Research Methods in Psychology: Exploring the Scientific Method and Data Collection

1. Chapter 2 Research Methods and Critical Thinking

2. Key Questions • Why is the scientific method important to psychologists? • How do psychologists collect information? • How is an experiment performed? • What other research methods do psychologists use? • How dependable is psychological information found in the popular press? • What ethical questions does psychological research raise?

3. Key Terms • Scientific method • Observation • Hypothesis • Operation • Theory • Falsifiable • Naturalistic observation • Correlation method • Experimental method • Clinical method • Survey method • Natural setting • Observer effect • Observer bias • Anthropomorphic • Observational record • Correlated • Correlational study • Coefficient of correlation • Positive correlation • Negative correlation • Causation • Linear relationships • Curvilinear • Experiment • Subjects • Variable • Independent variable • Dependent variable • Extraneous variable • Experimental group • Control group • Random assignment • Field experiment • Statistically significant • Replicate • Parascience • Placebo • Placebo effect • Endorphins • Single-blind experiment • Double-blind experiment • Experimenter effect • Case study • Natural clinical tests • Self-fulfilling prophecy • Frontal lobotomy • Survey method • Representative sample • Population • Biased sample • Courtesy bias

4. The Scientific Method • Observation: Carefully recording facts and events • Six Basic Elements • Observation • Defining a problem • Proposing a hypothesis (an educated guess that can be tested) • Gathering evidence/testing the hypothesis • Publishing results • Building a theory

5. Hypothesis • Hypothesis: Tentative explanation of an event or relationship • Testable hunch or education guess about behavior

6. Puzzled? • Operational definition activity

7. Operational Definitions • Handout

8. Operational Definition • Operation Definition: States the exact procedures used to represent a concept • Allow abstract ideas to be tested in real-world terms • See page 29 FIGURE 2-1

9. Cleve Hans • The Wonder Horse! Clever Hans seemed to solve difficult math problems, which he answered by tapping his foot. If you asked Hans, “What is 12 times 2, minus 18”, Hans would tap his foot six times. Hans was so astonishing that an inquiring scientist decided to discover if Hans actually did arithmetic. • How does Hans really do the trick

10. Can A Horse Add?

11. Well…can it? • Your investigation of Hans’ math skills would probably begin with careful observation of both horse and owner while Hans was performing. Assume that these observations fail to reveal any obvious cheating. • Then the problem becomes more clearly defined: What signals Hans to start and stop tapping his foot? Your first hypothesis might be that the owner is giving Hans a signal. Your proposed test would be to make the owner leave the room. Then someone else could ask questions. • You test would either confirm or deny the owner’s role. This evidence would support or eliminate the cheating hypothesis. By changing the conditions under which you observe Hans, you have controlled the situation to gain more information from your observations.

12. Yes…and No • Hans could still answer when his owner was out of the room. But a brilliant series of controlled observations revealed Hans’ secret. • If Hans couldn’t see the questioner, he could answer. It seems that questioners always lowered their heads (to look at Hans’ cue to start tapping. When Hans had tapped the correct number, a questioner would always look up to see if Hans was going to stop • This was Hans’ cue to stop tapping!

13. Scientific Theory • Theory: Interrelates concepts and facts in a way that summarizes a large number of observations • A system of ideas that interrelates facts and concepts, summarizes existing data, and predicts future observations • A good theory must be falsifiable; i.e., operationally defined so that it can be disconfirmed

14. Theory Building

15. Research Methods • Experimental Method: • Controlled experimentations using the correlation method • To identify cause-and-effect relationships, we conduct experiments • Directly vary a condition you might think affects behavior • Create two or more groups of subjects, alike in all ways except the condition you are varying • Record whether varying the condition has any effect on behavior • Questionnaires, surveys, and polls

16. Research Methods • Naturalistic Observation: Observing a person or an animal in their natural setting in which they/it live(s) • Problems • Observer Effect: Changes in behavior caused by an awareness of a person or animal being observed • Observer Bias: Occurs when observers see what they expect to see or record only selected details • Anthropomorphic Fallacy: Attributing human thoughts, feelings, or motives to animals, especially as a way of explaining their behavior

17. Research Method worksheet • Worksheet do as a class

18. Naturalistic Observation • Jane Goodall’s naturalistic observation

19. Research Methods Correlations and Relationships • Correlational Methods: Find existence of a consistent, systematic relationship between two events, measures, or variables • Correlation Coefficient: Statistic ranging from –1.00 to +1.00; the sign indicates the direction of the relationship

20. Research Methods • Correlations in psychology are rarely perfect • Closer the statistic is to –1.00 or to +1.00, the stronger the relationship • Correlation of 0.00 demonstrates no relationship between the variables • EX: Identical twins tends to have almost identical IQs. In contrast, the IQs of parents and their children are only generally similar. • The correlation between the IQs and parents and children is .35; between identical twins its .86.

