Psychological Research Methods

Psychological ResearchMethodsExcavating Human Behaviors1

Thinking Critically withPsychological ScienceChapter 12

Thinking Critically with PsychologicalScienceThe Need for PsychologicalScience The limits of Intuition andCommon Sense The Scientific Attitude The Scientific Method3

Thinking Critically Description The Case Study The Survey Naturalistic Observation4

Thinking Critically Correlation Correlation and Causation Illusory Correlation Perceiving Order in RandomEvents5

Thinking Critically Experimentation Exploring Cause and Effect Evaluating Therapies Independent and DependentVariables6

Thinking Critically Statistical Reasoning Describing Data Making InferencesFAQs About Psychology7

Impression of PsychologyWith hopes of satisfying curiosity, many peoplelisten to talk-radio counselors and psychics tolearn about others and .comDr. Crane (radio-shrink)Psychic (Ball gazing)8

The Need for Psychological ScienceIntuition & Common SenseMany people believe that intuition and commonsense are enough to bring forth answers regardinghuman nature.Intuition and common sense may aid queries,but they are not free of error.9

Limits of IntuitionPersonal interviewers mayrely too much on their “gutfeelings” when meetingwith job applicants.Taxi/ Getty Images10

Errors of Common SenseTry this !Fold a piece of paper (0.1 mm thick) 100 times.How thick will it be?800,000,000,000,000 times the distance betweenthe sun and the earth.11

Let’s do some basic math:Solve in your head: Begin with 1000 Add 40 Add 1000 Add 30 Add 1000 Add 20 Add 1000 Add 10 Answer?12

Raise your hand if the answer is 5000YOU ARE WRONG!!!!!!!!13

The correct answer is 4100!!!! Don’t believe me3.let’s look again. This is an example of intuition error.14

Handout 1-2Explaining research3Please respond to the following315

Hindsight BiasHindsight Bias is the “I-knew-it-all-along”phenomenon.After learning the outcome of an event, manypeople believe they could have predicted that veryoutcome. We only knew the dot.com stocks wouldplummet after they actually did plummet.16

Hindsight Bias The tendencyto believe,after learningthe outcome,that you knewit all along.Only after Kerry won the IowaPrimary, did people begin to say thatDean was too liberal. What wouldpeople say about Kerry if Dean won?17

OverconfidenceSometimes we think weknow more than weactually know.How long do you think itwould take to unscramblethese anagrams?People said it would takeabout 10 seconds, yet onaverage they took about 3minutes (Goranson, 1978).AnagramWREATWATERETYRNENTRYGRABEBARGE18

Overconfidence We tend to think we know morethan we do. (Based on yourCURRENT knowledge)82% of U.S. drivers consider themselves tobe in the top 30% of their group in termsof safety81% of new business owners felt they hadan excellent chance of their businessessucceeding. When asked about the successof their peers, the answer was only 39%.(Now that's overconfidence!!!)19

FamousOverconfidence Quotes “ There is no reason for anyone to have acomputer in their home ” (Ken Olson,pres. Of Digital Equip Co., 1977) “Heavier than air flying machines areimpossible.” (Lord Kelvin, Britmathematician, physicist, pres. Of Brit.Royal Society) Reagan doesn’t have the presidential look”(movie exec. When asked if he should get20the lead role in pres. Movie)

FamousOverconfidence Quotes “Man will never reach the moon,regardless of all future scientificadvances.” Lee DeForest, inventor of thevacuum tube, 1957)21

Psychological Science1. How can we differentiate betweenuniformed opinions and examinedconclusions?2. The science of psychology helps makethese examined conclusions, which leadsto our understanding of how people feel,think, and act as they do!22

The Scientific AttitudeThe scientific attitude is composed of curiosity(passion for exploration), skepticism (doubtingand questioning) and humility (ability to acceptresponsibility when wrong).23

Critical ThinkingCourtesy of the James Randi Education FoundationCritical thinking doesnot accept argumentsand conclusions blindly.It examinesassumptions, discernshidden values,evaluates evidence andassesses conclusions.The Amazing Randi24

Scientific MethodPsychologists, like all scientists, use thescientific method to construct theories thatorganize, summarize and simplifyobservations.25

Scientific Method1. Observe some aspect of the universe.2. Invent a theory that is consistentwith what you have observed.3. Use the theory to make predictions.4. Test those predictions byexperiments or further observations.5. Modify the theory in the light of yourresults.6. Go to step 3.26

Replication Independent researchers must be able toreproduce the results in order to verify theoriginal findings.27

TheoryA Theory is an explanation that integratesprinciples and organizes and predictsbehavior or events.For example, low self-esteem contributes todepression.28

HypothesisA Hypothesis is a testable prediction, oftenprompted by a theory, to enable us toaccept, reject or revise the theory.People with low self-esteem are apt to feelmore depressed.29

Hypothesis A tentative theory that has not yetbeen tested. Have operational definitions. Be replicable.30

Methods of Observation31

Research ObservationsResearch would require us to administertests of self-esteem and depression.Individuals who score low on a self-esteemtest and high on a depression test wouldconfirm our hypothesis.32

Research Process33

Types of Research Descriptive Correlational Experimental34

What is going on in this picture?We cannot say exactly, but wecan describe what we see.Thus we have .Descriptive Research Any research that observes andrecords. Does not talk about relationships, it just 35describes.

