Field Methods Notes Chapters 1-5 PDF

**Chapter 1** *Psychology is a science because it takes this same general approach to understanding one aspect of the natural world: human behaviour.* **Science** is a general way of understanding the natural world. Its three fundamental features are systematic empiricism, empirical questions, and...

**Chapter 1** *Psychology is a science because it takes this same general approach to understanding one aspect of the natural world: human behaviour.* **Science** is a general way of understanding the natural world. Its three fundamental features are systematic empiricism, empirical questions, and public knowledge. **Psychology** is a science because it takes the scientific approach to understanding human behaviour. **Features of Science** *The general scientific approach has three funda- mental features* 1^st^ : **systematic empiricism.** Empiricism refers to learning based on observation, and scientists learn about the natural world systematically, by carefully planning, making, recording, and analyzing obser- vations of it. 2^nd^ : **empirical questions.** These are questions about the way the world actually is and, therefore, can be answered by systematically observing it. The question of whether women talk more than men is empirical in this way 3^rd^ : **public knowledge**. After asking their empir- ical questions, making their systematic observations, and drawing their conclusions, scientists pub- lish their work. **Publication** is an essential feature of science for two reasons : 1^st^ : is that science is a ***social process-a large-scale*** collaboration among many researchers distributed across both time and space. 2^nd^ : is that publication allows science to be ***self-correcting*** **Science Versus Pseudoscience** **Pseudoscience --** refers to activities and beliefs that are claimed to be scientific by their proponents---and may appear to be scientific at first glance---but are not. An excellent source for information on pseudoscience is The **Skeptic's Dictionary.** Among the pseudoscientific beliefs and practices you can learn about are the following: - **Cryptozoology**: The study of "hidden" creatures like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and the chupacabra. - **Pseudoscientific** psychotherapies: Past- life regression, re-birthing therapy, and bioscream therapy, among others. - **Homeopathy**: The treatment of medical conditions using natural substances that have been diluted sometimes to the point of no longer being present. - **Pyramidology**: Odd theories about the origin and function of the Egyptian pyramids (e.g., that they were built by extraterrestrials) and the idea that pyramids in general have healing and other special powers. Another excellent online resource is ***Neurobonkers***, which regularly posts articles that investigate claims that pertain specifically to psychological science. **Scientific Research in Psychology** **Research** in psychology can be described by a **simple cyclical model**. A research question based on the research literature leads to an empirical study, the results of which are published and become part of the research literature. **Scientific research in psychology** is conducted mainly by people with doctoral degrees in psychology and related fields, most of whom are college and university faculty members. They do so for professional and for personal rea- sons, as well as to contribute to scientific knowledge about human behaviour. **Basic research** is conducted to learn about human behaviour for its own sake, and applied research is conducted to solve some practical problem. Both are valuable, and the distinction between the two is not always clear-cut. **Science and Clinical Practice** Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. But it is also the application of scientific research to "*help people, organizations, and communities function better"* By far the most common and widely known application is the **clinical practice of psychology---**the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and related problems. An **empirically supported treatment** is one that has been studied scientifically and shown to result in greater improvement than no treatment, a placebo, or some alternative treatment. These include many forms of psychotherapy, which can be as effective as standard drug therapies. Among the forms of psychotherapy with strong empirical support are the following: **Cognitive behavioural therapy.** For depression, panic disorder, bulimia nervosa, and post-traumatic stress disorder. **Exposure therapy.** For post-traumatic stress disorder. **Behavioural therapy**. For depression. **Behavioural couples therapy.** For alco- holism and substance abuse. **Exposure therapy** with response prevention. For obsessive-compulsive disorder. **Family therapy**. For schizophrenia. *The clinical practice of psychology-the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems-is one important application of the scientific discipline of psychology.* ***Scientific research** is relevant to clinical practice because it provides detailed and accurate knowledge about psychological problems and establishes whether treatments are effective.