Notebook Tabs

1. Notebook Tabs 1. Prologue/Chapter 1 2. Chapter 2 3. Chapters 3 and 4 4. Chapters 5 and 6 5. Chapters 7 6. Chapter 8 7. Chapters 9 and 10 8. Chapters 11 and 15 9. Chapters 12 and 13 10. Chapters 14 11. Chapters 16 and 17 12. Chapter 18

2. AP Psychology: Chapter 1: Thinking Critically With Psychological Science

3. Discussion Question • What is critical thinking? • How does it relate to psychology and this course?

4. Let’s Make A Deal Shows Us That: • Human Intuition is highly limited. • Critically thinking rarely comes easily to us! • Critical Thinking: thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions • examines assumptions • discerns hidden values • evaluates evidence • An awareness to our own vulnerability

5. Lack of Intuition • Hindsight Bias: tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. • the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon

6. Lack Of Intuition • Overconfidence:we tend to think we know more than we do. • We can't always trust our common sense or intuition we need research

7. Research Strategies • Theory • an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations • Low self esteem contributes to depression • Hypothesis • a testable prediction • often implied by a theory • Allows us to test and reject or revise the theory • People with low self esteem score higher on a depression scale

8. theories lead to generateor refine research and observations hypothesis Scientific Method lead to

9. How to check our bias • Operational Definition • a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables • You want to be clear enough so that the test and observations can be replicated • To give the study more credibility it is usually done with different subjects in different situations • Make sure studies are valid and reliable

10. Research Strategies • 1. Descriptive- making observations that describe behavior • 2. Correlational- detecting relationships that help predict behavior • 3. Experimental-doing studies that help explain behavior

11. Research Methods- Descriptive • Case Study • an observation technique in which one person , or a small group, is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles • Longitudinal- • Cross Sectional- • Drawbacks of case study: individuals can be atypical and lead to false findings. • Anecdotal Stories

12. Research Methods- Descriptive and Correlation • Survey • technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people • usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them

13. Components of Survey • Population:all the individuals you are interested in knowing something about. • Sample:the individuals you actually question. • Sampling should always be taken randomly from the population so that it is representative, meaning each individual in the population had an equal chance of being selected.

14. Drawbacks of Surveys 1.) Improper Sampling 2.) Question Wording Can Effect the results of a survey. Ex: Should cigarette ads or pornography be allowed on television? Ex. Mississippi River- Is the Mississippi River longer or shorter than 500 miles? How long is the Mississippi River? Is the Mississippi River longer or shorter than 3000 miles? How long is the Mississippi River?

15. Importance of Proper Sampling • False Consensus Effect:tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors. • Overgeneralizing extreme examples can lead you to false conclusions!

16. Types of Research-Descriptive • Naturalistic Observation: observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation • Drawbacks:hard to identify any type of causation since there is no controls.

17. Correlation Research • Correlation Research: research that looks at a relationship between two things. How well does one factor predict the other? • Ex: Consumption of Ice Cream and Drowning.

18. Types of Correlations • Positive Correlation: a relationship in which increases in one variable leads to increases in the other. • Ex: Amount of fat burned is positively correlated with amount of sit-ups completed • Negative Correlation: a relationship in which increases in one variable leads to decreases in the other. • Ex: As tooth brushing goes up, tooth decay goes down

19. Some More Correlation Examples • Married people tend to have higher measures of happiness. • Children who watch high amounts of television are more aggressive. • People with low self-esteem are more likely to be depressed. What meanings can we make of these examples?

20. Correlations Continued • Correlation Coefficient: the statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together and thus how well either factor predicts the other. (number that measures strength of the correlation). • STRONGEST CORRELATIONS are +1 and –1. +1 is a perfect positive correlation while –1 is a perfect negative correlation. • Correlations are always between –1 and +1. A correlation of Zero means there is no relationship.

