PSYCH 100A Intro to Psychological Statistics Week 1 Day 1 Notes

About the Instructor

• PhD in Applied Linguistics (UCLA)

  • Specialization in first and second language acquisition.

• Adjunct Assistant Professor - Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior (UCLA)

  • Focus on the intersection of language and the brain.

• Previously Assistant Research Scientist - Neurosurgery Department (UCLA)

  • Researching language mapping and cognitive functions related to neurosurgery.

• Previously Faculty Associate - Linguistics Department, HSE university (Moscow)

  • Teaching and research experience in an international setting.

• Research Areas:

  • First and second language acquisition: Investigating how individuals learn languages.

  • Neurolinguistics: Study of the neural mechanisms in the brain that control the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language.

  • Psycholinguistics: Study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend, and produce language.

  • Intercultural communication: Examining communication across different cultures.

  • Intercultural pragmatics: The study of how language is used in different cultural contexts, focusing on how meaning is conveyed and interpreted.

  • Bilingualism: Research on individuals who can speak two languages fluently.

  • Prosody: The study of the rhythm, stress, and intonation of language and how they contribute to meaning. This ties into how different languages might influence translation.

  • Translation effects in LLMs: Focuses on how translation processes can affect the performance and outcomes of Large Language Models.

  • Intercranial, TMS, EEG, fMRI, behavioral paradigms: Utilizing various neuroscience techniques for research.

• Projects:

  • Large-scale study of neuronal tuning profiles in infant over maturation with the pediatric neurosurgeon and Pediatric Epilepsy Program (UCLA)

  • Goal is to see how neurons adapt and change as infants grow, especially in the context of epilepsy.

  • Developing EEG language mapping paradigms with nonlinear methods

  • Creating new ways to map language functions in the brain using EEG technology.

• Fun Fact:

  • Russian-English translator of film scripts (etc.) for over 15 years

  • Experience in translating various types of media.

• RA opportunities are available.

About the TAs

• Remus Mitchell (50%)

• Siôbhan Glynn (50%)

TA Contact Information

• Offices are on the 2nd and 4th floors of the Psych Tower.

• Remus Mitchell's focus: Multilevel Models.

  • Expertise in statistical modeling.

• Siôbhan Glynn.

Course Information

• Course information is available online.

• Graphical Overview, Calendar, Syllabus, Modules, Assignments, Materials are available on the course website.

• Familiarize yourself with the course website.

• Notifications of any changes will be provided well in advance.

Participation and Attendance

• Attendance is required.

  • Active participation enhances learning.

• No late quizzes can be accepted, and no make-up opportunities will be available for missed deadlines.

  • Important to manage time effectively.

• No opportunities for recapturing attendance points resulting from not attending or not responding to questions.

  • Active engagement during lectures is crucial.

• Recorded lectures can be accessed via the Media Gallery in the Navigation pane on the course website.

  • Review lectures at your convenience.

• Slides will be posted after the lecture, with study questions and the R code used to generate slides.

  • Use slides and code for studying and assignments.

• Go to the “Attendance” Module and enter this # in Quiz 1/7: 988

• iClicker questions (~5-8 per lecture) will be used.

  • Interactive questions to test understanding.

Course Grade

• Details regarding course grade are available.

Course Materials

• Recorded lectures can be accessed via the Media Gallery in the Navigation pane on course website.

  • Lectures available for review.

• Slides will be posted after the lecture, with study questions and the R code used to generate slides.

  • Study questions will help test knowledge.

• Go to the “Attendance” Module and enter the number in Quiz 4/1: 989.

• iClicker questions will be used.

  • Encourages active participation and assesses real-time comprehension.

• RStudio is encouraged but not required.

  • Useful for statistical analysis.

Contacting Instructors and TAs via Email

• Send to the course email on the syllabus.

  • Ensures your email reaches the appropriate recipient.

• Do not send emails on Bruin Learn because the instructor will not respond to emails on Bruin Learn

  • Only use the specified email address.

• Address your interlocutor using courtesy.

  • Professional communication is appreciated.

  • Acceptable greetings: “Hi Lindy/Dr. Comstock”; “Hi Remus/Siôbhan”, “Hi teaching team”.

Excused Absences via Email

• Excuses can be given if:

  • You got a cold or feel ill and stayed home not to infect the rest of the class

  • You have a sports competition away from campus

  • You have CAE status

  • You have a family emergency that week

  • You are in the hospital for weeks at a time, etc., or some other MAJOR event that is prolonged in nature

• The instructor will NOT respond to emails on this topic

Announcements via Email

• Check announcements & the syllabus before you email

  • Many common questions are answered in these resources.