* **CHAPTER 2** **Variable** A **variable** is a quantity or quality that varies across people or situations. *e.g., the height of the students enrolled in a university course is a variable because it varies from student to student* A **quantitative variable** is a quantity, such as height, that is typically measured by assigning a number to each individual *e.g., people's level of talkativeness, how depressed they are, and the number of siblings they have.* A **categorical variable** is a quality, such as chosen major, and is typically measured by assigning a category label to each individual *e.g., Psychology, English, Nursing, etc.* **Sampling and Measurements** Researchers in psychology are usually interested in drawing conclusions about some very large group of people. This is called the **population**. One method of obtaining a sample is **simple random sampling,** in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample. The most common alternative to random sampling is **convenience sampling**, in which the sample consists of individuals who happen to be nearby and willing to participate (such as introductory psychology students) Once the sample is selected, researchers need to measure the variables they are interested in. This requires an **operational definition**---a definition of the variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured. **Statistical Relationships Between Variables** Research questions in psychology are more likely to be about statistical relationships between variables. There is a **statistical relationship** between two variables when the average score on one differs systematically across the levels of the other *e.g., if the average exam score is higher among students who took notes longhand instead of by using a laptop computer* There are two basic forms of statistical relationship: **differences between groups** and **correlations between quantitative variables.** **Differences Between Groups** - Differences between groups are usually described by giving the mean score and standard deviation for each group. **Correlations Between Quantitative Variables** - Is a correlation between two quantitative variables, where the average score on one variable differs systematically across the levels of the other The strength of a correlation between quantitative variables is typically measured using a statistic called ***Pearson's r.*** **Pearson's r** is a good measure only for linear relationships, in which the points are best approximated by a straight line. **Correlation Does Not Imply Causation** The variable that is thought to be the cause is called the **independent variable** (*often referred to as X for short*), and the variable that is thought to be the effect is called the **dependent variable** (*often referred to as Y*). *Key Takeaways:* Correlation does not imply causation. A statistical relationship between two variables, X and Y, does not necessarily mean that X causes Y. It is also possible that Y causes X, or that a third variable, Z, causes both X and Y. **CHAPTER 3** **Ethics** is the branch of philosophy that is concerned with morality---what it means to behave morally and how people can achieve that goal **A Framework for Thinking About Research Ethics** The idea is that a thorough consideration of the ethics of any research project must take into account how each of the three core principles applies to each of the three groups of people. The guidelines in the TCPS 2 are based on the following ***three core principles:*** 1. **Respect for Persons**: This includes respecting the autonomy of research participants by ensuring free, informed, and ongoing consent as well as protecting those "incapable of exercising autonomy because of youth, cognitive impairment, other mental health issues or illness." 2. **Concern for Welfare**: This includes ensuring that participants are not exposed to unnecessary risks, considering participants' privacy and maintaining their confidentiality, as well as providing participants with "enough information to be able to adequately assess risks and potential benefits associated with their participation in the research." 3. **Justice**: This refers to the obligation to treat people fairly and equitably, including by considering the vulnerability of participants and ensuring that historically marginalized groups (including ethnocultural minorities) are not unjustly excluded from research opportunities. The **APA Ethics Code** is also an important ethics code for researchers in psychology **APA Ethics Code:** Institutional Approval Informed Consent to Research Informed Consent for Recording Voices and Images in Research Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate Research Participants Dispensing With Informed Consent for Research Offering Inducements for Research Participation Deception in Research Debriefing Humane Care and Use of Animals in Research Reporting Research Results Plagiarism Publication Credit Duplicate Publication of Data Sharing Research Data for Verification Reviewers **Informed consent** means obtaining and documenting people's agreement to participate in a study, having informed them of everything