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Psych 241 – Methods Lab section 03. TuTh – 4:00-5:15. Quiz. How many unexcused absences will result in a failing grade? When you turn in the final draft of an assignment, what are the two ways in which you need to hand it in?
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Psych 241 – MethodsLab section 03 TuTh – 4:00-5:15
Quiz • How many unexcused absences will result in a failing grade? • When you turn in the final draft of an assignment, what are the two ways in which you need to hand it in? • If you missed a lab, what should you do to find out what you missed?
Introduction to methods • Why are we studying methods? • Answer: research! • Why do we do research? • Answer: so that we can understand how we/the world work(s), and so that we can know what works to help solve problems and issues that we see.
Introduction to methods • Also, understanding how research is conducted and what issues may arise helps us evaluate research that we see.
Chocolate and the Nobel Prize • Flavanoids, some of which are present in chocolate, have been proposed to improve cognitive function. • Question: Will eating more chocolate correlate with better cognitive functioning? • Hypothesis: The more chocolate that a country consumes, the more Nobel Prize Laureates per 10 million inhabitants.
Chocolate and the Nobel Prize • Does this mean we should all eat more chocolate? Why not? • Internal validity concerns • Is the Nobel Prize a good representation of cognitive abilities? • What else could account for these?
Ice Cream and Violence • As more ice cream is eaten, there are more violent crimes! • What else might it be? • Understanding how we formulate, run, and report good research will help you understand the studies you see!
Gay Conversion Study • Spitzer, 2001. • 66% of males and 44% females (N = 200) had achieved change. • So does it work? What issues might have been at play? • 93% reported being religious, and 78% publicly spoke in favor of changing homosexual orientation. • Spitzer retracted his study in 2012.
Methods and Statistics • Statistics and math are only a tool with which to conduct our research. • It is easier to conceptualize when we are using it to answer questions.
Stroop Task • We are going to run an experiment with a repeated measures manipulation and counterbalancing of levels of the IV across subjects • Stroop task: Does seeing a word that does not match up with the other information provided slow us down?
Stroop Task • What is the IV? • What is the DV?
Research Articles • Abstract: Gives a basic description of the study, draws attention. • Introduction: Why did they do this research? Also includes the hypothesis. • Method: What was done, and how? It should be informative enough to be a “recipe” for a replication
Research Articles • Method: • Participants: • Materials: • Procedure: • Results: What was found? Statistical significance: (p < .05). • Discussion: Why was this important, and what did we learn from it?
Homework • Hypothesized results for the Stroop study. • Do Words Really Interfere in Naming Pictures? (pages 39-42 CP) • “Reading Research Articles” (pages 35-38 CP) • Come prepared with the answers to the questions included in this reading!
Contact Information • ladelman@psych.umass.edu • Tobin 626 • Office hour: Tuesdays from 1-2pm • Meet other students, get contact information, because you need to go to them for any missed information!