21. Research Methods Correlations and Relationships (cont.) • Positive Correlation: Increases in one variable are matched by increases in the other variable • Negative Correlation: Increases in one variable are matched by decreases in the other variable • Correlation does not demonstrate causation: Just because two variables are related does NOT mean that one variable causes the other to occur • Causation: A cause-and-effect connection)

22. Fig. 1.7 The correlation coefficient tells how strongly two measures are related. These graphs show a range of relationships between two measures, A and B. If a correlation is negative, increases in one measure are associated with decreases in the other. (As B gets larger, A gets smaller.) In a positive correlation, increases in one measure are associated with increases in the other. (As B gets larger, A gets larger.) The center-left graph (“medium negative relationship”) might result from comparing anxiety level (B) with test scores (A): Higher anxiety is associated with lower scores. The center graph (“no relationship”) would result from plotting a person’s shoe size (B) and his or her IQ (A). The center-right graph (“medium positive relationship”) could be a plot of grades in high school (B) and grades in college (A) for a group of students: Higher grades in high school are associated with higher grades in college.

23. Fig. 1.9 The relationship between years of college completed and personal income (hypothetical data).

24. Correlation Worksheet

25. How to Conduct an Experiment • Experiment: A formal trial undertaken to confirm or disconfirm a hypothesis. • To perform an experiment you would do the following: • Directly vary a condition you think might affect behavior • Create two or more groups of subjects. These groups should be alike in all ways except the condition you are varying • Record whether varying the condition has any effect on behavior

26. Variables • Definition: Any condition that can change, and might affect, experiment's outcome • Independent Variable: Condition(s) altered by the experimenter; experimenter sets their size, amount, or value; these are suspected causes for behavioral differences • Dependent Variable: Demonstrates effects that independent variables have on behavior • Extraneous Variables: Conditions that a researcher wants to prevent from affecting the outcomes of the experiment (e.g., number of hours slept before the experiment)

27. Identifying variables • Worksheet • Worksheet Simpsons

28. Groups • Experimental Group: The group of subjects that gets the independent variable • Control Group: The group of subjects that gets all conditions EXCEPT the independent variable • Random Assignment: Subject has an equal chance of being in either the experimental or control group

32. Evaluating Experiments’ Results • Statistically Significant: Results gained would occur very rarely by chance alone • Meta-analysis: Study of results of other studies

33. Placebo Effects • Placebo: A fake pill (sugar) or injection (saline) • Placebo Effect: Changes in behavior that result from belief that one has ingested a drug • Placebos alter our expectations about our own emotional and physical reactions • These expectancies then influence bodily activities • Relieve pain by getting pituitary to release endorphins • Also gain some effect through learning

34. Controlling Placebo Effects • Single Blind Experiment: Only the subjects have no idea whether they get real treatment or placebo • Double Blind Experiment: The subjects AND the experimenters have no idea whether the subjects get real treatment or placebo • Best type of experiment if properly set up • Herbal remedies may be based on placebo effect

35. Experimenter Effects • Definition: Changes in behavior caused by the unintended influence of the experimenter • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: A prediction that leads people to act in ways to make the prediction come true

36. The Clinical Method • Case Study: In-depth focus on all aspects of a single case • Natural Clinical Tests: Natural events, such as accidents, that provide psychological data • Survey Method: Using public polling techniques to answer psychological questions

37. Phineas Gage • Video • Within 2 months Phineas Gage could walk, talk, and move about normally. Injury forced his personality to change • Instead of the honest and dependable worker he had been before, Gage became a surly, foul-mouthed liar. • FRONTAL LOBOTOMY (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

38. Table 1.5 – Comparison of Psychological Research Methods

39. Sampling • Representative Sample: Small group that accurately reflects a larger population • Population: Entire group of animals or people belonging to a particular category (e.g., all married women) • Internet Surveys: Web based research; low cost and can reach many people • Courtesy Bias: Problem in research; a tendency to give “polite” or socially desirable answers • Samples are not representative

40. Separating Fact from Fiction (Are the Stories in the National Enquirer True?) • Be skeptical • Consider the source of information • Ask yourself, “Was there a control group?” • Look for errors in distinguishing between correlation and causation (are claims based on correlational results yet passed off as causations?)

41. Separating Fact from Fiction • Be sure to distinguish between observation and inference Beware of oversimplifications, especially those motivated by monetary reasons • Single examples are not proof!

42. Ethical Guidelines for Psychological Research • Do no harm • Accurately describe risk to potential subjects • Ensure that participation is voluntary • Minimize any discomfort to participants • Maintain confidentiality

43. Ethical Guidelines for Psychological Research (cont.) • Do not unnecessarily invade privacy • Use deception only when absolutely necessary • Remove any misconceptions caused by deception (debrief) • Provide results and interpretation to participants • Treat participants with dignity and respect