that might reasonably be expected to affect their decision. **Deception** of participants in psychological research can take a variety of forms: misinforming participants about the purpose of a study, using confederates, using phony equipment like Milgram's shock generator, and presenting participants with false feedback about their performance *e.g., telling them they did poorly on a test when they actually did well* **Debriefing** is the process of informing research participants as soon as possible of the purpose of the study, revealing any deception, and correcting any other misconceptions they might have as a result of participating. **Scholarly integrity** includes the obvious points that researchers must not fabricate data or plagiarize. **CHAPTER 4** **PHENOMENA AND THEORIES** **Phenomenon** ( plural, phenomena) -- is a general result that has been observed reliably in systematic empiral research ***SOME FAMOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENA*** **Blindsight** -- people with damage to their visual cortex are often able to respond to visual stimuli that they do not consciously see **Bystander Effect** -- the more people who are present at an emergency situation, the less likely it is that any one of them will help **Fundamental attribution error** -- people tend to explain others' behaviour in terms of their personal characteristics as opposed to the situation they are in **McGurk Effect --** when audio of a basic research speech sound in combined with video of a person making mouth movements for a different speech sound, people often perceive a sound that is intermediate between the two **Other-race effect** -- people recognize faces of people of their own race mire accurately than faces of people of other races **Placebo effect** -- (*fake psychological or medical treatments)* often lead to improvement in people's symptoms and functioning **Mere exposure effect** -- the more often people have been exposed to stimulus, the more they like it\-\--even when the stimulus is presented subliminally **Serial position effect** -- stimuli present near the beginning and end of a list are remembered better stimuli presented in the middle **Spontaneous recovery** -- A conditioned response that has been extinguished often returns with no further training after the passage time **REPLICATION** -- conducting a study again, either exactly as it was originally conducted or with modifications to be sure that it produces the same results **THEORY --** is a coherent explanation or interpretation of one or more phenomena **PERSPECTIVE --** is a broad approach more ; more general than theory, to explaining and interpreting phenomena **MODEL** -- is a precise explanation or interpretation of a specific phenomenon **HYPOTHESIS** -- can be a explanation that relies on just a few concepts **THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK** -- can be as broad as perspective or a specific as a model, but it is the context applied to understanding a phenomenon ***WHAT ARE THEORIES FOR?*** - Are meant to provide accurate explanations or interpretations of phenomena **ORGANIZATION** -- organize phenomena in ways that help people think about them clearly snf efficiently **PREDICTION** -- is to allow researchers and others to make predictions about what will happen jn a new situations ***GENERATION OF NEW RESEARCH*** -- is to generate new research by raising new questions ***MULTIPLE THEORIES*** -- researchers are usually considering multiple theories for any set of phenomena. One reason is that because human behaviour is extremely complex, it is always possible to look at it from different perspectives. **The Variety of Theories in Psychology** **FORMALITY** -- the extent to which the components of the theory and the relationships among them are specified clearly and in detail. *Formal Theories in Psychology People who are not familiar with scientific psychology are sometimes surprised to learn that psychological theories can take the form of mathematical equations and computer programs. The following formal theories are among the best known and most successful in the field:* **ACT-R --** A comprehensive theory of human cognition that is akin to a programming language, within which more specific models can be created. **PROSPECT THEORY** -- A formal theory of decision making under uncertainty. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman won the Nobel Prize in economics based in part on prospect theory, which he developed with Amos Tversky. **RESCORLA-WAGNER MODEL** -- theory of classical conditioning that features an equation describing how the strength of the association between unconditioned and conditioned stimuli changes when the two are paired **SCOPE** -- the number and diversity of the phenomena they explain or interpret **THEORETICAL APPROACH** ***FUNTIONAL THEORIES*** -- explain psychological phenomena in terms of their function or purpose. For example, one prominent theory of repeated self-injury (e.g., cutting) is that people do it because it produces a short-term reduction in the intensity of negative emotions that they are feeling ***MECHANISTIC THEORIES*** -- on the other hand, focus on specific variables, structures, and processes, and how they interact to produce the phenomena. ***STAGE THEORIES*** -- which specify a series of stages that people pass through as they develop or adapt to their environment ***TYPOLOGIES*** -- provide organization by categorizing people or behaviour into distinct types **UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT** **MEASUREMENT** -- is the assignment of scores to individuals so that the scores represent some characteristic of the individuals *(Psychological measurement is often referred to as psychometrics.)