Field Method in Psychology - Prelims

Theory

A coherent explanation or interpretation of one or more phenomena

Theory

Goes beyond directly observed phenomena by organizing variables, structures, processes, functions, or principles

Attachment Theory

Explains how the relationship between a child and their primary caregiver can influence the child's emotional and social development

Hypothesis

A specific prediction about a new phenomenon that should be observed if a particular theory is accurate

Hypothesis

Typically focused on a particular study

If-then

Theories and hypotheses have an ___ relationship: ___ the theory is correct, ___ a particular outcome should be observed

1. Hypothesis Derivation

2. Hypothesis Testing

3. theory evaluation

4. Theory Construction/Revision

Theory testing using the hypothetico-deductive method:

1. Testable and falsifiable

2. Logical

3. Positive

4. Direction of reasoning

Characteristics of a good hypothesis:

Testable and falsifiable

Can be tested using scientific methods, and it must be possible to gather evidence that could disconfirm it

Logical

Informed by previous theories/observations and by logical reasoning - not simply a random guess

Positive

Makes a positive statement about an expected relationship or effect rather than predicting that an effect does not exist

Direction of reasoning

Usually: broad theory - deductive reasoning - specific hypothesis

Direction of reasoning

When no theory exists, specific observation can contribute to inductive reasoning

Variable

A quantity or quality that varies across people or situations

1. Quantitative Variable

2. Categorical Variable

Two types of variable:

Quantitative Variable

A quantity measured by assigning a number to each individual (e.g., heigh, talkativeness, depression level)

Categorical Variable

A quality measured by assigning category labels (e.g., major, occupation, nationality)

Operational Defintion

A precise definition of a variable in terms of how it will actually be measured. Abstract constructs must be transformed into observable/measurable indicators

Population

The larger group about which the researcher wants to draw conclusions

Sample

The smaller subset that actually participates

Simple Random Sampling

Every population member has an equal chance of selection

Convenience Sampling

Participants are selected because they are nearby and willing

Experimental Research

Used to test causal relationships

Experimental Research

Researchers manipulate one or more variables and control extraneous variables

Non-experimental Research

Variables are measured as they naturally occur

Non-experimental Research

It can describe characteristics and relationships and make predictions, but cannot establish that one variable causes another

Independent Variable

The variable manipulated by the experimenter; the presumed cause

Dependent Variable

The variable measured by the experimenter; the presumed effect

Extraneous Variable

Any variable than the dependent variable that could influence the outcome

Confound

A specific extraneous variable that systematically varies along with the variable under investigation and therefore provides an alternative explanation for the result

Laboratory Study

Conducted in a laboratory environment

Laboratory Study

Typically offer greater control over extraneous variables

Laboratory Study

Often has higher internal validity

Laboratory Study

May be less representative of real-world conditions

Field Study / Field Experiment

Conducted in a real-world natural environment

Field Study / Field Experiment

Typically offers less environmental control

Field Study / Field Experiments

Often has higher external validity

Field Study / Field Experiments

A field experiment manipulates an IV in a natural setting while controlling extraneous variables as much as possible

Internal Validity

Degree to which researchers can confidently infer a causal relationship between variables

External Validity

Degree to which findings can be generalized to other circumstances or setting, especially the real world

Descriptive Statistics

Organize and summarize a set of data

Central Tendency

Describes the typical/average/center of a distribution

Dispersion

Describes how spread out the scores are

Correlation Coefficients

Describe the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables

Mean

Average of a distribution

Median

Midpoint of distribution

Mode

Most frequently occurring score

Range /SD / Variance

Measures of dispersion; variance is the standard deviation

Inferential Statistics

Allow researchers to draw conclusions about a population based on sample data

Type I Error - False Positive

Concluding that an effect is statistically significant when there is no real effect in the population

Type II Error - Missed Opportunity

Concluding tha results are not statistically significant when there is a real effect in the population

Threshold trade-off

Making the significance threshold more stringent reduces type I errors but increases the chance of type II errors. Type II errors are also more likely with very small samples

Ethics

A branch of philosophy concerned with morality - what it means to behave morally and how people can achieve that goal

Ethics

A set of principles and practices that provide moral guidance in a particular field

1. Weighing risks against benefits

2. Acting responsibly and with integrity

3. Seeking justice

4. Respecting people's rights and dignity

Four moral principles:

Risks

Treatment might fail to help or even be harmful, procedure might result in physical or psychological harm, and their right to privacy might be violated

Benefits

Receiving helpful treatment, learning about psychology, experiencing the satisfaction of contributing to scientific knowledge, and receiving money or course credit for participating

