PSYC-240 Exam 2

Steps in research

* Formulate hypothesis
* Design study
* Collect data
* Analyze data
* Publish findings

What is a hypothesis?

A testable explanation of the relationship between two or more events (or variables)

Where do hypothesis come from?

* Observations, opinions, experiences
* Previous studies
* Theories/Models

Variable

Anything that can vary and can be measured or manipulated

Sometimes variables can’t be…

Manipulated but they can be measured

Baseline variable

Describes the smaple

Independent variable

The variable that is manipulated

Dependent variable

The variable that is measured

Extraneous variable

A variable we don’t necessary want to study but we need to control

Psychological construct

Can’t be measured directly; have to find other ways to assess (anxiety, depression, happiness, intelligence)

Operational definition

* Specific measurement of a construct
* Helps to standardize what is being tested
* Improves communication
* Usually only a part of the larger construct

Quantitative data

* Measured in numbers
* A **statistical analysis** is conducted
* Significant or non-significant

Qualitative data

* Descriptions that people provide about their feelings or experiences


* Don’t use statistics to analyze

Experimental study

* The only type of design that can tell us about cause and effect


* Has an experimental group and a control group (or multiple groups that are compared)

Single-blind study

Experiment in which the researcher knows which participants are in the experimental group and which are in the control group, but participants do not (controls for participant expectations)

Double-blind study

Experiment in which both the researchers and the participants are blind to group assignments (controls for both participant and experimenter expectations)

Participants

Subjects of psychological research

Sample

Subset of individuals selected from the larger population (random sample or convenience sample)

Population

* Overall group of individuals that the researcher is interested in (e.g. college students)
* Not necessarily every person
* Research decides who population of interest is

Selection bias

When the sample does not represent the population a researcher is trying to generalize to

Inclusion criteria

What is needed to qualify for the study

Exclusion criteria

Attributes that disqualify participants from a study

Between subjects study

* The participant only experiences one of the experimental conditions
* Random assignment to groups

Within subjects study

* Participant experiences all of the conditions
* Order of presentation is counterbalanced across subjects

Random Assignment

* Each subject has an equal chance of being assigned to the experimental conditions
* Only needed in between-subjects study
* Necessary to reach a causal conclusion

Types of measures

* Behavioral/observation
* Self-report
* Physiological
* Biochemical

Internal validity

The extent to which we believe our manipulation caused the outcome (the dependent variable)

External validity

The extent to which the results generalize to a larger population

Statistical significance

* Probability < .05 (conventional in science)
* p < .05
* Less than 5% of the time the differences among the means are due to chance

Clinical significance

Is the difference enough to be considered important

Correlational method

* Do variable X and variable Y vary together?


* Variables measured but not manipulated
* Data can be captured with surveys

Correlational method benefits

Convenient, can measure a lot of things, can assess large numbers of individuals at low cost

Correlational method drawbacks

Cannot determine cause and effect

Correlation

Relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does

Correlation coefficent

Number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, and usually represents by r

Positive correlation

Two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller

Negative correlation

Two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation

Problems with causality

* Correlation does not imply causality
* Directionality problem
* Third-variable problem

Case study

* Detailed biographical description of an individual


* Might include biographical data, medical records, family history, observations, interview

Case study benefits

* Rich description


* Rare disorders
* Generate hypotheses

Case study drawbacks

* No contols
* Limited generalizability

Single-subject experimental research

* Examine how individual participants respond to changes in the independent variable


* ABAB Design
* Often used by behaviorist to track behavior before and after introducing new contingences

Natural observation

* Careful observation and recording of a behavior in the natural environment


* This strategy is being used more and more to describe peoples’ online behavior

Natural observation benefits

Good ecological validity, happens in the real world not the artificial lab environment

Natural observation drawbacks

Limits in generalizability, can’t reach causal conclusions, observer bias

Reporting scientific findings

* Scientific journals (aimed at an audience of professionals/scholars)


* Peer-reviewed journal articles
* Journals that don’t have peer-review usually contain lower quality research and are less influential in the field

Theories/models

* Framework to understand a set of ideas or constructs
* Ways of thinking about an issue

Proposition

The relationship among the constructs

Mediator

Mechanism that explains the relationship between two variables

Moderator

* A variable that alters the strength of the relationship between two other variables


* Moderators may be risk or protective factors

Theories

* Many about the etiology of drug addiction
* No one accepted view/theory
* Focus on different stages of the drug use cycle
* Make predictions about transitions from one stage to the next

Etiological theory

* Theories may attend to different levels of analysis (biological, psychological, cultural, social)


* However, often these levels are studied separately, comprehensive theories are needed

Moral/personality responsibility model

* Focuses exclusively on individual characteristics to control or quit drug use


* Drug use is a choice, drugs are bad


* Seeking pleasure from drugs is bad
* Failure of self-control
* Sin/weakness
* Violation of moral, ethical, or religious standards
* History
* All drugs banned/punished
* Usually unsuccessful

