The Steps of Scientific

1

• The Steps of Scientific
• Research

2
The scientific method card sort
in pairs, sort the scientific method in the
correct order

• 1. The hypothesis and theory are adjusted in the
  light of the results, and the findings are
  published.
• 2. The scientist analyses the problem in the
  light of relevant theory.
• 3. As a result, he or she obtains data.
• 4. The scientist is confronted with a problem
  requiring explanation.
• 5. Through observation or experiment the
  scientist tests out his or her hypothesis, using
  accurate measurement, under controlled
  conditions.
• 6. From the theory, the scientist decides
  specific hypotheses to be tested.
• 7. The data is analysed to establish whether the
  hypothesis can be supported or refuted by the
  fact or results.

3
The stages of the scientific method

1. The scientist is confronted with a problem
   requiring explanation.
2. The scientist analyses the problem in the light
   of relevant theory.
3. From the theory, the scientist decides specific
   hypotheses to be tested.
4. Through observation or experiment the scientist
   tests out his or her hypothesis, using accurate
   measurement, under controlled conditions.
5. As a result, he or she obtains data.
6. The data is analysed to establish whether the
   hypothesis can be supported or refuted by the
   fact or results.
7. The hypothesis and theory are adjusted in the
   light of the results, the findings are published.

4
Step One Formulate a research question

• Questions come from daily life or from existing
  psychological theory.
• Can you think of a psychological research
  question?

5
Step Two Formulate a hypothesis

• This is an educated guess in answer to the
  question
• Why do you think the word educated is so
  important?

6
Step ThreeTest how accurate the hypothesis is.

• Decide what information is needed to Decide what
  is the best method to use.
• What are the possible methods?
• Observation, experiment, survey, test,
  correlation.

7
Step Four Analyze results of the test

• This is asking what your results actually mean.
• You need to look for patterns and relationships
  in the data gathered.

8
Step Five Draw a conclusion

• You need to decide how accurate your hypothesis
  was.
• If your hypothesis was not accurate you need to
  replicate the study. This means repeat it.

9
Psychology is Empirical
Knowledge acquired through observation
Psych conclusions based on research NOT tradition
or common sense
10
Research in Psychology

• Psychology is one of the human sciences, so
  psychology empirical (scientific) methodology in
  order to gather data about behavior
• Question looking at the history of psychology
  which areas do you think use the scientific
  method?
• Psychologists apply the scientific method to the
  study of behavior but it is not without its
  problems..

11
What Causes Behavior?
Behavior
12
Behavior is Shaped by Culture
Personal Space
Value of Education
Punctuality
Social Norms
13
Influence of Heredity Environment
Nature versus Nurture
14
Perception Is Subjective
15
Understanding qualitative/quantitative research

• In Psychology theories are developed using
• Quantitative research ..that is .experiments
• Qualitative research..interviews observations
  and case studies

16
Qualitative/quantitative debate

• Debate issue
• Psychology is a science and must therefore
  achieve its goal of predicting and controlling
  human behavior. This can only be achieved if
  nomothetic quantitative data is the foundation of
  theories relating to the mind and human behavior.

17
The stages of the scientific method

1. The scientist is confronted with a problem
   requiring explanation.
2. The scientist analyses the problem in the light
   of relevant theory.
3. From the theory, the scientist decides specific
   hypotheses to be tested.
4. Through observation or experiment the scientist
   tests out his or her hypothesis, using accurate
   measurement, under controlled conditions.
5. As a result, he or she obtains data.
6. The data is analysed to establish whether the
   hypothesis can be supported or refuted by the
   fact or results.
7. The hypothesis and theory are adjusted in the
   light of the results, the findings are published.

18
Sohow do we know if research methods are
effective?
19
Evaluation in IB Psychology

• MCEG

Gender
Equal no of M F PPs? Can results be Generalised?
Methodology
Culture
Ethics
Controls? Variables? Reliability? Validity? Ecol
ogical validity?
From what culture are the PPs? Is it
generalisable?
Are PPs protected from psychological and physical
harm? APA/BPS Guidelines followed?
20
(No Transcript)
21
Reliability Validity

• Why should we consider whether research has
  applications?
• What is cross cultural validity?
• What is ecological validity?
• What is reliability?

22
Sampling Methods

1. What are participants?
2. What is a representative sample?
3. What is opportunity sampling what are its
   strengths and weaknesses?
4. What is a self selected sample and what are its
   strengths weaknesses?
5. What is snowball sampling and what are its
   strengths and weaknesses?
6. What is random sampling what are its strengths
   and weaknesses?
7. What is stratified sampling what are its
   strengths and weaknesses?