* **PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRUCTS** - We cannot accurately assess people's level of intelligence by looking at them, and we certainly cannot put their self-esteem on a bathroom scale. These kinds of variables are called constructs (pronounced CON-structs) and include personality traits (e.g., extraversion), emotional states (e.g., fear), attitudes (e.g., toward taxes), and abilities (e.g., athleticism). - Psychological constructs cannot be observed directly, one reason is that they often represent tendencies to think, feel, or act in certain ways. **CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION** -- of a psychological construct describes the behaviours and internal processes that make up that construct, along with how it relates to other variables. **OPERATIONAL DEFINITION** -- is a definition of a variable in terms of precisely how it is to be measured *These measures generally fall into one of three broad categories:* ***SELF REPORT MEASUREs*** -- are those in which participants report on their own thoughts, feelings, and actions, as with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. ***BEHAVIOURAL MEASURES*** -- are those in which some other aspect of participants' behaviour is observed and recorded ***PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURES*** - are those that involve recording any of a wide variety of physiological processes, including heart rate and blood pressure, galvanic skin response, hormone levels, and electrical activity and blood flow in the brain. **LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT** ***NOMINAL LEVEL*** -- of measurement is used for categorical variables and involves assigning scores that are category labels. ***ORDINAL LEVEL*** -- involves assigning scores so that they represent the rank order of the individuals ***INTERVAL LEVEL*** -- involves assigning scores using numerical scales in which intervals have the same interpretation throughout ***RATIO LEVEL*** -- involves assigning scores in such a way that there is a true zero point that represents the complete absence of the quantity.  **RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF MEASUREMENTS** **RELIABILITY** -- refers to the consistency of a measure. *Psychologists consider three types of consistency:* ***TEST RE-TEST RELIABILITY*** -- is the extent to which this is actually the case. e.g. *intelligence is generally thought to be consistent across time. A person who is highly intelligent today will be highly intelligent next week. This means that any good measure of intelligence should produce roughly the same scores for this individual next week as it does today.* \- ***INTERNAL CONSISTENCY*** -- which is the consistency of people's responses across the items on a multiple-item measure ***SPLIT-HALF CORELATION*** -- This involves splitting the items into two sets, such as the first and second halves of the items or the even- and odd-numbered items. ***INTER-RATER RELIABILITY*** -- is the extent to which different observers are consistent in their judgments. e.g. *if you were interested in measuring university students' social skills, you could make video recordings of them as they interacted with another student whom they are meeting for the first time. Then you could have two or more observers watch the videos and rate each student's level of social skills.* **VALIDITY** - is the extent to which the scores from a measure represent the variable they are intended to. *Three basic kinds:* **FACE VALIDITY** -- is the extent to which a measurement method appears "on its face" to measure the construct of interest **CONTENT VALIDITY** -- is the extent to which a measure "covers" the construct of interest **CRITERION VALIDITY --** is the extent to which people's scores on a measure are correlated with other variables (*known as criteria)* that one would expect them to be correlated with - When the criterion is measured at the same time as the construct, criterion validity is referred to as **CONCURRENT VALIDITY** - When the criterion is measured at some point in the future (after the construct has been measured), it is referred to as **PREDICTIVE VALIDITY** (because scores on the measure have "predicted" a future outcome). - One would expect new measures of test anxiety or physical risk taking to be positively correlated with existing measures of the same constructs. This is known as **CONVERGENT VALIDITY** **DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY** -- on the other hand, is the extent to which scores on a measure are not correlated with measures of variables that are conceptually distinct.