Introduction to Research in Psychology

What will you learn?

→ What is Psychology?

→ Research Methodology: quantitative and qualitative methods

→ Sampling, credibility, generalizability, and bias in research

Tool Reference: (red- #d9677c; yellow- #dbd4a3; ↳; blue- #a3d6db)

What is Psychology?

Psychology: scientific study of behavior and mental processes

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→ What makes a study or theory scientific?

→ Where is the line between science and non-science?

-Should be supported by empirical evidence: based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic

-Should be falsifiable: able to prove a theory or study wrong

-Should have a history of independent attempts to test a theory or replicate a study

• Case of Clever Hans

-in early 20th century, German mathematics teacher Wilhelm von Osten claimed that he taught his horse Hans how to read, spell, and do arithmetic questions

→verbally asked questions; Hans responded by tapping his hoof “x” number of times

→ afterwards, a committee named Hans Commission conducted tests of which they concluded that Hans was not a fraud

→however, psychologist Oskar Pfungst investigated the case using experiments to answer questions like “Are the spectator giving hints of clues?”

→after the experiments, he concluded that Hans responded to the questions when the questioner tensed up near the correct answer

(this is because of evolutionary senses where horses can detect small postural changes for survival skills)

Significance: Pfungst’s actions were early examples of the need for experiments and scientific methodology when studying psychology and other sciences

→ Artifacts: results that are associated with the effect of unforeseen factors when experiments are not made carefully

• Psychology→ comes form psych (Greek word for soul) and logos (Greek word for study)

  ↳scientific investigation needs an empirical approach to research/ observations as a way to collect data

  ↳however, psychology is the study of phenomena that are not directly observable

  ↳Psychology is the study in which one observes behavior and mental processes that control the behaviors

  →Behavior: anything that can registered by someone else like gestures and facial expressions

  →Mental Processes: “behind the scenes” instructions that control behavior like attention and thinking

Research Methodology: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods

Research methods can be either:

• Quantitative: methodology that involves applying a unit or mathematical value to an observation or variable

• Qualitative: methodology that involves the observation of non-numerical phenomena or data

Quantitative Methods

→done through operationalizing: applying a numerical number to an observed behavior

ex: How could you operationalize verbal aggression? One could count number of insults per hour

→Types of Quantitative Research

-in every experimental study includes one independent and dependent variable (IV and DV)

• Independent Variable: one that is being changed or manipulated by the researcher

• Dependent Variable: one that changes due to the IV being changed

→Cause and Effect vs. Correlational Studies

-in experimental studies that have IV and DV there is often a cause and effect: DV changes as IV is being changed where you can conclude (with certainty) that the IV “caused” the changed in DV

-in contrast, correlational studies are studies where the researcher doesn’t manipulate the variables and the variables (behaviors) are measured and the relationship is quantified

Example 1: For investigating the effect of psychotherapy on depression, how could you make an independent and dependent group?

↳Set up two groups: Group 1 gets psychotherapy treatment, Group 2 doesn’t. Then measure the level of depression in each group

Questions:

Which group is the IV? Group 1

What is the DV? The amount of depression because that’s what’s being changed based on IV

Example 2: What if you wanted to see if there is a relationship between violent behavior of teens and watching TV shows. How could you find a correlation?

↳observe or interview teens based on what violent behavior they demonstrate, and then reference violent behavior with how much they watch violent shows

→If teens who watch more violent TV shows, it should also show more violent behavior, thus showing a correlation

→In this case, there is no cause and effect relationship

Qualitative Research

→ focuses on studying phenomenon or behavior in a more “in-depth” detailed way

→concerning with understanding things that cannot be quantified easily like interpretations and human experiences

→ often uses interviews and observations (creates subjectivity)

Sampling, Credibility, and Bias in Research

Sample: group of individuals taking part in the research study

Sampling: process of finding and recruiting individuals for the study

Credibility: refers to the degrees to which the results of the study can be trusted to reflect reality

Bias: the preconceived notions or conclusions a research makes outside of the data.

Ex: a researcher may believe the interviewee’s response to be true, but the participants maybe responding based on what they think the research wants