Research in Psychology



Research in Psychology

Psychology is defined as the scientific study of ….

Types of Research:

▪ Applied Research:

▪ Clinical Research:

▪ Basic Research:

Why do we need research? (What factors prevent accurate explanations for human thoughts and behavior?)

The Dangers of Common Sense

▪ Hindsight Bias or “I-knew-it-all-along”

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▪ Intuition :

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▪ False Consensus effect –

▪ Overconfidence-

Research requires…

▪ Critical Thinking

▪ thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions

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▪

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▪ Requires curiosity, skepticism, humility

Fundamentals in Research

▪ Theory

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▪ Hypothesis (If…, then…)

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▪ Operational Definitions

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Correlational Studies (Part 1)

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Types of Correlational Studies

Case Study

▪ In-depth study- one person / small group

▪ Strength:

▪ Weakness:

▪ Some exceptions…(Phineas Gage)

Survey Method

▪ Researches the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people

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▪ Strength:

▪ Weakness:

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Random Samples

▪ Random Sample –

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▪ Ex. Computer generated list of every 5th person.

Naturalistic Observation

▪ Observing subjects in natural habitats / no interaction between researcher and subjects

▪ Strength:

▪ Weakness:

Bias in Naturalistic Observation

▪ Observer Effect:

▪ Observer Bias:

▪ Anthropomorphic Fallacy:

▪ Experimenter Effects:

▪ Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:

Correlational Research : Analyzing Data

▪ Correlation Coefficient:

▪ A Positive correlation:

▪ A Negative correlation means the presence of one thing predicts the absence of the other thing. (one goes up, the other down: ---1= perfect negative

▪ 0 =

▪ Scatterplot (aka scattergram, scatter diagram)

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▪ The more the data forms a line, the stronger the correlation, IOW:

▪ little scatter =

▪ extensive scatter =

▪ the slope of the line suggests a positive or negative correlation

Illusionary Correlation – False assumption of relationship between two things (tend to recall instances that confirm our belief.)

Experimentation: Cause and Effect (Part 2)

▪ Experiment: the clearest way to isolate cause & effect

▪ Experiments manipulate variables to test the results

Key Experimental Principles

▪ Experimental group –

▪ Control group –

▪ Each group must be from a random sample, and randomly assigned

Variables (Anything that can vary…)

▪ Independent Variable (IV)

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▪ Dependent Variable (DV)

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Confounding Variables

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▪ Examples: Time, place, frequency, amount etc.

Controls (steps to avoid confounding variables)

▪ Placebos –

▪ Single blind procedure: Study’s participants don’t know which group they are in…

▪ Double-blind procedure –

▪ Random sample and random assignment

Recording data

▪ How do you record data when you are trying to measure levels of a specific behavior?

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Remember: Experiments aim to manipulate an independent variable, measure a dependent variable, and control all other variables.

Good Research Is…

▪ Valid –

▪ Reliable –

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