chapter 2 psych

scientific method

used by physicists and chemists for several centuries to make great progress in determining the laws of the physical sciences

• psychologists took longer to adopt the method because behavioural science is not as tangible

driving forces behind scientific inquiry

Curiosity, skepticism, and open-mindedness

diffusion of responsibility

a psychological state in which each person feels decreased personal responsibility for intervening

• result of multiple bystanders

in a big group setting, although one individual may be less likely to help, the larger the group the more likely at least one person will help

examining bystander information

1. identify a question of interest

2. gather information and form hypothesis

3. test hypothesis by conducting research

4. analyze data, draw tentative conclusions, and report findings

5. build a body of knowledge, ask further questions; conduct more research; develop and test theories

theory

a set of formal statements that explains how and why certain events are related to one another

• broader than hypotheses

• specify lawful relations between certain behaviours and their causes

scientists use theories to develop new hypotheses and conduct more research

• scientific process is self-correcting

• confidence in theories increase

two approaches to understanding behaviour which is favoured

step-by-step over hindset

hindsight

• most common behaviour to understand everyday life

• hindsight bias is very common but the problem is past events can be explained in many creative and sometimes contradictory ways

  • no way to determine which alternative is correct

• absence makes the heart grow fonder vs out of sight, out of mind

• hindsight reasoning can provide valuable insights and is the foundation of further scientific inquiry

step by step

• scientists prefer to test their understanding of “what causes what” more directly

• if understand cause, can predict when behaviour will occur again

• understanding through prediction and control is a scientific alternative to hindsight understanding

theory development

is the strongest test of scientific understanding because good theories generate an integrated network of predictions. A good theory has several important characteristics

• incorporates existing facts and observations within a single broad framework

  • organizes information in a meaningful way

• testable - generates new hypotheses and predictions whose accuracy can be evaluated by gathering new evidence

• predictions made by the theory are supported by the findings of new research

• confoms to the law of parsimony

  • if two theories can explain and predict the same phenomenon equally well, the simpler theory is the preferred one

theories are never regarded as an absolute truth

Prediction based on understanding “theory building” increases knowledge and generates principles that we can apply to new situations

variable

Variable: any characteristic or factor that can vary

• sex, height, hair colour, age, income, GPA

• vary from one person to another and also within a given person over time

operational definition

operational definition: defines a variable in terms of the specific procedures used to produce or measure it

• translate abstract concepts into something observable and measurable

intrinsic motivation

when students feel they are part of a community they are more intrinsically motivated to participate leading to deeper engagement

self report measures

ask people to report on their own knowledge, beliefs, feelings, experiences, or behaviours

• gathered through interviews or questionnaires

• accuracy depends on willingness to respond honestly

social desirability bias:

the tendency to respond in a socially acceptable manner rather than how one truly feels or behaves

• researchers can minimize this by wording questions so that it is not relevant or guaranteeing respondents anonymity and confidentiality

• regular debriefing with the data collects who administer surveys

coding systems

to record different categories of behaviour

• parent required to praise, assist, criticize child

• make the parent behave a certain type of way

reliable measurements

consistent observations

unobstrusive measures

record behaviour in a way that keeps participants unaware that certain responses are being measured

what is thermal imaging good for

good predictor for mood state

archival measures

gathering information about behaviour from records or documents that already exist

performance taskss

• intelligence tests

  • assemble objects or solve arithmetics problem

• neuropsychological tests

  • diagnose normal and abnormal brain functioning by measuring how well people perform mental and physical tasks like recalling lists of words or manipulating objects

personality tests

• asses personality traits

• specialized self-reports

physiological measures

• heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, hormonal secretions, brain functioning

• provide insight on how people respond to various situations

problems

• we don’t always know what they mean

descriptive research - recording events

Most basic goal of science: describe phenomena

descriptive research: seeks to identify how humans and other animals behave, particularly in natural settings

• provides information about the diversity of behaviour and may yield clues about potential cause-effect relations that are later test experimentally

case studies, naturalistic observation, and surveys are research methods commonly used to describe behaviour

case studies

case study: an in-depth analysis of an individual, a group, or an event

• by studying a single case in detail, researchers hope to discover principles of behaviour that are true for people or situations in general

• data gathered through observation, interviews, psychological tests, physiological recordings, task performance, archival records

advatanges

• when a rare phenomenon occurs, enables scientists to study it closely

• may challenge the validity of a theory or widely held scientific belief

• can be a vibrant source of new ideas and hypotheses that may be examined using more controlled research methods

• provide important insights

Most famous case study: Phineas Gage, railway worker in the 1800s who had a railroad spike shot through his brain and skull

• he survived

• studying the impact of his brain injury on his behaviour led to important discoveries on how the brain works and affects personalities

limitations

• poor method for determining cause-effect relations

• findings may not generalize to other people or situations

• observers may not be objective in gathering and interpreting the data

• limited because they are based on an observer’s subjective impressions

• skeptical attitude requires claims based on case studies be followed up in more controlled methods before they are accepted

naturalistic observation

the researcher observes behaviour as it occurs in a natural setting, and attempts to avoid influencing the behaviour

habituation

people adapt to ignore the presence of an observer as time passes

• researchers may delay their data collection until participants have habituated to the observer’s presence

survey research

survey research: information about a topic is obtained by administering questionnaires or interviews to many people