Moral model

* 1919 -18th Amendment made drinking criminal
* 1933 - 21st Amendment repealed prohibition
* War on drugs (21st century)
* Many drugs are illegal
* Alcohol laws vary across localities
* Stigma

Disease model

* Addiction is a chronic, relapsing neurobiological disease characterized by compulsive use despite negative consequences


* Vulnerabilities in individuals make them more likely to use drugs and become addicted
* Repeated drug use changes the brain such that drugs become irresistible
* Drug dddiction is a disease not a choice, it is involuntary behavior
* Takes the stance that drug users want to quit but they just can’t-if they could they would
* Takes the blame off of the individual
* Still the predominating view promoted by government agencies/some scientific groups/organizations
* Emphasis on genetic, brain, and physiological processes


* Both as risk factors and as consequences of drug exposure

Disease model history

* 1956, American Medical Association recognized alcoholism as a disease
* Jellenik, drug use leads to irreversible chain of physiological events that produces a “loss of control”
* Ideas continued to develop in the 70’s-80’s
* 1997 Leshner: Director of NIDA “Addiction is a Brain Disease and It Matters”
* Addiction is a “hijacking” of the brain
* Loss of control

Disease model criticisms

* A PR campaign/not scientifically based
* Addiction is not like other diseases
* The brain is constantly changing (so changes don’t indicate a disease)
* “A disease is surely something that happens to us, not something we do” (Heather)
* Most people use drugs without problems/becoming addicted

Choice model

* This model states that there is no evidence that addiction is a disease


* Drug taking is governed by the same principles as any other highly rewarding behavior
* Behavioral economics of drug choice

Abstinence-driven model

Failure to comply is sanctioned, criminalized, and shamed

Behavioral economics of choice model

* Integrates psychological and economic principles to understand decision-making and consumption behavior
* Behavioral economic purchase; tasks are used to estimate the reinforcing value of drugs by asking participants how much they would purchase across a range of increasing prices

Cirticisms of the choice model

* It is argued that the brain mechanisms involved in addiction are different from those engaged in ordinary choice


* What is ordinary choice?
* Some fear that conceptualizing addiction as a choice will place blame on addicted individuals

Treatments based on choice/operant conditioning

* Contingency management
* Reinforce non-drug taking behavior (money or vouchers)
* Encourage alternative reinforcers that bring pleasure
* Encourage behaviors incompatible with drug taking

Moralization

Conversion of a preference into a value, within a culture and in individual lives

Neurobiological theories of addiction

* Drugs stimulate dopamine receptors (way more so than natural rewards)


* Makes people want more
* Neuroadaptive changes due to repeated stimulation of these brain areas
* Increase in salience of drug rewards and decrease in salience of non-drug rewards
* Changes in synapses (basis of learning)

Incentive salience model

* Result of “long-lasting changes in dopamine-related motivation systems of susceptible individuals, called "neural sensitization"
* These brain changes make addicts vulnerable to relapse when confronted by substance-related cues as they trigger a pathological “wanting”
* Addiction is a change from liking (mediated by a different brain system) to wanting (mesolimbic DA system)
* Results in attentional bias and high levels of craving

Liking vs wanting

* Separate liking and wanting system


* Can be driven to seek out something that they don't even enjoy

Attentional bias

* Measuring attention to drug cues
* Eye tracking
* Dot probe task
* Emotional Stroop task

Operant learning

Drug taking is determined by its reinforcing properties of the drug

Positive reinforcement

Behavior followed by pleasurable stimulus is repeated

Negative reinforcement

Behavior that removes aversive stimulus (stress, withdrawal) is repeated

Punishment

Behavior followed by an aversive stimulus is not repeated (some argue that addiction is a failure to learn from punishment)

Functional analysis

* Treatment that evaluates all parts of an individual patient to figure out the specific reasons for drug taking behavior


* How the drugs "fit" into their lives or is "functional" for their lives
* If it is not functional in someone's life, then they won't take the drug

Opponent process theory

* If you can stop the withdrawal, you can stop the cycle


* Assumes that
* you will definitely experience withdrawal
* once you get through withdrawal you are out of the woods

Personality models/behavioral traits

* No evidence for an “addictive personality”
* Some behavioral traits are good predictors of drug use
* Impulsivity/delay discounting
* Low frustration tolerance (frustration = expectancy of reward and not receiving it)
* High sensation seeking
* Anxiety sensitivity
* Depression

Social learning model of addiction

* Drug taking behavior is learned and can be explained by behavioral, cognitive, and environmental determinants
* Dependence is a learned behavior that results from conditioning, modeling and thinking about the substance
* The greater the dependence then the greater the negative feelings experienced in the absence of the activity (disease model is all or nothing: you have the disease or you don’t)
* Dependence is a normal facet of human behavior
* Only becomes a problem when the individual experiences a number of negative consequences as a result of their behavior but continues to do it anyway