23

• SO..how is an experiment conducted in
  psychology??

24
Random sampling exercise

• Why is random sampling important for an
  experiment?

Colors of Nips
Observed frequency (no of each colour)
Predicted (no of colour X 100 divided by total number)
Frequency in pairs
Predicted in pairs
Frequency in pairs at table
25
Ethics are..

• Standards for proper and responsible behavior.

26
Some past experiments

• Lobotomy-http//www.youtube.com/watch?v_0aNILW6IL
  k
• Milgram http//www.youtube.com/watch?vBcvSNg0HZw
  k
• Elliot - http//www.youtube.com/watch?vJCjDxAwfXV
  0
• http//listverse.com/2008/09/07/top-10-unethical-p
  sychological-experiments/

27
Exercise

• After watching sections of past experiments in
  class work with a partner to
• Brainstorm a list of activities/procedures in the
  experiment which were unethical.
• Consider the date of the experiment and identify
  how the year may have influenced the procedure(s)
  or the research topic.
• Answer this question for debate in the class-
• Did good outcomes of the research outweigh the
  ethical transgressions?

28
Ethics are aimed at..

• Promoting the dignity of people
• Maintaining scientific integrity
• Preventing research that will be irreversibly
  harmful.

29
Major ethical considerations are.

• Informed Consent
• Confidentiality
• No cause of harm or stress-leave as you came in.
• Right to withdraw.
• Debriefing

30
Ethical use of animals in psychological
research..

• When it is unethical to use humans but by using
  animals the good outweighs the bad.
• When you avoid or minimize stress.
• Use as few animals as possible
• Do not cause irreversible harm.

31
Ethical issues Review Discuss in pairs

• What is Informed consent?
• What is Debriefing? When should it occur?
• What is Deception? Is it ever justified?
• What is a cost benefit analysis? How does it
  relate to ethical issues
• What is the right to withdraw?
• Why should data from psychological research be
  confidential?
• Why is it important for participants to be
  protected from psychological and physical harm
• Outline the ethical guidelines for the use of
  animals in research

32
Culture

• Moghaddam (1993) An interactive relationship with
  culture
• Jahoda (1978) Cultural evolution
• The universal man assumption
• Smith Bond (1998) Ethnocentrism
• Cultural relativists (culture important) vs.
  absolutists (bio most important)
• http//www.slideshare.net/praveenvarghese/eastern-
  culture-vs-western-culture

33
What is culture?

• Moghaddam (1993) Humans have an interactive
  relationship with culture we shape culture and
  we are also shaped by it
• Jahoda (1978) believes that Cultural Evolution
  rather than Biological Evolution the reason for
  our progress and civilization today

34
How can we Define culture?

• There are many different definitions of culture.
  Matsumoto (2004) mentions a book from 1998 that
  analyzed 128 different definitions of culture.
• Culture is a complex concept that is used in many
  different ways (e.g. to describe food and eating
  habits, clothing, rituals, communication
  patterns, religion, and status behavior).

35
Another definition of culture.

• Culture is defined by Matsumoto (2004) as a
  dynamic system of rules, explicit and implicit,
  established by groups in order to ensure their
  survival, involving attitudes, values, beliefs,
  norms, and behaviors.
• Culture is dynamicit changes over time in
  response to environmental and social changes. It
  also exists on many levels.

36
Is culture invisible?

• According to Kuschel (2004) culture cannot be
  seen but we can see the manifestations of
  culture.
• There is deep culture which is related to
  beliefs, attitudes, and values that underpin
  cultural manifestations.

37
Why is culture understanding culture important?

• Understanding the role of culture in human
  behavior is essential in a diverse, multicultural
  world.
• Many of the founding theorists of psychology took
  a solely western view.
• They attempted to find universal behaviorsthat
  is, they were looking for rules of human
  behavior that could be applied to all cultures
  around the world

38
Cultural differences artwork
39
How culture influences the way we see the world
40
(No Transcript)
41
The danger of making generalizations .

• One does have to be careful, however, with
  applying the idea of dimensions too casually.
• Hoefstede warns against the ecological
  fallacythat is, when one looks at two different
  cultures, it should not be assumed that two
  members from two different cultures must be
  different from one another, or that a single
  member of a culture will always demonstrate the
  dimensions which are the norm of that culture.
• These concepts simply give psychologists a way to
  generalize about cultures in order to better
  discuss the role that culture plays in behaviour.