Asking Content Questions

• Appropriate to ask questions about content questions (quizzes, assignments, readings, etc.) during office hours.

  • Office hours are the best time for detailed discussions.

• The instructor will ask you to pose questions during office hours.

Module 1: Variable Measurement Scales

• Why statistics?

  • Because you have to for your major or graduate school

  • Statistics are a required subject for certain academic programs.

  • Because data science is a growing field and an asset for most jobs

  • Data analysis skills are increasingly valuable in the job market.

  • To better understand what you may read in the media, and everyday facts and figures.

  • Statistics help interpret information in news and daily life.

Outline

• Variable measurement scales

• Study questions

Variables

• A variable is an attribute that takes on different values across persons.

  • Variables are characteristics that can differ from one individual to another.

• Psychologists explore a wide range of variables related to the mind and behavior.

  • Psychological research involves studying numerous factors affecting mental processes and actions.

• Examples: Emotion, personality, IQ, belief systems, interpersonal relationships, psychological functioning, reaction time, substance use, etc.

Variable Measurement Scales

• Nominal- Categorical

  • = “named” categories w/ no order

• Ordinal- Categorical

  • = ordered categories w/ no math

• Interval and Ratio- Numeric (approximately continuous)

  • = categories ordered by math

• Sometimes you may here the distinction referred to as categorical and continuous variables

Nominal Scales

• Responses are grouped into mutually exclusive categories with no inherent rank order.

  • Each response fits into only one category, and there's no implied order.

• Examples: Gender identity (heterosexual, bisexual, pansexual, homosexual), depression history (prior diagnosis vs. none), treatment condition (treatment vs. control).

• Groups cannot be ordered from higher to lower, better to worse, etc.

Ordinal Scales

• Responses are grouped into categories that can be rank ordered.

  • Categories have a meaningful sequence or order.

• Examples: Class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), letter grade (A, B, C, D, F), Likert-type scales (strongly disagree, disagree, agree, strongly agree).

• Categories need not be equidistant (the difference between a B and a C is not the same amount of knowledge as the difference between B and A).

Numeric (Continuous) Variables

• Interval and ratio scales refer to numeric (continuous) variables that approximate a number line (e.g., response time, age, GRE).

  • Data falls on a continuum, and precise measurements are possible.

• Any two adjacent score values reflect the same amount of the variable (e.g., the difference between GRE = 105 and 106 is the same amount of knowledge as GRE = 150 and 151).

  • Equal intervals between values indicate equal changes in the measured variable.

• Many behavioral, emotional, and physiological variables in psychology approximate interval-level data (but not perfectly).

Likert Scales = Quasi-Interval

• Five (or six or seven) point rating scales are generically referred to as Likert-type scales.

  • Common in surveys and questionnaires.

• Likert scales are technically ordinal variables.

  • Responses have a specific order but not necessarily equal intervals.

• Psychology researchers often view Likert scales as quasi-interval (i.e., we assume that any 1-point increase or decrease reflects same amount of attitude change).

  • For analysis, researchers often treat Likert scales as if they were interval scales.

• Lots of human subject research uses Likert scales.

Survey Question Example

• Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision overturn its 1973 Roe versus Wade ruling concerning abortion?

  • 5 = Strongly agree

  • 4 = Agree

  • 3 = Neither agree nor disagree

  • 2 = Disagree

  • 1 = Strongly disagree

• Example of a Likert scale.

• The numbers assigned here are arbitrary. Also can be represented as follows:

  • 2 = Strongly agree

  • 1 = Agree

  • 0 = Neither agree nor disagree

  • -1 = Disagree

  • -2 = Strongly disagree

Study Questions

• Give an example of a nominal variable.

• Give an example of a ordinal variable.

• Give an example of an interval or ratio (approximately continuous) variable.

• A smoking behavior survey classifies respondents as non-smokers, non-daily smokers, and daily smokers. What is the level of measurement for this variable?

• The same study reports smoking behavior broken down by four ethnic groups: white non-Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and other non-Hispanic. What is the level of measurement for this variable?

• A clinical researcher administers a new treatment for depression to a sample of patients, and she administers a placebo (fake) medication to another sample of controls. What level of measurement is the treatment assignment variable?

• A polling company surveys national attitudes towards same-sex marriage