DescriptionCase StudyA technique in which one person is studied indepth to reveal underlying behavioral principles.Susan Kuklin/ Photo ResearchersIs language uniquely human?36

Case StudyClinical Studyhttp://behavioralhealth.typepad.comA clinical study is aform of case study inwhich the therapistinvestigates theproblems associatedwith a client.37

The Case Study Where one person (or situation) isobserved in depth.What are the strengths and weaknesses of usinga tragedy like the Columbine School Shootings asa case study?38

Case StudiesAdvantagesDisadvantages Provides a good way to generate Sometimes gives incompletehypothesesinformation Yields data that other methods can’t Can be subjective and thus mayprovideyield biased results Doesn’t allow conclusions aboutcause-and-effect relationships39

The Survey Method Used in both descriptional andcorrelational research. Use Interview, mail, phone, internetetc The Good- cheap, anonymous, diversepopulation, and easy to get randomsampling (a sampling that representsyour population you want to study).40

SurveyA technique for ascertaining the self-reportedattitudes, opinions or behaviors of peopleusually done by questioning a representative,random sample of people.http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org41

SurveyWording EffectWording can change the results of a survey.Q: Should cigarette ads and pornography beallowed on television? (not allowed vs. forbid)42

SurveyFalse Consensus EffectA tendency to overestimate the extent towhich others share our beliefs andbehaviors.43

SurveyRandom SamplingIf each member of apopulation has an equalchance of inclusion into asample, it is called arandom sample(unbiased). If the surveysample is biased, itsresults are not valid.The fastest way to know about themarble color ratio is to blindlytransfer a few into a smaller jar andcount them.44

Survey Method: The Bad Low ResponseRate People Lie orjustmisinterpretthemselves. WordingEffectsHow accurate would a survey beabout the frequency ofdiarrhea?45

SurveysAdvantagesDisadvantages Yields a lot of information Provides a good way to generatehypotheses Can provide information aboutmany people since it’s cheap andeasy to do Provides information aboutbehavior that can’t be observeddirectly Relies on self-report data, whichcan be misleading Doesn’t allow conclusions aboutcause-and-effect relationships46

Naturalistic Observation Observing andrecordingbehavior innaturalenvironment. No control- justan observer.What are the benefits and detriments ofNaturalistic Observation?47

Naturalistic ObservationObserving and recording the behavior of animals in thewild and recording self-seating patterns in a multiracialschool lunch room constitute naturalistic observation.Courtesy of Gilda Morelli48

Naturalistic ObservationsAdvantagesDisadvantages Can be useful for generatinghypotheses Provides information aboutbehavior in the natural environment Sometimes yields biased results May be difficult to do unobtrusively Doesn’t allow conclusions aboutcause-and-effect relationships49

Descriptive MethodsSummaryCase studies, surveys, and naturalisticobservation describe behaviors.50

Correlational Research Detects relationships betweenvariables. Does NOT say that one variable causesanother.There is a positivecorrelation betweenice cream and murderrates. Does that meanthat ice cream causesmurder?51

Measured using a correlationcoefficient. A statistical measure of the extent towhich two factors relate to one another52

CorrelationWhen one trait or behavior accompaniesanother, we say the two correlate.Indicates strengthof relationship(0.00 to 1.00)CorrelationcoefficientCorrelation Coefficient is astatistical measure of therelationship between twovariables.r 0.37Indicates directionof relationship(positive or negative)53

ScatterplotsPerfect positivecorrelation ( 1.00)Scatterplot is a graph comprised of points that aregenerated by values of two variables. The slope ofthe points depicts the direction, while the amountof scatter depicts the strength of the relationship.54

ScatterplotsPerfect negativecorrelation (-1.00)No relationship (0.00)The Scatterplot on the left shows a negative correlation,while the one on the right shows no relationship betweenthe two variables.55

DataData showing height and temperament in people.56

ScatterplotThe Scatterplot below shows the relationshipbetween height and temperament in people. Thereis a moderate positive correlation of 0.63.57

Practice with Correlations WKST – scatterplots and correlationcoeffecients 58

The Challenger Disaster http://www.youtube.com/watch?v AfnvFnzs91s59

Correlation and Causationor60

Illusory CorrelationThe perception of a relationship where no relationshipactually exists. Parents conceive children after nceDo hael Newman Jr./ Photo EditConceiveDo notconceive61

Order in Random EventsGiven random data, we look for order andmeaningful patterns.Your chances of being dealt either of these hands isprecisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.62

Order in Random EventsGiven large numbers of random outcomes, a feware likely to express order.Jerry Telfer/ San Francisco ChronicleAngelo and Maria Gallina won twoCalifornia lottery games on the same day.63

Experimental Research Explores cause and effect relationships.Eating too many bananas causesConstipation64

Steps in Designing anExperiment1. Hypothesis2. Pick Population: Random Selection thenRandom Assignment.3. Operationalize the Variables4. Identify Independent and DependentVariables.5. Look for Extraneous Variables6. Type of Experiment: Blind, Double Blindetc.7. Gather Data8. Analyze Results65

Experimental Vocabulary Independent Variable: factor that ismanipulated Dependent Variable: factor that ismeasured Extraneous Variables: factors thateffect DV, that are not IV. Experimental Group: Group exposed to IV Control Group: Group not exposed to IV Placebo: inert substance that is in placeof IV in Control Group66

ExperimentationExploring Cause and EffectLike other sciences, experimentation is thebackbone of psychology research. Experimentsisolate causes and their effects.67

Exploring Cause & EffectMany factors influence our behavior. Experiments(1) manipulate factors that interest us, while otherfactors are kept under (2) control.Effects generated by manipulated factors isolatecause and effect relationships.68