• i.e. political polls

• surveys also ask about participants’ behaviours, experiences, and attitudes on wide-ranging issues

• two key concepts in survey research are population and sample

population

consists of all the individuals about whom we are interested in drawing a conclusion

sample

a subset of individuals drawn from the larger population of interest

representative sample

one that reflects the important characteristics of the population

• to obtain a representative sample, a procedure called random sampling is used

random sampling

every member of the population has an equal probability of being chosen to participate in the survey

stratified random sampling

• divide the population into subgroups based on such characteristics as gender or ethnic identity

  • if population is 45 percent male, 45 percent of the spaces in the sample would be given to men and 55 percent to women

    • then random sampling is used to select the individual men and women

strongest advantage of survey research

When a representative sample is surveyed, we can be confident (though never certain) that the findings closely portray the population as a whole

why are internet questionnaires problematic

respondents can lie about their age, identities, and genders

• sample bias can occur because there is no method for random sampling the population of Internet users

• shown to be less influenced by socially desirable responding than paper-based surveys

• no missing data

• can be successful research tool

crowdsourced data from services have flaws in reliability and validity because using a VPN may disguise their location

survey drawbacks

• survey data cannot be used to draw conclusions about cause and effect

• surveys rely on participants’ self-reports which can be distorted by social desirability bias, interviewer bias, people’s inaccurate perceptions of their own behaviour, and misinterpretation of survey questions

• unrepresentative samples can lead to faulty generalizations about how an entire population would respond

• even when surveys use proper random sampling procedures, once in a while, by chance, a sample is randomly chosen that is not representative of the larger population

  • less than 5% of time

3 components of correlational research

• involves measuring variables not manipulating them

1. the researcher measures one variable (X), such as people’s birth order

2. the researcher measures a second variable (Y), such as personality trait

3. the research statistically determines whether X and Y are related

Naturalistic observation and surveys are used not only to describe events, but also to study associations between variables

correlation does not equal

causation

bidirectionality (two-way casuality problem)

in correlational research, you must consider the possibility that vriable X (social relationships) has caused variable Y (happiness), that Y has caused X, or both variables have influenced each other

spurious?

associaiton between 2 groups may not be genuine

third variable problem

Z is responsible for what looks like a relation between X and Y

• as Z varies, it causes X to change

• as Z varies, it also causes Y to change

• the net result is that X and Y change in unison, but this is caused by Z, not by any direct effect of Xo or Y on each other

cannot draw casual conclusions from correlational data, which is the major disadvantage of correlational research

correlation coefficient:

is a statistic that indicates the direction and strength of the relation between two variables

Correlation coefficients range from +1 to -1

• +/- sign tells you direction of a correlation

• absolute value tells you the strength of the correlation

• the closer the correlation to +1.00 (a perfect positive correlation) or -1.00 (a perfect negative correlation), the more strongly the two variables are related

  • a correlation of -0.59 is a stronger association between X and Y than 0.37

positive correlation

higher scores on one variable are associated with higher scores on second variable

• more of one thing is more of another

negative correlation

higher scores on one variable are associated with lower scores on a second variable

• more job satisfaction = lower rates of turnover

scatterplots

graphs that show the correlation between two variables

• as scores on x increase or decrease, scores on Y do not change in an orderly fashion

why do we conduct correlational research if it doesn ot provide clear cause-effect conclusions

• can help to establish whether relations found in the lab generalize to the outside world

• can discover associations that are subsequently studied under controlled lab conditions

• for practical or ethical reasons, some questions cannot be studied with experiments but can be examined with correlational methods

  • cannot experimentally manipulate how religious someone is, but we can measure people’s religiousness and determine whether it is associated with other variables, such as personality traits

• allow us to make predictions - if 2 variables are correlated positively or negatively

  • not caused!

experiments

• used to find cause and effect relations

3 essential characteristics of experiments

1. the researcher manipulates (controls) one or more variables

   • manipulates one variable by creating 2 different conditions to which participants are exposed

   • cellphone use - randomly assigning half to drive without talking on a cellphone and with a hands-free cellphone

2. the researcher measures whether this manipulation influences other variables (variables that represent the participants’ responses)

   • how do these conditions influence braking reaction time when another vehicle in front of the car slows down

3. the researcher attempts to control extraneous factors that might influence the outcome of the experiment

   • no passengers

   • no music

   • same traffic and weather

independent variable

refers to the factor that is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter

• CAUSE

independent variable must have at least two levels

• an experiment and control group

dependent variable

factor that is measured by the experimenter and that may be influenced by the independent variable

• depends on the independent variable

• EFFECT

*can have multiple dependent variables within experiment

operational level

exact procedure

general level

broad theoretical

experimental group

group that receives a treatment or an active level of the independent variable

control group

not exposed to the treatment or receives a zero-level of the independent variable

