Psychological Research

Scientific Inquiry, Approach, Methods, Ethics

Psychology’s 4 Primary Goals

1. Describe

2. Explain

3. Predict

4. Control

Describe

involves observing a behavior and noting anything about it to create a Principle.

Principle

A description of a set of observations or facts.

Explain

involves making sense of the observed descriptions, thereby helping to make a theory.

Theory

A general explanation of a set of observations or facts.

Predict

determining what will happen in the future based on the explanation.

Control

Modification of some behavior to a desirable one.

Steps in the Scientific Approach

1. Perceiving the Question

2. Forming a Hypothesis

3. Testing the Hypothesis

4. Drawing Conclusions

5. Report your results

Three Types of Research Methods

1. Descriptive

2. Correlational

3. Experimental

Naturalistic Observation

watching a being’s behavior in its natural setting

Participant Observation

observer directly participates in the setting to prevent the Observer Bias and Observer Effect

Observer Bias

the tendency of observers to see what they expect to see

Observer Effect

the tendency of the observed to behave differently when they know they are being observed.

Laboratory Observation

for practicality, beings are dislocated into a laboratory setting.

Case Study

detailed investigations of one subject, thus information gained cannot be applied to other cases.

Surveys

involve asking standardized questions of large groups of people that represent a sample of the population of interest.

Courtesy Bias

answering a socially correct answer rather than the true opinion of the respondent.

Correlational technique

a statistical technique that allows researchers to discover and predict relationships between variables of interest.

Positive correlation

exists when increases in one variable are matched by increases in the other variable

Negative correlation

exists when increases in one variable are matched by decreases in the other variable.

cause-and-effect relationships.

Correlations cannot be used to prove ___________,

Correlation Methods

Measure of the relationship between two or more variables

Correlation Coefficient

number 1 and -1 stating the strength of relationship and what type of relationship exists.

Experiments

tightly controlled manipulations of variables that allow researchers to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

independent variable

is the variable that is deliberately manipulated by the experimenter to see if related changes occur in the behavior or responses of the participants and is given to the experimental group.

dependent variable

measured behavior or responses of the participants.

control group

receives either a placebo treatment or nothing.

Selection in Experiment

Random assignment of participants

Operationalization in Experiment

specifically names the steps to control variables in the experiment

Groups in Experiment

experimental group and control group

Hazards in Experiment

Placebo and Experimenter Effects

Placebo Effect

where the beliefs or expectations about a study can influence the participants’ behavior.

Single-blind Study

Used to destroy the Placebo Effect, subjects do not know if they are in the experimental or the control group.

Experimenter effect

experimenter’s biases affect their observations

Double-blind Study

Used to destroy the Experimenter’s Effect, both experimenter and subject do not know who are in which group.

Ethics of Psychological Research

1. protection of rights and well-being of participants

2. informed consent

3. justification when deception is used

4. the right of participants to withdraw at any time

5. protection of participants from physical or psychological harm

6. confidentiality

7. debriefing of participants at the end of the study.