42
Should we use culture to explain behavior?

• Kuschel claims that culture should not be used as
  an explanation of behaviour.
• Instead, descriptions of cultural factors can be
  used to understand
• how people have survived in their environment,
• how they have organized life in social groups,
• what beliefs, attitudes, and norms influence
  behavior in the social and cultural groups.
• These cultural factors may lead to specific kinds
  of behavior.

43
Homework questions

• Using slides 32- 42 answer the following
  questions.
• Provide a definition of culture in your own
  words.
• Briefly describe an incident you have experienced
  which reflects this definition.
• Has culture always been a consideration when
  developing psychological theory?
• Is culture visible? Provide a reason for your
  answer and an example.
• What do you think the universal man assumption
  is about? Explain
• Provide two reasons why we should use culture to
  explain behavior and two reasons why it may not
  be reliable to consider culture in explaining
  behavior.
• Explain the difference between biological
  evolution and cultural evolution using an
  example.

44
Dimensions of culture

• In your group create a poster which explains the
  assigned cultural dimension.
• Use a slogan as a heading which conveys the main
  idea of the dimension.
• Provide a visual which explains the dimension.
• Provide an analogy which explains the dimension.

45
Dimensions

• Individualism vs collectivism - 45 46
• Uncertainty vs avoidance 47 48
• Personal space - 49 50
• Time perceptions 51

46
Individualism v.s. Collectivism

• One dimension is individualism another one is
  collectivism. In individualist societies, the
  ties between individuals are loose everyone is
  expected to look after himself or herself and his
  or her immediate family.
• In collectivist societies, from birth onwards
  people are integrated into strong, cohesive
  in-groups, often extended families (with uncles,
  aunts, and grandparents), which provides them
  with support and protection.
• However, if an individual does not live up to the
  norms of the family or the larger social group,
  the result can sometimes be severe.

47
Individualism vs. Collectivism

• Markus and Kitayama (1991) characterized the
  difference between US and Japanese culture by
  citing two of their proverbs
• In America, the squeaky wheel gets the grease
  in Japan, the nail that stands out gets pounded
  down.
• Markus and Kitayama argue that perceiving a
  boundary between the individual and the social
  environment is distinctly western in its cultural
  orientation, and that non-western cultures tend
  towards connectedness.

48
Uncertainty vs. Avoidance

• A second dimension is uncertainty versus
  avoidance, which deals with a societys tolerance
  for uncertainty and ambiguity.
• It indicates to what extent a culture programmes
  its members to feel either uncomfortable or
  comfortable in unstructured situations.
• Unstructured situations are novel, unknown,
  surprising.
• Uncertainty-avoiding cultures try to minimize the
  possibility of such situations by strict laws and
  rules, safety and security measures, and, on the
  philosophical and religious level, by a belief in
  absolute Truththere can only be one Truth and we
  have it.

49
Confucian Dynamism

• Bond (1988) argues that Chinese culture replaces
  the uncertainty- avoidance dimension with
  Confucian work dynamism instead of focusing on
  truth, some cultures focus on virtue.
• China and other Asian countries have a long-term
  orientation. These cultures value persistence,
  loyalty, and trustworthiness.
• Relationships are based on status. They have a
  need to protect the collective identity and
  respect traditionwhat is often called saving
  face.
• Hoefstede found that Finland, France, Germany,
  and the US have a short-term orientation. In
  contrast to Confucian work dynamism, these
  cultures value personal steadiness and stability.
  There is a focus on the future instead of the
  past, and innovation is highly respected.

50
An alternative view.. Proxemic theory (1966)

• Halls proxemic theory (1966) is based on a
  cultures need for personal space.
• In his book, The Hidden Dimension, he shows that
  different cultures have different perceptions of
  the amount of personal space that is required to
  be comfortable.
• People only allow their closest, most intimate
  friends into this bubble of space.

51
Personal space.

• In the US, for instance, people engaged in
  conversation will assume a social distance of
  roughly 1015 cm/ 47 inches,
• but in many parts of Europe the expected social
  distance is roughly half that, with the result
  that Americans travelling overseas often
  experience the urgent need to back away from a
  conversation partner who seems to be getting too
  close.

52
Time consciousness.

• Hall also described the norm of time
  consciousness.
• He distinguished between monochronic cultures and
  polychronic cultures.
• Monochronic cultures focus on one thing at a
  time. There is a high degree of scheduling, and
  punctuality and meeting deadlines are highly
  valued.
• In polychronic cultures, many things happen at
  once. The focus is more on relationships and
  interactions. Interruptions are expected as part
  of life, and there is little frustration
  experienced when things are postponed or late.

