Research Methods in Psychology



Research Methods in Psychology

____________________ Methods

_______________________ observation

Intensive _________________________

Surveys/__________________/interviews

______________________ studies

The ________________________________________

for determining _________________________ relationships

Using Various Research Methods

to Study a Behavior Problem

Like ADHD Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Diagnosed when a child shows

 6 or more symptoms of inattention

also 6 or more symptoms of hyperactivity,

These symptoms are present at an early age & must have been present for at least 6 months.

Naturalistic Observation

___________________________ observations in classrooms show that kids with ADHD:

can’t stay in their seats or sit still, don’t pay attention, don’t complete work, are impulsive, are rude to others, get into trouble more, & lose their temper more often.

This ______________________________________________, but it is important to use well-trained, unbiased observers.

Survey Results:

5x more males than females

3-5% of USA schoolkids are taking Ritalin for ADHD

 50-60% of ADHD kids show defiant behavior & higher risk of conduct problems as teens

30-60% continue to have symptoms as adults

40% have a parent with symptoms

Correlation

Correlation: ___________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Correlation coefficient: number between ______________ showing the _______________ and __________________ of this relationship.

Correlations help us predict behavior but do ___________________________

_____________________________

Remember: __________________________________________.

Is Hyperactivity Correlated in Twins?

  Pairs of ______________________________________________________ in their level of motor activity

But pairs of male ___________________________________________

________________________ in their level of motor activity

Supports the _______________________________ a role in ADHD but does not prove a cause-effect relationship.

Pros/Cons of Other Methods

Survey: Easy to collect lots of data but _____________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Case studies_________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Experiment: __________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Why are experiments different?

Compare the behavior of _________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Groups are treated as similarly as possible __________________________(the _____________________) that the researcher is interested in. _______________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Random Assignment

To make the 2 groups as equal as possible, most often participants will be randomly assigned to 1 group or the other. This assures that there are no systematic differences between the groups.

Why are experiments different?

If everything is _________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

In other words, the experiment tests whether the independent variable causes changes behavior.

Definitions:

Experimental group - ___________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Control group - ________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________.

Definitions:

Independent variable- ___________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Dependent variable - ____________________________________________

______________________________________________________________.

Random Assignment

Assigning participants to the groups in a study such that all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group of condition.

Random assignment avoids any systematic differences between the groups as long as the size of your groups is sufficient

Operational Definition

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Quasiexperiments

Sometimes we need to use pre-existing groups in research (e.g. males vs females, alcoholics vs non-alcoholics). Since we can’t randomly assign participants to groups, there may other differences between the groups that impair our ability to draw conclusions.

Hypothesis

_____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Example:

–  Consumption of alcohol will impair short-term memory.

–  Relaxation training will reduce test anxiety and improve test performance

Random or

Extraneous Variables

Any other variables besides the _____________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Confounding of Variables

When it is difficult to separate the effects of an extraneous variable from those of the independent variable

Confounding of variables _________________________________________ about the effects of the _____________ variable on the __________________ variable

Avoiding bias

sampling bias

social-desirability bias in self-report data

experimenter bias

bias due to expectations (placebo effect)

Key features of the scientific process

always looking for alternative explanations

____________________ of findings

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