I want to know..

1. I want to know.. • If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be?

2. The Zimbardo Prison Study http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0jYx8nwjFQ

3. Performing an Experiment • 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

4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental Research Strengths: conclusions about cause-and-effect can be drawn Weaknesses: artificial nature of experiments ethical and practical issues

5. Correlation and Causation • Correlation between two variables DOES NOT (again DOES NOT) mean that one variable CAUSED a change in the other • Correlation between height and weight DOES NOT mean that “tallness” causes heaviness

6. The Third Variable Problem • Students who watched a lot of television violence, were rated by their teachers as being more aggressive and prone to violence. •  BUT: One cannot infer causation from these correlations. •  If X and Y are related, that is, if TV Hours are related to aggressive behavior, it does NOT mean that TV Hours CAUSED the aggressive behavior. • It is equally possible, that aggressive people like to watch aggressive TV. OR, a third variable (such as Social economic status) accounts for the apparent relationship between X and Y • Solution= experiment: Technique for establishing that casual relationship between variables

7. Correlation Difficulties

8. Operationalize Variables • Translate theoretical concepts into observable information that can be gathered on units of analysis • How valid are your measures? (internal and external validity) • How reliable are your measures?

9. Kinds of Variables • Independent Variable – something that is changed by the scientist • What is tested • What is manipulated • It is under control and thus ‘independent’ of what the participant says or does

10. Kinds of Variables • Dependent Variable – something that might be affected by the change in the independent variable • What is observed • What is measured • The data collected during the investigation • Its value ‘depends’ on what the participant says or does

11. Kinds of Variables • Controlled Variable • a variable that is not changed • Also called constants • Allow for a “fair test”

12. Control Group: the group of people who are not treated in a particular way Experimental Group: the group of people who are treated in a particular way

13. For Example:

14. Students of different ages were given the same jigsaw puzzle to put together. They were timed to see how long it took to finish the puzzle.

15. Identify the variables in this investigation.

16. What was the independent variable? • Ages of the students • Different ages were tested by the scientist

17. What was the dependent variable? • The time it took put the puzzle together • The time was observed and measured by the scientist

18. What was a controlled variable? • Same puzzle • All of the participants were tested with the same puzzle. • It would not have been a fair test if some had an easy 30 piece puzzle and some had a harder 500 piece puzzle.

19. The temperature of water was measured at different depths of a pond.

20. Independent variable – depth of the water • Dependent variable – temperature • Controlled variable – thermometer

21. A recent report found that blueberries enhanced the maze running performance of mice. What was the independent variable and dependent variable of this experiment?

22. Independent variable – Blueberries Dependent variable – Running Performance Controlled variable – Maze

23. Experiment Types • Single Blind: Only the subjects have no idea whether they are in the experimental or control group • Double Blind: The subjects AND the experimenters have no idea whether the subjects are in the control or experimental group • Best type of experiment if properly set up

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

25. Ethical Issues in Research • Respecting the rights of human research participants involves: • Informed consent is an explanation of a study and the responsibilities of experimenter and participant • Deception involving the subjects must be justified • Confidentiality of study information must be maintained • Debriefingrefers to explaining the research process to the subjects at the end of the study • Animal research must be justified and must minimize discomfort to participants Do you think the Prison Experiment was ethical?

26. TheTuskegee syphilis experiment • an infamous clinical study conducted between 1932 and 1972 in Tuskegee, Alabama • Done by the U.S. Public Health Service • Aim study the natural progression of untreated syphilis in poor, rural black men • The men thought they were receiving free health care from the U.S. government. • Were not told that they had syphilis and went untreated

27. A doctor draws blood from one of the Tuskegee test subjects– “Testing for Bad Blood”

29. Animal use in Experimentation • Animal Welfare Act 1966 (AWA) • Only protects mammals

30. Psychology in the Media: Separating Fact from Fiction • 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?)

31. Potential Disadvantages Sampling bias resulting from self-selection may be a more troublesome issue in Internet-mediated research Web users tend to be younger, brighter, and more affluent than nonusers Data are collected under far less controlled conditions than in traditional studies The Internet and Psychological Research

32. Design Your Own Experiment • With a partner, come up with a hypothesis • Choose your variables and identity the dependent and independent variable and the controlled variable • Explain what would make your experiment ethical