Formal Experiments
Research Methods In Psychology
- Placebo control
- Placebo effect provides no active effect
- Use in identical conditions for control and
experimental groups - Blind experiment
- Researchers blind to group membership of
participants to rule out experimenter bias - Strongest experiments double blind
- Researchers and participants kept blind
41Describing and Interpreting Data
Research Methods In Psychology
- Descriptive statistics summarized data for
large groups of participants - Mean average
- Median midpoint in rank-ordered data
- Mode score appearing most often
- Normal distribution bell-shaped curve
- Standard deviation degree to which scores in
ordered distribution are spread out
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43Describing and Interpreting Data
Research Methods In Psychology
- Reaching conclusions from data
- Statistical significance
- Size of correlation
- Difference of means are greater than chance
- Two issues for significance
- Larger sample size is better
- Statistical difference does not equal practical
significance
44Ethical Principles of Research
Research Methods In Psychology
- Ethics in research with human participants
- Freedom from coercion
- Informed consent
- Limited deception
- Adequate debriefing
- Confidentiality
45Ethical Principles of Research
Research Methods In Psychology
- Ethics of research with nonhuman animals
- Necessity
- Health
- Humane treatment
46Experiments a recap
- Key features
- High degree of researcher/experimenter control
- The only method which establishes cause effect
- Can have problems with ecological validity,
artificial - Provides quantitatve data
47Quantitative versus Qualitative
- Quantitative data can be quantified and counted
- Qualitative describes
- Which is which of the following?
- Scores in a memory task
- Participants childhood memories of Christmas
- Case study written up by therapist about a
clients repressed memories - Number of errors made in a memory task
48Observation
- Watching what is going on easy peasy?
- Monty Python argument sketch
- Different observers might disagree on criteria?
- Should those being observed know (overt) or
should it be done without their knowledge
(covert)? - Should the researcher take part (participant) or
not (non-participant)? - Can generate quantitative or qualitative data
how?
49Surveys and Questionnaires
- Easy to do?
- Usually highly structured, i.e. fixed questions
with limited responses - May use Likert scale to measure attitudes
- What type of data does this generate?
- Can we trust the answers
50Interviews
- Related to surveys questionnaires, but usually
face to face - Can use different types of questions, from highly
structured (surveys) to unstructured,
participant-led (e.g. therapy sessions) - Most are semi-structured, i.e. some questions are
prepared in advance, but these are flexible and
can be adapted to follow areas of interest - What type of data does this generate?
51Case Studies
- These are a less common method, usually used in
clinical or therapeutic situations, e.g. studying
memory loss in individuals with brain injuries - Gather a wide range of information about one
individual or event (e.g. 9/11) - Why would this method be used? What type of data
would it generate?