• purpose: provide a standard of behaviour to which the experimental group can be compared

ways to design an experiment

between groups (or between subjects design) - common experimental designed '

repeated measures (within subject) design

between groups (or between subjects design) - common experimental design

• each group in the experiment is composed of a different set of participants

• to draw meaningful conclusions, the various groups of participants must be equivalent at the start of the study

  • make sure driving levels are the same going into it

random assignment: a procedure in which each participant has an equal likelihood of being assigned to any one group within an experiment

• does not eliminate differences in experience

  • balance differences across various conditions of the experiment

  • increases confidence that participants are equivalent at the start

repeated measures (or within subjects design)

• each participant is exposed to all conditions of an independent variable

• can rule out alternative explanations for results we obtain

*can create problems if not used properly

• fatigue, boredom, overconfident

counterbalancing: a procedure in which the order of conditions is varied so that no condition has an overall advantage relative to the others

overview of research methods

primary features, main advantages, disadvantages

validity

how well an experimental procedure actually tests what it is designed to test

internal validity

the degree to which an experiment supports clear casual conclusions

• if it is designed well and properly conducted, we can be confident that the independent variable was really the cause of differences in the dependent variable

  • high internal validity

• if an experiment contains important flaws - low internal validity

  • we can no longer be sure what caused the differences in the dependent variable

confounding of variables

two variables are intertwined in such a way that we cannot determine which one has influenced the dependent variable

• presence of music - independent variable

• mood/joy - confounding variable

Prevents one from drawing clear causal conclusions and ruins the internal validity of the experiment

• keep mood level constant across the different music conditions

Confounding is a key reason why casual conclusions cannot be drawn from correlational research

• third-variable problem - Z is just another type of confounding variable

placebo

refers to a substance that has no pharmacological effect

treatment group: received the actual drug being investigated (pills/injected)

placebo control group: receives only a placebo (pills have inactive ingredients)

participants are told that they will be given either a drug or a placebo, but they are not told which one they will receive

• patients’ symptoms may improve solely because they expect that the drug will help them

placebo effect

people receiving a treatment show a change in behaviour because of their expectations, not because the treatment itself had any specific benefit

• decrease internal validity by providing an alternative explanation for why responses change after exposure to treatment

experimenter expectancy effects

the subtle and unintentional ways researchers influence their participants to respond in a manner that is consistent with the researcher’s hypothesish

how to avoid experimenter expectancy effects

• researchers are kept blind to the hypothesis or condition a participant has been assigned

• less likely to develop expectations for how a participant should behave

double blind procedure

the participant and the experimenter are kept blind as to which experimental condition the participant is in

• minimizes participant placebo effects AND experimenter expectancy effects

external validity

the degree to which the results of a study can be generalized to other populations, settings, and conditions

• judgements about external validity concern the generalizability of underlying principles

replication

process of repeating a study to determine whether the original findings can be duplicated

meta-analysis

a statistical procedure for combining the results of different studies that examine the same topic to test the overall significance of the findings

• each study is treated as a “single participant” and its overall results are analyzed with those of the other studies

• inform researchers about the direction and statistical strength of the relationships between two variables

• many consider meta-analysis to be the most objective way to integrate the findings of multiple and reach overall conclusions about behaviour

cross-cultural replication

examining whether findings generalize across different cultures

studies that consistently fail to replicate the original results of earlier research may suggest the original research was flawed or the finding was a fluke

• replication rate in pysch may be as low as 25 percent

• accountability rests on researchers

  • expected to use the highest standards

  • hold data in trust for a reasonable period of time to give members of the research community an opportunity to examine the data

qualitative research

Qualitative research

• exploratory by nature, complex phenomena that is not easily quantified

• emphasis on understanding the meaning of interpretation

• in-depth exploration of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours

• richer in detail

Characteristics of Indigenous research

1. holistic approach - physical, spiritual, mental

2. respect for indigenous knowledge

3. community centred

4. self-determination and empowerment

5. cultural safety and sensitivity

Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) - Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologist

• protect and promote the welfare of participants

• avoid doing harm to participants

• not carry out any studies unless the probable benefit is proportionately greater than the risk

• provide informed consent

  • explain all aspects of the procedure and ensure that the procedure is understood

    • oral/written consent required

    • can withdraw without penalty

• take all reasonable steps to ensure that consent is not given under coercion

• ensure privacy and confidentiality

incomplete disclosure/deception: occurs when participants are misled about the nature of a study

• some say, deception is the only way to obtain natural, spontaneous responses from participants

if incomplete disclosure is used, participants must be debriefed - told the true purpose of the study at the end of the experiment

Ethical Standards for Working with Indigenous Peoples and Communitie

• respect for indigenous protocols and knowledge systems

• community engagement and consultation

• capacity building

• ethical conduct

• data sovereignty

• reciprocity and benefit

• transparency and accountability

• cultural competences

ethical standards in animal research

• animals are in 7-8 percent of psychological studies, including research done in both wild and controlled settings

• rodents and birds make up 90% of animals studied

• nonhuman primates make up 5%

• to learn about human behaviour or behaviour of other species

experimental animals should not be subjected to pain, stress, or privation unless no alternative procedure is available and the research is justifiable