unit 0 - psychological research dense version

subject

unknowingly or knowingly apart of a study; cannot use names or pictures in publications; animals are subjects (cannot consent)

participant

volunteered or agreed/willingly consenting (informed consent) to be apart of an experiment

population

anybody which this study can apply to

population - random sample

everyone in the population randomly having a chance in the study (not hand picked) 

population - representative sample

every part of the population is included/represented equally in the study

population - convenience sample

choosing who will be apart of your sample (nearby, hand picking)

bias

a systemic distortion of a result due to a factor not allowed for in its derivation

leads to inaccurate results

subject/participant bias

subject or participants knowingly or unknowingly influence the results of a study 

experimenter bias + example

researcher/experimenter “unknowingly” influences the results of a study

eg. unintentionally treating subjects differently based on their treatment group

self-report bias + example

reporting things incorrectly for personal reason

not wanting to share the whole truth 

social desirability bias + what are the answers based on? + what type of bias is this” + example

subject presenting themselves in a favourable way to please the researchers that differ from their actual behaviour for personal reasons

answers are based on society’s expectations

a type of self report bias

eg. underreporting negative traits

confirmation bias

tendency to pay more attention to information that supports our ideas/ beliefs

hindsight bias + what cna it lead to? + example 

overestimating the accuracy of predictions; one becomes convinced that they accurately predicted an event before it occurs causing overconfidence in their abilities to predict other future events 

can lead to unnecessary risks that have a negative effect on decision making 

eg. not studying for a tes bc you think the material is easy

variables

a characteristic that changes form one individual to another and can be measured in some way

operational definition + example

a precise description of how a research variable is defined and measured translating abstract concepts into observable and quantifiable terms for replication

eg. in a study on happiness, happiness is defined as a score of 6 or above on a 10-point happiness scale

applied research (what is it used for?, what doe sit examine?, what is it oriented towards?)

used to solve specific problems 

examines how real-world phenomenon or outcomes can be altered

oriented towards identifying practical solutions to specific problems

basic research

used to gian understanding and satisfy curiosity

psychologist + describe the profession 

a professional who studies behaviours and mental processes (think, feel and behave) and may use this knowledge to help individuals 

work in areas like clinical counselling, school or research settings

do NOT prescribe meds 

MS (master of science) or PhD

psychiatrist

a medical doctor (M.D.) who specialises in the diagnosis of mental health disorders and treatment of psychological disorders

prescribes meds

state the types of studies

cross-sectional studies

longitudinal studies

quantitative research

qualitative research

descriptive studies

experiment

meta analysis

cross-sectional studies 

doing multiple/all studies at the same time to compare those results w diff groups & make conclusions w/ culmination of results 

groups usually vary (age, gender, key characteristics, etc.) 

enables comparison for different groups within the pop. at that specific time 

usually focuses on the prevalence of a particular disease, behaviour or characteristic within a pop. 

inexpensive and quick 

longitudinal studies 

same sample being studied for a long period of time (years). Is interested in seeing the growth and development w/ the same people for the entire study

useful for understanding long term effects and trends, lots of info

takes a long time to get results

prone to confounding variables

Large sample is needed (people leave throughout)

If participant is under 18 yo, parent must consent

Quantitative research

Research that uses numbers and statistics to investigate

Qualitative research

Methods that use non-numerical data like observations and interviews to understand human behaviour and perspectives

Descriptive studies

Observing and recording behaviour, they do not test specific relationships between variables (not experiment so no causation)

Case study - type of descriptive

In-depth detailed look at one or a few people in hopes of revealing universal principles. This method is usually reserved for things that cannot be studied any other way, the only one available, at least ethically

Pros: new data and info that can’t be found another way; lots of new info from a small sample

Cons: no manipulation to participants, so can’t learn more than what’s available; can’t replicate; may not be applicable to the entire population

Naturalistic observation - descriptive study

descriptive method where you’re observing behavior in a naturally occurring situation in its natural setting w/o trying to manipulate and control the situation in order to get the most realistic picture of how it naturally occurs.   

Pros: remove subject bias; cheap

Cons: cannot prove causation; can’t interact w/ what’s being observed; lack of scientific control; can’t properly repeat; observer bias 

Lab observation

• observing the behavior of subjects that are in a controlled environment manipulating the situation but not the variables; making observations in an artificial environment

• Pros: more control, repeatable, can study something you can’t in a natural setting 

• Cons: people know they’re being watched-biases may occur

Participant observation

• becoming one of the people you’re observing

  • Ex: hiding in the crowd to conceal yourself and observe

Observer effect

• the fact that observing the situation or phenomenon necessarily changes it; the observed changing the behavior 

Blind observer

• those charged w/ measuring, recording, and assessing changes in participants don’t know what they’re looking for; removed researcher bias  

Correlation + example

Looking to see if 2 or more variables are related to one another

Represented by graphs like scatterplots, scattergrams, etc.

