Psych Ch 2

• 1. measurement and description
• 2. understanding and prediction
• 3. application and control

• 1. formulate a testable hypothesis
• 2. select the research method and design the study
• 3. collect the data
• 4. analyze the data and draw conclusions
• 5. report the findings

• clarity and precision
• intolerance of error

• direct observation
• questionnaire
• interview
• psychological test
• physiological recording
• examination of archival records

Observers are trained to watch and record behaviour as objectively and precisely as possible. They may use some instrumentation, such as a stopwatch or video recorder.

Subjects are administered a series of written questions designed to obtain info about attitudes, opinions, and specific aspects of their behaviour.

Face-to-fact dialogue is conducted to obtain info about specific aspects of behaviour

Subjects are administered a standardized measure to obtain a sample of their behaviour. Tests are usually used to assess mental abilities or personality traits.

An instrument is used to monitor and record a specific physiological process in a subject. Including measure of blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and brain activity.

The researcher analyzes existing institutional records, such as census, economic, medical, legal, educational, and business records.

• experimental
• descriptive/correlational

• is a research method in which the investigator manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable as a result.
• cause-and-effect relationships are established

is a condition or event that an experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another variable (free to be varied by experimenter)

the variable that is thought to be affected by manipulation of the independent variable. {usually a measurement of some aspect of the participants behaviour}

consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable

consists of similar subjects who do not receive the special treatment given to the experimental group.

• The experimental and control group have to be alike only on dimensions relevant to the dependent variable.
• any variables other than the independent variable that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study

• occurs when two variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects
• When an extraneous variable is confounded with an independent variable, a researcher cannot tell which is having what effect on the dependent variable.

• 1st, it is sometimes advantageous to use only one group of subjects who serve as their own control group
• 2nd, it is possible to manipulate more than one independent variable in a single experiment
• 3rd, it is also possible to use more than one dependent variable in a single study

• Advantage: powerful means of making cause-and-effect conclusions
• Disadvantage: often artificial due to need of controlling situations, and application to real life is questionable
• Disadvantage: doesn’t explore some research questions that cannot be manipulated as independent variables because of ethical concerns or practicality

include naturalistic observation, case studies, and surveys

A researcher engages in carful observation of behaviour without intervening directly with the subjects

• An in depth investigation of an individual subject
• When this method is applied to victims of suicide, the case studies are called psychological autopsies
• A variety of data collection techniques can be used in case studies: direct observation, interviewing, examination of records, and psychological testing
• Case studies are particularly well suited for investigating certain phenomena, such as psychological disorders and neuropsychological issues

In correlated studies assessing the relationship between two variables does not draw any conclusions about which factor causes the other. You never know if the correlation between them is actually due to the relationship between each of them and some third variable you did not measure.

descriptive statistics and inferential statistics

Provide an overview of numerical data, key descriptive statistics include measures of tendency, variability, and the coefficient of correlation

• Three measures:
• Median: the score that falls exactly in the centre of a distribution of scores
• Mean: the arithmetic average of the scores
• Mode: the most frequent score

How much the scores in a data set vary from each other and from the mean

is an index of the amount of variability in a set of data

• Exists when two variables are related to each other
• The correlation coefficient: a numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables
• It indicates: The direction (positive or negative) of the relationship and, how strongly the two variables are related

• are used to interpret data and draw conclusions
• working with the laws of probability, researchers use inferential statistics to evaluate the possibility that their results might be due to the fluctuations of chance
• statistical significance: said to exist when the probability that the observed findings are due to chance is very low
• meta-analysis, the results of findings obtained in several studies are integrated to allow for conclusions regarding the set of observed results

Replication is the repetition of a study to see whether the earlier results are duplicated

Sampling bias exists when a sample is not representative of the population from which it was drawn

Placebo effects occur when participants’ expectations lead them to experience some change even though they receive empty, fake, or ineffectual treatment

• Consisting of subjects’ verbal accounts of their behaviour, but can be plagued with distortion
• Social desirability bias, a tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself
• A response set is a tendency to respond to questions in a particular way that is unrelated to the content of the questions

• Occurs when a researcher’s expectations or preferences about the outcome of a study influence the results obtained.
• Sometimes researchers see what they want to see
• Double-blind procedure is a research strategy in which neither subjects nor experimenters know which subjects are in the experimental or control groups

• Ethical dilemmas reflect concern about the possibility for inflicting harm on participants
• The major ethical concerns in psych centre on the use of deception and on guidelines for the participation of humans and animals in research

• 1: Respect for the dignity of persons
• 2. Responsible caring
• 3. Integrity in relationships
• 4. Responsibility to society

advocate of animal experimentation

interested in the effects of treatment on dating abuse on the part of male and female teens who were at risk of abusive relationships. Half of the participants were assigned to a psycho educational treatment program and the other half were those who received the standard child protection services program

his research suggests that experimenter bias may lead researchers to unintentionally influence the behaviour of their subjects

abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references