Stanford Prison Experiment

Was a study stimulating a prison environment to examine the psychological effects perceived roles on behavior

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Become one of psychology's most dramatic illustrations of how good people can be transformed into "perpetrators" of evil, and healthy people can begin to experience pathological reactions - traceable to situational forces

Philip Zimbardo

Who is the lead researcher for the stanford prison experiment

Risks

If a research question is poorly designed, the resources spent on that research could have been spent on more productive research in the scientific community

Benefits

Advances scientific knowledge and can contribute to tge welfare of society

Acting Responsibly and with Integrity (Research Participants)

Carrying out research thoroughly and competently, meeting professional obligations, and being truthful

Acting Responsibly and with Integrity (Research Participants)

Promotes trust among participants

Acting Responsibly and with Integrity (Research Participants)

Participants must be able to trust that researchers are being honest with them, will keep their promises, and will carry out their research in ways that maximize benefits and minimize risks

Milgram's Experiment

Participants were told they were testing the effect of punishment on learning. Instructed to administer increasingly powerful electric shocks for every wrong answer, participants heard the learner - actually a confederate - scream, protest, and eventually fall silent. When participants hesitated, the researcher ordered them to continue.

Without their knowledge, the shocks were fake and the reactions were recorded audio. Most participants obeyed fully, administering shocks up to the highest level.

Acting Responsibly and with Integrity (Scientific Community and Society)

They must also be able to trust that researchers have conducted their research thoroughly and competently and that they have reported on it honestly

Seeking Justice

Conducting research in a just manner

Seeking Justice

Treating participants fairly, for example, by giving them adequate compensation for their participation and making sure that benefits and risks are distributed across all participants

Autonomy

Right to make own choices and take own actions free from coercion

Informed Consent

Obtain and document people's agreement to participate in a study after having informed them of everything that might be reasonably be expected to affect their decision

Privacy

Right to decide what information is shared with others

Confidentiality

Agreement to not disclose participants' personal information without their consent or some appropriate legal authorization

Anonymity

Name and other personally identifiable information is not collected at all

Nuremberg Code

10 principles written in 1947 in conjunction with the trials of Nazi physicians accused of shockingly cruel research on concentration camp prisoners during world war II

The Declaration of Helsinki

Created by the World Medical Council in 1964, revised in 2004

The Declaration of Helsinki

Among the standards that it added to the Nuremberg Code was that research with human participants should be based on a written protocol reviewed by an independent committee

The Belmont report

Recognized the principles of: justice, respect of persons, beneficence

Justice

The benefits and burdens of research are distributed fairly across different groups at the societal level

Respect for persons

Autonomy is respected and that people with diminished autonomy are protected (e.g., children)

Beneficence

Protecting subjects from harm by maximizing possible benefits and minimizing possible harms

The Belmont Report

Basis of the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects

Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects

Universities, hospitals and institutions doing research must establish an Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

A committee responsible for reviewing research protocols for potential ethical problems

Deception

Can take a variety of forms: misinforming participants about the purpose of the study, using confederates, using phony equipment like Milgram's shock generator, and presenting participants with false feedback about their performance (e.g., telling them they did poorly on a test when they actually did well)

Deception

Also includes not informing participants of the full design or true purpose of the research even if they are not actively misinformed

Debriefing

This is the process of informing research participants as soon as possible of the purpose of the study, revealing any deception, and correcting any other misconceptions they might have as a result of participating

Plagiarism

Misrepresenting someone's ideas, words, or written work as your own

Authorship Credit

Be given to those who made a major contribution to the research or writing

1. Research Question

2. Empirical Study

3. data Analysis

4. Conclusions

5. Research Literature

A model of scientific research on psychology:

1. Informal Observations

2. Practical Problems

3. Previous Research

Three sources of research ideas:

Informal Observations

Direct or secondhand observations of behavior from everyday life, newspapers, books, blogs, etc.

Practical Problems

Real-world problems that can lead to applied research

Previous Research

The most common source; Researchers build on existing studies, theories, journal, journal articles, and book chapters

Research Literature

All the published research in a field relevant to the topic

1. Professional Journal

2. Scholarly Books

Two types of scholarly sources:

1. Empirical Research Report

2. Review Article

Two types of professional journal:

Professional Journal

A periodical that publishes original research articles; issues are organized into volumes

Empirical Research Report

describes one or more new empirical studies, including the question, method, results, and conclusions

Review Article

Summarizes previously published research on a topic and may organize or explain existing results