Eg. If IQ and level of education are related

Positive correlation

A proportional relationship both increase or both decrease

Negative correlation

Inverse relationship

One increases, other decreases

Illusory correlation

The perception of a relationship where none exists

Uncorrelated or no correlation + example

Can’t find a relationship between variables

Eg. Hair length and GPA

Experiment

Process for experimental Research: Ask Questions → Do background research → Construct Hypothesis(operational definition and Ho) → Test w/ an experiment → analyze results to draw conclusions; if hypothesis is true, report results; if hypothesis is false, try again 

Random assignment

• assigns participants to either control or experimental group(s) at random

• Minimizes biases, increase chance of equal representation

Control group

Group that doesn’t receive treatment/gets a placebo

Acts as a baseline for comparison to evaluate changes to prove a cause and effect relationship

Experimental group

Group that receives the treatment or smth the control group is not

Receive the independent variable

Placebo

Any treatment that appears real but designed to have no active properties

Placebo effect

• when the variable being studied appears to change after taking a placebo treatment. Usually a participant thinks they had the treatment effect when they did not. Usually the people in the control group

Blinding

Reduces bias

Single blind

Te

Be participants don’t know if they are in the control group or experimental

Reduces participant/subject bias

Double blind

The researchers in charge and the participants don’t know

Removes subject/ participant bias and researcher bias

Quasi

Aim to evaluate interventions but doesn’t use randomisation of participants

Prone to biases and confounding variables

Confounding variable

Any variable you can’t control that will affect the results of the experiment

Meta analysis

Combining everything to determine overall trends

Descriptive stats

Describing or summarising the data; provuses a way to organise data

Measures of central tendency

Qualitatively describes how typical that response may be

Mean

average, susceptible to extreme scores. Use in normal distribution

Median

The middle score. Less susceptible to outliers

Use in skewed distribution

Mode

Most occurring

Measures of variability

How spread out the distribution is

Range

Top score - bottom score

Standard deviation

Average of the data varying from the mean

Distributions

Normal curve

Positive skew (right)

Negative skew (left)

Center is mean= median & symmetric

Inferential stats

What can i summarise or predict based on the data collected

P value 0-1

The value that tries to determine the likelihood of the event being studied to occur pure,y by chance

P value close to 0

Close to 1?

0 more likely to prove causation

Closer to 1 means some variables need to change

Research ethics

Confidentiality

Subjects / participants info should be private and respected. The researchers not releasing subject info in publication unless allowed

informed consent 

providing the participants with enough info for them to make an informed decision about their involvement in the study 

should contain potential risks, their expected responsibilities, possibly gaining permission to use personal info in publication and the right to withdraw at any time

animal research

minimising harm to animals (wo prolonged harm); obtain, house and experiment in a humane way; have specific scientific reason for doing so especially if it’s harmful; complying with animal protection laws

is it applicable to human?

deception

tricking the participants about the true purpose in the study or the conditions it is being conducted under

allowed if there is no other way to study it

have to get approval from review board and explain why it is necessary

debrief/dehoax

debriefing participants who have been involved in a deception study to inform them they were mislead as part of the study (true purpose, address misconceptions) 

if the reveal causes mental harm, the researchers have to fix it (pay, get therapy) 

psychology (today)

the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes

behaviour

a natural process subject to natural laws, refers to observable actions of a person or an animal

mind (mental processes)

the sensations, memories, motives, emotions, thoughts and other subjective phenomena particular to an individual or animal that are not readily observed

overt 

behaviours, actions or responses that are observable and measurable 

can be seen directly by others

cna be easily quantified and analysed

Covert

Internal behaviours which are internal and not directly observable

Thoughts, feeling, beliefs, intentions; can be inferred through self reports

Wilhelm Wundt

“The father of psychology”

First person to make psychology a separate scientific disciple in 1879 w lab in Germany to study introspection

Focused on structuralism and used introspection

Introspection

The process of looking inward to examine one’s own conscious thought the trying to find similarities throughout participants

Pros: looking into ppl’s thoughts

Cons: unreliable

Structuralism

Understanding all the parts of the brain would lead to the understanding of the greater structure of the mind; breaks down mental processes into their most basic components

Used introspection

William Wundt and Edward Titchener (student)

Functionalism

The function oriented approach that focuses on the purpose of behaviour and mental processes; trying to understand how the mind fulfills its purpose

Used introspection, observations, experiments

William James

Psychoanalysis (an unconscious)

Freudian theory that focuses on the existence of the unconscious where a connection is made between the conscious and unconscious

Says the unconscious holds the repressed “locked away”, taboo (violent, sexual, etc.)

Thoughts that make people abnormal

1st force of psych

Difficult to prove/disprove

Sigmund Freud

Psychodynamic

Faction of psychoanalysis that expands on Freud’s ideas; focuses unconscious drives, early childhood experiences, relationships w parents and inner conflicts to the development of personality

Behaviourism

the study of observable behavior(how we interact w/ our world and perceive things). Focuses on physical reactions that can be seen and why they happen(how we learn diff behaviors)

• 2nd Force of psychology 

• John B. Watson

• Uses classical conditioning and operant conditioning 

• Stresses about the importance of the environment on learning or talking about rewards and punishments

Humanism

rooted in the philosophical tradition of studying the roles of consciousness, free will and awareness of the human condition. Personal goals, values, freewill, growth and what was done right instead of abnormal behaviors. 

• 3rd Force of Psychology

• No experiments for humanism, so some people don’t consider this a school of thought

• Growth or human potential 

Cognitive

an approach rooted in the idea that to understand people’s behaviors, we must first understand how they constructed their environment(how they think). Combines structuralist and functionalist oriented. Approaches the understanding, interpretation, and purpose of thought 

• Cognition=thinking 

• Predominant psychological method in the US  

Sociocultural

Believing that the environment a person lives in has a great deal to do with how a person behaves and how others. Cultural values vary from society to society and must be taken into account if one wishes to understand, predict or control behaviors

• Norms are an unwritten rule for how you should and shouldn’t behave 

• Focuses on the presence of others, a group, an age, environment 

Biological

emphasizes influence of the interactions between biology(brain structure, hormones, genetics, neurotransmitters) and physiology on behavior and mental processes

Focuses on the physical structure of the brain and chemical processes; nature not nurture     

Evolutionary

draws upon the theories of Darwin, that behavior can best be explained in terms of how adaptive that behavior is to our survival. 

• focuses on long periods of time, why this behavior started, how it aided in survival and why in terms of the species  

• How behavior changed over time is evolutionary