Unit 2 Psychology

Research Method

·         -Psychology is a science.

·         Hindsight bias: A tendency to believe, after learning the outcome that you knew it all along.

·         Overconfidence: We tend to think we know more than we do.

·         The Barnum Effect: It is the tendency for people to accept very general or vague characterization of themselves and take them to be accurate.

Applied V. Basic Research

-Applied: Clear, practical application, can be used.

-Basic: Explores questions that you may be curious about, but not intended to be immediately used.

February 5, 2015

Hypothesis: Expresses a relationship between two variables.

·         -A variable is anything that can vary among participants in a study

·         -If, then statement

Independent Variable: Whatever is being manipulated in the experiment.

Dependent Variable: Whatever is being measured in the experiment.

Operational Definitions: Explain what you mean in your hypothesis.

·         How will the variables by being measured in “real life” terms.

Sampling: Identify the population that you want to study.

·         The sample must be representative of the population you want to study.

Experimental Method: Looking to prove casual relationships.

·         Cause = Effect

·         Beware of Confounding Variables: A confounding variable is anything that could cause a change in B, that is not A.

Hawthorne Effect: But even the control group may experience changes, just the fact that you know you are in an experiment can cause change.

Correlation Method: Correlation expresses a relationship between two variables.

·         Does not show causation.

Types of Correlation:

Positive: Variables going in the same direction.

Negative: Variables go in the opposite direction.

Survey Method

·         Most common type or study in psychology.

·         Measures correlation

·         Cheap and fast

·         Need a good random sample

Naturalist Observation

·         Watch the subjects in their natural environment.

·         Do not manipulate the environment.

Correlation Coefficient

·         A number that measures the strength of a relationship

·         Ranges from -1 to 1

·         The relationship gets weaker as you get close to zero.

Case Study

·         A detailed picture of one or a few subjects.

·         Tells a story but is just descriptive research research.

·         Does not even give us correlation on data.

February 9, 2015

Statistics: Recording the results from our studies.

Descriptive Studies: Just describe sets of data.

Range: Distance from highest to lowest scores.

Standard Deviations: The variance of scores around the mean.

·         The higher the variance, or SD, the more spread out the distribution is.

Z-Scores: A unit that measures the distance of one score from the mean.

·         A positive z score means a number above the mean.

·         A negative z score means a number below the mean

APA Ethical Guidelines for research

Animals Research

·         Clear purpose

·         Treated in a humane way

·         Acquire animals legally

·         Least amount of suffering possible

Human Research

·         No coercion- must be voluntary

·         Informed consent

·         Anonymity

·         No significant risk

·         Must debrief