This Weeks Objective

1. This Weeks Objective • I will be able to relay the concepts learned about research method’s in psychology (in group activities, individual assignments and on tests)

2. What are Some Questions You Have About Human Behavior; or, Why People Do What They Do?

3. Some Research Topics • How does anxiety affect people’s desire to be with others (affiliation need)? • Do different cultures react differently to stress? • Is the onset of cancer more likely after a stressful life event?

4. The Scientific Approach (Experiment):A Search for Laws • Goals of Scientific Approach: • 1 Measurement and description of a phenomenon (school performance). How do I measure it? And, what exactly is it? • 2 To predicting why an event occurs-These predictions are called hypotheses

5. Understanding and Prediction Hypothesis=A tentative statement about the relationship of -two or more variables -about how things work (Students that eat breakfast perform better on memory tests-what are the two variables here?) - aneducated guess, a prediction. Variable=any measurable conditions, events, or behaviors controlled or observed in a study

6. RESEARCH Applied Research=has practical and immediate application; Use research results to change a negative event or to create a positive outcome • So, if it is found that students who eat breakfast perform better, schools will initiate a breakfast program (Applied Research) Basic Research=looksat questions of interest that may not have immediate, real world application • How does anxiety affect people’s desire to be with others (affiliation need)? • Do different cultures react differently to stress?

7. - 3 Application and Control If we observe a relationship between breakfast eaters and performance we formulate a theory • Theory=explains organized observations and predicts behavior or events • only change as new info. available • more permanent-have many facts to support it

8. The Scientific Method: Terminology • Operational definitions are used to CLEARLY explain what is meant by each variable(define breakfast, school performance)-USE THIS DEFINITION!!!! • Participants or subjects are the people/animals whose behavior is observed in a study from the population • Population-(AP Students at EvergladesHS) is where participants come from and the larger group being studied and who predictions are made about • Data collection allow for empirical (numbers) observation and measurement • Statistics (math) used to analyze data and decide whether hypotheses were supported

9. I’m Hungry

10. Experimental Research:Looking for Causes • Experiment = manipulation of one variable under controlled conditions so that resulting changes in another variable can be observed (feeding one group of students to see its effect on memory) • GOAL=Detection of cause-and-effect relationships • Independent variable (IV) = variable manipulated ( ) to see its effect on another variable: • Dependent variable (DV) = variable effected by manipulation ( ) of the IV • How does food (IV) affect memory performance (DV)? Tell me a hypothesis

11. Experimental and Control Groups:The Logic of the Scientific Method • Experimental group (the group that receives manipulation of the independent variable-In our experiment= ) • Control group (similar subjects but is the group that does not receive the manipulation given to the experimental group-( ) • EVERYTHING ELSE FOR THESE TWO GROUPS MUST BE THE SAME WHY???????????????

12. Identify the Independent and Dependent Variables • Students who ride the bus to school are more intelligent • Children who view aggressive cartoons are more likely to act aggressively • AP Psychology students who eat chocolate perform better on a memory test of unrelated words

13. Independent and Dependent Variables • Students who ride the bus to school (IV) are more intelligent(DV) • Children who view aggressive cartoons(IV) are more likely to act aggressively(DV) • AP Psychology students who eat chocolate(IV) perform better on a memory tests of unrelated words (DV)

14. What are the operational definitions?We clearly state what is meant by “riding the bus” or “more intelligent “ so that the experiment can be repeated • Students who ride the bus to school are more intelligent • CHildren who view aggressive cartoons are more likely to act aggressively • AP Psychology students who eat chocolate perform better on vocabulary tests

15. Research methods: general strategies for conducting scientific studies • Random Sampling=everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected as a subject Ex= • Random assignment =all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to the control or experimental groups Ex=

16. Experimental and Control Groups:The Logic of the Scientific MethodExtraneous and confounding variables Confounding/ Extraneous Variables=any variables other then the independent variables influence the dependent variable in a study (ex: lighting in room, test control and experimental groups at different times of day,etc..) (ex: In US, breast fed babies healthier than bottle fed-confounding variable may be____________)

17. Figure 2.5 The basic elements of an experiment

18. Experimental Designs: Variations Levels of the Independent variable= 1. the independent variable has two levels: experimental and control=receiving or not receiving chocolate, 2. or two or more IVs (chocolate and lighting)= the number of levels of an independent variable is the number of IVs. Levels of DV=Use more than one dependent variable (measure performance in school and satisfaction in school)

19. Figure 2.6 Manipulation of two independent variables in an experiment

20. Reliability-same results when study is replicated (repeated)-operational definitions ensure this)Validity-are we testing what we say we are testing in the form of the independent variables (the effect of eating chocolate and not the lighting in the room)?