53
Evaluating a Psych experiment
54
Class quick memory experiment

55
Short-term Memory

• Selective attention determines what information
  moves from sensory memory to short-term memory.
  STM is most often stored as sounds, especially in
  recalling words, but may be stored as images. STM
  can be transferred to LTM though rehearsal.
• Limited capacity and duration Works like RAM
  memory in computers provides a working space. Is
  thought to be 7 bits in length, that is, we
  normally only remember 7 items (Miller, 1956).
• Lets try the STM Visual Memory Task to see if
  this is true. You have 30 seconds to look at
  the following picture and remember as many
  objects as possible.

56
(No Transcript)
57
Visual Short-term Memory Test

• Now write down the names of all the objects you
  can remember.
• How many objects did you remember?

58
Six questions to ask when evaluating research

1. Is the study based on a representative group of
   people (sample)?
2. Was the study conducted in a laboratory or in a
   natural setting?
3. Where what the participants where asked to do far
   from real life?
4. Are the findings of the study supported by the
   findings of other studies?
5. Do the findings have a practical relevance?
6. Ethical considerations

59
Evaluation in Psychology

• MCEG

Gender
Equal no of M F PPs? Can results be Generalised?
Methodology
Culture
Ethics
Controls? Variables? Reliability? Validity? Ecol
ogical validity?
m
From what culture are the PPs? Is it
generalisable?
Are PPs protected from psychological and physical
harm? APA/BPS Guidelines followed?
60
First IB SAQ

• For block F due on August 31 for blocks H A
  due on 1 September.
• To be typed and handed in, in hard copy at the
  beginning of the lesson.
• Full name and block top, right hand corner.
• Between 250 and 300 words

61
The question.

• Outline and evaluate a research study of schema
  theory (8 marks)

62
Command terms
IB Command Terms
63
Resources to use in writing this SAQ

• Slides of this PPT
• Bartlett in Crane p 82 83 Empirical
  testing of reliability of memory
• Look at sample SAQs Read page 383 384 -
  Writing short answer questions in paper 1
• Look at the sample SAQs on page 383 and 384

64
Bartlett (1932) study of reconstructive memory

• Bartletts (1932) Schema Theory According to
  Bartlett we store memories in terms of out past
  experience or schemas. Schemas are knowledge
  packages built up through experience of the world
  which can aid the interpretation of new
  information

65
(1932)
66
Tips for writing this SAQ

• First sentence answers the question using the
  words from the question- try it.
• This mean identifying the research study and
  giving an overall evaluation refer to validity
  and reliability.
• For outline you need aim, procedure and
  conclusion
• For evaluation use MCEG and the 6 questions

67
Six questions to ask when evaluating research

1. Is the study based on a representative group of
   people (sample)?
2. Was the study conducted in a laboratory or in a
   natural setting?
3. Where what the participants where asked to do far
   from real life?
4. Are the findings of the study supported by the
   findings of other studies?
5. Do the findings have a practical relevance?
6. Ethical considerations

68
Evaluation in Psychology

• MCEG

Gender
Equal no of M F PPs? Can results be Generalised?
Methodology
Culture
Ethics
Controls? Variables? Reliability? Validity? Ecolo
gical validity?
m
From what culture are the PPs? Is it
generalisable?
Are PPs protected from psychological and physical
harm? APA Guidelines followed?
69
IB Mark Bands
70
Mapping

• 160 581
• 1.562 5.585
• 264 688
• 2.566 6.590
• 369 794
• 3.571 7.596
• 473
• 4.577

71
Reflection

• Write a few sentences reflecting on the piece of
  writing you just completed, answer the following
• What techniques did you use to prepare for this
  assignment?
• What did you do whilst writing it to make sure
  you had covered everything?
• What do you think you could do to improve for
  next time?

72
SAQ feedback

• Full sentences
• Paragraphs
• Topic sentence
• Strengths and weaknesses - balance
• Detailed information
• Well developed and expanded evaluative points
• Participants
• Use psychological terminology
• Write in a formal, concise scientific style

73
End of unit test (Major)

• Topics
• History of Psychology
• Definitions
• Everything covered on the Understanding the
  Research Process Summary Sheets
• MECG
• Culture ethics
• Identifying the IV (independent variable) DV
  (dependent variable)
• Identifying the aims, procedures, findings and
  conclusions of a study
• Evaluating (looking at the strengths
  weaknesses) of studies