Chapter 2: Methods | Psychology PDF

Chapter 2: Methods | Psychology Post-Truth: relating to a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and beliefs, rather than one based on facts. What we think is true about behavior is often different from how we actually behave. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— —> Behav...

Chapter 2: Methods | Psychology Post-Truth: relating to a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and beliefs, rather than one based on facts. What we think is true about behavior is often different from how we actually behave. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— —> Behavior does not always match our expectations Research allows us to generate theories, hypotheses, and even determine causal relationships. Hypothesis vs Theory Theory If animals with specific traits breed with one another, those traits will become more dominant in their offspring —> A theory explains a natural phenomenon that is validated through observation and experimentation. Hypothesis If the dogs that have the whitest coats are consistently bred together, their pups will progressively have whiter and white coats —> A hypothesis is an educated guess based on certain data that acts as a foundation for further investigation. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— Psychology as a Science: The Scientific Method Identify the problem -> Gather information — —(REPEAT)⸺> Generate a hypothesis -> Design and conduct experiments —> Data analysis and conclusions Identify the problem (OBSERVE) – – Based on observation, previous research, established theory, or intuition Research question Gather information (QUESTION) – Search the literature to see what has been done on the topic – Read relevant results for what has been done “Repeated part” Generate a hypothesis – Develop an informed guess based on what you read – Have a prediction about how the variables are related Design and conduct experiments (make a prediction) – Based on observation, previous research, established theory, or intuition Data analysis and conclusions (test prediction) – See if the data you obtained match your expected results – Data might match the hypothesis but do not prove that the hypothesis is true Restart the process —> Think about original problem (like: students typically do not prepare for class) —> Replicate and extend results or ask an entirely new question ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— Research Methods Descriptive Methods design (observation) – – – – Naturalistic observation (non-participant) Participant observation Survey Case Study Correlational Design (Correlation) Experimental Design (Experiment) Qualitative vs Quantitative Qualitative – Looks further than precise numerical evidence – Descriptions, comments, behavior – An inductive process: developing theories from the data you have gathered – Coding of categories and sub-categories identified – Compares codes, looking for consistencies, differences, patterns etc. – Looks for new and emerging categories Quantitative – Focuses on gathering numerical data and generalising it across groups of people – Numbers and statistics – Experimental, descriptive, correlational and causal comparison – Inferential statistics are frequently used to generalise what is found about the study sample to the population as a whole. – Sampling bias is important in determining how generalisable the results are – The type of statistical analysis you do, will depend on the sample type you have ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— Naturalistic Observation (watch and learn) – Observe behavior without manipulation – Most likely representative of real-world behavior – No control over behavior – Difficult to determine exact cause of behavior Participant Observation (Become a member of a group and learn about that group) – Researchers interacts with population of interest – Allows for research insights from participants’ perspective – May be subject to biases or interpretation – Observations may not be repeatable THE HAWTHORN EFFECT People will act differently if they know they are being OBSERVED. Its also known as Observer effect. Case Studies (In depth about one person) – A report of a single person, group, or situation – Collect a lot of detail – Not an experiment – Can be difficult to draw causal relationships between variables PATIENT HENRY MOLAISON (H.M.) —> In a case study, you only measure one individual’s behavior but collect a lot of data about that individual. Surveys – Participants answer standardized questions – Questions are used to extract specific information from a group of people (relatively easy to administer) – An effective approach to gather lots of information – Susceptible to biases from both researchers and participants Ethics: Ethics is a set of general principles of how people should be educated, treated, and respected when participating in any study ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— General ethical principles of psychologists – Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence – Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility – Principle C: Integrity – Principle D: Justice – Principle E: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity The Practice of Ethical Research ● Institutional review boards, or IRBs (research ethics), review and assess research proposals based on adherence to general ethical principles: – – – – – – Study has a sound research design Minimal and reasonable participant risks associated study Benefits of study outweigh any potential risks All participants can make an informed decision to participate in study Available safeguards protect well-being of participants All collected data are private and confidential The Facebook Emotional Contagion Experiment – Researchers manipulated how many positive or negative newsfeeds 689,000 users saw ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— There are two criteria for participation in research that participants must meet: 1. Informed consent from parent/guardian 2. Assent from potential participant Deception – The informed consent process may affect participants’ natural behavior reactions – Some experimenters may not reveal the true nature of the study until after participation is – complete – Deception occurs when experimenters don’t reveal the true nature of the study at the beginning before participation in the experiment. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— Research aims to be valid and reliable Validity: Accuracy of a measurement Reliability: Reliability refers to the consistency or repeatability of a measurement. Thinking critically about research Internal Validity- Was the experiment performed well? – – Potential confounds | THE ROLE OF PEER-REVIEW Poor measurement | External Validity- Do I think the experiment really maps onto the concepts it is intended to be studying? – Validity of the operational definitions —> The role of replication and “checks” Cultural Validity - Are these findings only applicable to some specific group of humans? – The importance of representative samples —> The role of randomness ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— Hindsight bias is the tendency of people to overestimate their ability to have predicted an outcome that could not possibly have been predicted. However, the goal of science is to be predictive; that is, determine an outcome before it happens, not after. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻— Experimental Variables Independent variable: What experimenter changes Dependent variable: What participant does Extraneous variable: Uncontrolled events Sample selection 1. Simple random sample in which everyone has an equal chance of participating Descriptive statistics: Central tendency Measurement of spread