21. What do you think are some of the strengths of the experimental method?

22. What do you think are some of the weaknesses of the experimental method?

23. Strengths and Weaknessesof Experimental Research • Strengths: • cause-and-effect relationships can be established or implied • Weaknesses: • artificial nature of experiments • ethical and practical issues – can’t manipulate some variables (ex. )

24. Descriptive/ Correlational Methods:Looking for Relationships • Methods used when a researcher cannot manipulate the variables under study • Naturalistic observation-researcher observes subjects in their own environment • Case studies-in depth investigation of a single participant using direct interview, observation, other data (medical/school records)-advantage=used when occurrence of phenomenon is raredisadvantage=____ • Surveys- questionnaire (advantage=___ disadvatage=___) • These describe patterns of behavior & associations between variables but cannot imply causation • Only Experimental Method Can correlation (relationship) is not causation

25. Evaluating Research:Methodological Pitfalls Distortions in self-report data (subjects verbal accounts of their behavior, such as with surveys, interviews): • Social desirability bias = giving socially approved answers to personal questions • Response set = tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the question (agreeing with almost everything on a questionnaire) Hawthorne Effect=changes in subjects behavior due to the attention of researcher (using control and experimental groups help)

26. Advantages/Disadvantages of these (naturalistic observation, case studies, surveys) Descriptive/Correlational Methods: Advantage: • explore questions that can not be examined with experimental methods (poor maternal nutrition and birth defects) • It broadens what researchers can study • Disadvantage: Can’t control events to isolate cause and effect and demonstrate conclusively that one event or variable causes the other

27. Figure 2.10 Comparison of major research methods

28. Table 2.1 Key Data Collection Techniques in Psychology

29. Other Methods You Need to Know (Changes in Memory as people Age) Longitudinal Study Cross Sectional Study Select people from varying age groups (ex. 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s) and compare results of specific measures, say memory and its changes over time What might be the problem here?_______________ • Follow a group of people over time (usually years) to see changes or progression in whatever you are studying-ex.how memory changes What might be the problem here?”__________

30. Statistics and Research:Drawing Conclusions • Statistics – using math to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical data • Descriptive statistics: organizing and summarizing data (measures of central tendency, measures of variability, and the coefficient of correlation)-but can’t use to draw conclusions about___________ • Inferential statistics: interpreting data and drawing conclusions (More about this later) about the population or relationship between variables

31. Descriptive Statistics:Measures of Central Tendency • Measures of central tendency = typical or average score in a distribution (ex. number of words remembered for each subject in our candy exper.) • Mean: average of the scores • Median: score falling in exact center • Mode: most frequently occurring score • Which do you think most accurately depicts the typical say score for a group?

32. Depends on the dataMean is usually most useful measure of central tendency, unless there are outliers =when mean distorted by extreme scores

33. Figure 2.11 Measures of central tendency

34. Descriptive Statistics: Measures of Variability • Range= the difference between the highest and lowest scores • Variability = how much scores vary from each other and from the mean • Standard deviation = how scores vary from the mean (average) score and eachother(ex: how far is your test score from the average score and other students) • High variability in data set = high standard deviation • Low variability in data set = low standard deviation

35. Figure 2.12 Variability and the standard deviation

36. Correlation CoefficientsWhen 2 variables are related to each other, they are correlated Correlation coefficients show the direction and strength of relationships between variables. They measure correlation (relationship) strength and can range from –1.00 to +1.00. It shows How well A predict B 3 Possible Results: • Positive Correlation: Both variables increase or decrease at the same time. A correlation coefficient close to +1.00 indicates a strong positive correlation. Studying and good grades (say +.92) • Negative Correlations: as the amount of one variable increases, the other decreases (and vice versa). A correlation coefficient close to -1.00 indicates a strong negative correlation. Cuttingclass and good grades (say -.93) • No Correlation: Indicates no relationship between the two variables. A correlation coefficient of 0 indicates no correlation. The number of stuffed animals owned and good grades

37. Figure 2.14 Interpreting correlation coefficients

38. Correlation • Scatterplots are used to show correlation / relationship between variables (best way)

39. Correlation

40. Correlation

41. Correlation

42. Moderate correlation =medium level, as we just saw

43. Correlation

44. Correlation

45. Correlation

46. Correlation

47. Correlation

48. Correlation

49. Correlation:Prediction, Not Causation • Higher correlation coefficients =the closer to 1(+ or -)= increased ability to predict one variable based on the other. Prediction is a goal of research. • SAT/ACT scores moderately correlated with first year college GPA • 2 variables may be highly correlated, but not causally related • Foot size and vocabulary positively correlated in children • Do larger feet cause larger vocabularies,or vice versa? • The third variable problem (what is it here)?

50. Larger feet belong to older children . Older children have better vocab. than younger, smaller footed, children!!!