21. Perfect positive correlation (+1.00) No relationship (0.00) Perfect negative correlation (-1.00) Correlation Scatterplots

22. Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00) Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative) Correlation coefficient r = +.37

23. R=+.37 • R=-1.00 • R=+.17 • R= -.08

24. Correlation Measures • Scatterplot • a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables • the slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship • the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation • little scatter indicates high correlation • also called a scattergram or scatter diagram

25. 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 Temperament scores Height in inches

26. Height and Temperament of 20 Men Height in Inches Height in Inches Temperament Temperament Subject Subject 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 80 63 61 79 74 69 62 75 77 60 75 66 60 90 60 42 42 60 81 39 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 64 76 71 66 73 70 63 71 68 70 48 69 72 57 63 75 30 57 84 39

27. Correlation and Causation • Correlation does not prove causation • Ex- negative correlation between self-esteem and depression • Heredity and brain chemistry might play a role • Among men, length of marriage correlates positively with hair loss- because both are associated with a third factor. • Age • Correlation indicates the possibility of a cause and effect relationship, but DOES NOT prove causation

29. Intuition Limit #976 • Illusory Correlation:the perception of a relationship where none exists. • Arthritis and cold weather • Sugar makes kids more hyperactive • Wet hair causes a cold • Pregnant cravings and sex of the child • Don’t overgeneralize extreme cases GET THE DATA!!

30. One last check…………….. You need to make sure your study is reliable and valid. • Reliability-if your study was replicated would you get the same results? • Validity- Does the study or experiment test what it is designed to test.

31. Summing Up Surveys, Naturalistic Observation, Case Studies, and Correlation Research • All of these methods look to describe the behavior not to explain it! • Experimental Designed research is the only research that gets at causation…NEXT TIME!

32. Random Sequences • Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.

33. Warm Up Come up with one statement that would indicate a positive correlation. Come up with one statement that would indicate a negative correlation. What do these numbers tell you about the relationship + .95 -.19 + .65 -.02 4. List 1 pro and 1 con of Correlational Research. 5. What do these graphs tell you about the variables

34. Experimentation and Statistics

35. Experiments

36. Experimentation • Experiments are the best way to isolate cause and effect • the investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) while controlling other relevant factors by random assignment of subjects • by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors. • Breast Milk Example

37. Experimentation Research Strategies • Independent Variable • the experimental factor that is manipulated • the variable whose effect is being studied • Dependent Variable • the experimental factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable • in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process • It can vary depending on what happens during the experiment • Cause/effect…… If/Then

38. Experimentation Research Strategies • Experimental Condition • The group that is exposed to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable ( real drug) • Control Condition • The group that contrasts with the experimental treatment . Get the placebo, or possible nothing • serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment • Example- Viagra

39. Experimentation Research Strategies • Random Assignment • assigning subjects to experimental and control conditionsby chance • minimizes pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups • Want similar age, attitudes…….

40. Experimentation Research Strategies • Double-blind Procedure • both the subject and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the subject has received the treatment or a placebo • commonly used in drug-evaluation studies • Placebo • an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent • Placebo Effect- the effect of positive thought and willpower on an experiment

41. Experimentation • Confounding Variables- • Variables that cause changes in the DV besides the IV • Breast Feeding Example • Operational Definitions • Example Viagra • IV- Viagra or placebo- time, amount • DV- Sex- ………………………..

42. Ethics

43. Experimentation Problems- • Sometimes not feasible or ethical • 1. Obtain consent • 2. Protect from harm • 3. Confidential • 4. Fully explain research after the exp. • Animals? • Results may not overgeneralize to other contexts

44. Statistics

45. Descriptive Statistics - • Researchers first need to organize their data • Pie Chart, Bar graph • Organize &describe the data, but don’t focus on the relationship

46. 100% 99 98 97 96 95 Percentage still functioning after 10 years Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z Brand of truck

47. 100% 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percentage still functioning after 10 years Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z Brand of truck

48. Measure of Central Tendency – neatly summarizes data • Mean-average • Most commonly reported • Biased by a few extreme scores • Median- the middle score, when you arrange the score in order from the highest to lowest • 50th percentile • Mode- the most frequently occurring score • Be Careful- can a few extreme scores throw off any one of the central tendencies? • What happens to the mean income of a café when Bill Gates sits down??? • What's wrong with income for 62% is below average • British newspaper headline

49. 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 90 475 710 70 Mode Median Mean One Family Income per family in thousands of dollars Illustration of measure of central tendency

50. Measures of Variation • Need to know the variation in the data, how diverse or similar the scores are. • 2 ways- Range and Standard Deviation • Range– the gap between the highest and lowest score • Remember extremes scores can skew the data • 475,000 and 710,000 – illustration from previous slide