Learning via direct experience (drug effects)

Classical and operant conditioning

Learning via indirect experience

Watching, listening to others, advertisements (also called social learning)

Expectancies

* Beliefs about the effects of drugs


* Predict initiation, maintenance, cessation and relapse
* Use is associated with higher positive expectancies and lower negative expectancies for a drug
* Can develop either directly (using a drug) or indirectly (observing the effects of others using a drug)

Self-efficacy

* Belief in one’s ability to execute an action


* Associated with drug taking and ability to quit
* One of the best predictors of behavior

Treatment strategies

* Costs of drug use outweigh benefits of drug use
* Need to learn new skills to stop taking drugs
* Coping response training
* Lapse recovery training
* Environmental changes
* Expectancy challenges

Social network analysis

* Individuals have a large impact on the behaviors of others
* The people we choose to spend our time with will affect our drug taking
* People self-select into social networks that may perpetuate addiction
* Treatment involves changing social networks
* “Changing playmates and playgrounds”

Social influence

* Parents substance use (increased availability, role models approval)


* Parenting style (authoritative-protective structure, warmth-protective)


* Peers (overt offers, modeling, social norms)

Public health model

* Integrated approach; three key factors and the relationships between them
* The agent (characteristics and effects of the drug itself)
* The host (characteristics of the individual or group of users)
* The environment (the context of the drug use)

Sociocultural model

* Environmental, social, and political factors contribute to the development of substance use or buffer against it
* Links between inequality and drug use
* Society labels users of certain substances as deviant, thereby creating further problems
* The solution revolves around changing the social environment, rather than treating individuals

Nicotine

* 3rd most widely used psychoactive drug (after caffeine and alcohol)
* Plant based alkaloid stimulant drug (like caffeine)
* Lethal dose is 60 mg

Sources of nicotine

* Tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum)
* Cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco (tobacco is burned)
* Chewing tobacco, snuff (not burned)
* E-cigs/Vapes

Routes of nicotine administration

* Inhalation
* Nicotine vaporized when heated
* Absorbed by mucous membranes in lungs
* Fast and effective way to reach the brain


* Intranasal
* Snuff and nicotine nasal spray
* Transdermal
* Nicotine patch
* Buccal
* Nicotine gum, lozenge chewing tobacco

Prevalence of cigarette use

* \~ 12% of US adults (20% 10 years ago)
* Higher rates associated with
* Lower education
* Income below federal poverty level
* Most people begin smoking before age 18
* Decreasing in US but increasing in developing nations
* Men > women worldwide

E-cigarettes

* Battery-powered products that typically deliver nicotine in the form of an aerosol


* Marketed as both a smoking cessation tool and a “safer” alternative to conventional cigarettes
* Appeal to young people
* Flavors

Prevalence of e-cigarettes

* Since 2014 e-cigs/vapes are most commonly used nicotine among young people
* Middle and high school students
* 16.5% of high school students have used a tobacco product (past 30 days)
* 25% of vapers use daily
* 85% use flavored vapes

Acute, subjective effects of nicotine

* Pleasure/feel good


* Energetic
* Liking and wanting the drug again
* Relaxation (paradoxical for a stimulant drug)
* Improved concentration and focus

Acute, objective effects of nicotine

* Improves cognitive processes (simple and complex)
* Attention
* Working memory
* Learning
* Finger tapping speed

Acute physiological effects

* Stimulates sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response)
* Increases heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, sweating
* Increases metabolism at rest and while exercising
* Slows digestion

Chronic effects of tobacco use

* Many Diseases linked to smoking
* Leading global cause of preventable death
* Smokers die 10 years earlier than non-smokers on average
* Cancer, heart disease, and pulmonary diseases (e.g., emphysema)
* Negative effects on reproduction
* Second-Hand Smoke

Carbon monoxide

* Carbon monoxide (CO) also harms health


* CO is a byproduct of burning
* CO binds to hemoglobin and displaces oxygen, placing stress on the heart and brain

Nicotine tolerance

* Develops quickly to unpleasant effects of nicotine
* Returns quickly after quitting and starting again

Pharmocology of nicotine

* Sites of action
* Nicotine stimulates acetylcholine receptors
* Agonist


* Increase dopamine in brain reward pathways through sodium channels

Pharmocokinetics of nicotine

* Inhaled, reaches the brain in 5-15 seconds
* Crosses the blood brain and placental barriers
* Half-life is 2 hours
* Liver metabolizes nicotine

Medical uses of nicotine

* Studied as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease
* 80% of people with schizophrenia smoke cigarettes (report improvement in symptoms)


* More research needed

Quitting smoking

* 70% of smokers report they want to quit


* 55% try in a given year
* After 1 year less about 5% or less of those who try are still abstinent