Introduction and Psychological Research (Chapters 1-2)
Why is research important?
separates facts from opinions (empirical evidence) → evidence based conclusions guide practice
Cognitive Behavior Therapy → needs research to solidify the efficacy of certain practices
answers questions about behavior and mental processes
prevents bias and assumptions
Research elements: Observation, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis, Publication
Hypothesis vs Theory
Theory → general statement about relationship between two things
Ex. Violent video games influence violence in adolescent behavior
Characteristics: 1. Explain in simple terms, 2. Generally testable hypothesis, 3. Falsifiable
Hypothesis → formal prediction about the relationship derived from the theory
about an unexplained or untested relationship (Ex. Parental attention in early childhood supports mental health, already supported and tested)
Why make the prediction in the first place?
avoid hindsight bias (test the prediction for the most accurate analysis and data) and the ability to test the prediction over and over again for more theory support
Predictions are only as good as tools of measurement — limitations mean we can’t prove things, but we can provide support (or fail to do so)
Types of research methods
Descriptive → observes and describes the behavior (Ex. How many students actually raise their hand when the professor asks a question? → About 20% of students raise their hand when the professor asks a question)
Methods: case studies, naturalistic methods, archival data, surveys
Case Study: individual or small group that provides a lot of data. Ex. Railroad worker Phineas Gage had a severe brain injury, survived, and completely changed personalities, leading to the suggestion that the frontal lobe had an impact on personality
Naturalistic Research: Jane Goodall observed Chimpanzees in Tanzania, found that they make and use tools, have social structures, and engage in violent behavior like warfare. She didn’t engage with the chimpanzees
Survey: National College Health Assessment reported that 60% of college students felt lonely over the year, and 40% felt overwhelmingly or a bit stressed
Archival Data: researchers examined data from the 30s Great Depression to study how the crisis influenced mental health issues in the US, found that suicide rates and mental health issues were significantly higher during the Great Depression
Correlational → examines relationships between variables but doesn’t imply causation (Ex. Is there a link between owning a pet and being more social around campus? → There is a positive association between owning a pet and being more social on campus)
Measured in correlation coefficient that ranges from -1.00 to 1.00, gives both size (magnitude) and direction (sign) → 0-0.3 small, 0.3-0.5 moderate, 0.5+ strong
Positive → both variables increase or decrease together
Negative → one variable increases and the other decreases
Examples → 2015 study found a 0.34 correlation with student pharmacist hours of sleep and their academic performance (moderate positive), 2017 study found 0.6 to -0.7 correlation between time spent on social media and performance (large negative)
Cautions: Correlation between variables doesn’t always demonstrate a casual relationship between the variables.
Illusory correlations → variables seem related but have no meaningful connection or are influenced by another variable. Ex. the full moon causes erratic behavior
Experimental → manipulates variables to establish a cause and effect relationship, or how one variable affects the other (Ex. Does giving students free coffee coupons increase attendance? → giving students free coffee coupons will increase their attendance)
Independent variable → the variable being manipulated
Dependent variable → the outcome being measured
Control group → Doesn’t receive the treatment (not manipulated)
Experimental group → does receive treatment (manipulated)
Experiment → Observation: Students with caffeine are lively, Theory: Caffeine increases academic performance, Hypothesis: Students who have caffeine will have higher academic performance than students who don’t have any
Experimenter Bias → possibility that researcher’s expectations will skew the results.
Single-blind study → participants are unaware which group they’re in
Double-blind study → both researchers and participants are blind to group assignments
Placebo effect → expecting something to happen can make it happen
Analyzing Research Findings
Significance testing ensures results aren’t due to chance (less than 5% chance of observation if they weren’t actually different). Limits chances of making a false positive claim
Replication → repeating tests to verify results
Ethics
Any experiment involving human participation must submit the experiment to an Institutional Review Board to ensure that no harm will befall the subjects
Participants must enter the study voluntarily and be well informed when they give consent
Studies that rely on deception must debrief participants when the study is over on how and why they were deceived
Example: The Tuskegee Experiment
Reading Notes — Chapter 2, Psychological Research
relationship between behavior and exposure to violent images
concerns about new technologies on behavior and thinking processes since ancient times (writing vs typing, GPS, etc.)
Science goal: to understand the world around us
Science knowledge is empirical — tangible evidence that can be collected multiple times, not based on just intuition
behavior vs the mind — behavior is observable, the mind isn’t
When someone makes a claim, it should be looked at through different perspectives — be an informed consumer to make decisions related to policies, actions, money, social interactions, etc.
Margaret Floy Washburn was the first woman to earn a PhD in psych, Inez Beverly Prosser was the first African American woman to earn one
American Psychological Association founded in 1892 — all members were white men
later in the 40s, almost 1/4 psych students were women and many historically Black colleges offered psych classes/degrees
Inductive (real world observations lead to ideas) vs deductive (tested in real world) reasoning
falsifiable hypotheses — capable of being shown incorrect
observing behavior is best done in natural contexts (people could lie or change behavior if they know they’re being observed). this is difficult to set up and control
observation bias — people who are involved in the survey/research want a certain outcome so they might skew things
surveys are useful for gathering large amounts of data but people could give inaccurate responses
longitudinal research — data gathering over a long period of time, cross-sectional research — comparing multiple segments of population at the same time
correlation — a relationship exists between two variables but it doesn’t exactly imply cause and effect
illusory correlations — people believe relationships exist between two things when there’s no link (moon phases affect human behavior)
research done on real human participants requires ethical components like consent forms and voluntary participation without penalty
Psychology background
6% of bachelor degrees are psychology
Before the 19th century, research with the mind was done in a philosophical context (William James and Wilhelm Wundt)
1832-1920 Wundt used introspection (examine your own conscious experience), student Titchener developed structuralism
1842-1910 William James established functional psychology (how mental activities help an organism fit its environment)
Freud and psychoanalytic theory (hysteria, unconscious mind, etc)
Early 20th cent. Pavlov conditioned response, Watson behaviorism instead of just the mind, Skinner reinforcement and punishment
Late 1950s Humanism (potential for good that is innate to humans), Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Rogers client-centered therapy
Cognitive Revolution 1967 Chomsky mind as a focus of scientific inquiry
Until the 1960s psych was mostly only men, meaning that women had little influence on what was studied (ie the hysteria thing)
Multicultural and cross-cultural psychology 1970s → present WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic, only 12% of global pop)