Psychological Research Methods Excavating Human Behaviors Objective 91115

Psychological Research Methods Excavating Human Behaviors

Objective 9/11/15 Provided notes, demos, & handouts, SWBAT differentiate types of research and describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior. Agenda: *Do Now *Hi-Low (intro to new unit) *Notes *Activity ●

Do Now Why should people rely on the scientific method to understand human behavior? ●

Hindsight Bias The tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that you knew it all along. ● Only after Kerry won the Iowa Primary, did people begin to say that Dean was too liberal. What would people say about Kerry if Dean won?

Overconfidence We tend to think we know more than we do. ● 82% of U. S. drivers consider themselves to be in the top 30% of their group in terms of safety 81% of new business owners felt they had an excellent chance of their businesses succeeding. When asked about the success of their peers, the answer was only 39%. (Now that's overconfidence!!!)

Scientific Method 1. Observe some aspect of the universe. Formulate a question. 2. Invent a theory (hypothesis) that is consistent with what you have observed. 3. Use theory to make predictions. 4. Test those predictions by experiments or further observations. 5. Modify theory in the light of your results. 6. Go to step 3, if necessary. 7. Draw conclusions. 8. Report your results.

A tentative theory that has not yet been Hypothesis tested. Has operational definitions: how you will measure it. (can vary among participants) The theory must be replicable. Theory aims to explain a phenomenon, not “prove” hypothesis. It can only support or disprove. Proving a hypothesis is impossible!

Types of Research 1. Descriptive 2. Correlational 3. Experimental

Types of Descriptive Research 1. The Case Study 2. The Survey 3. Naturalistic Observation

What is going on in this picture? We cannot say exactly, but we can describe what we see. Thus we have…. . Descriptive Research Any research that observes and records. Does not talk about relationships, it just describes. ● ●

Thus we have. . . Descriptive Research Any research that observes and records. Does not talk about relationships, it just describes. Also called "statistical research. "

Descriptive Research: 1. The Case Study 1. person (or situation) is observed in depth. A case study is an intensive analysis or research of an individual unit (e. g. , a person, group, or event) stressing developmental factors in relation to context. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes for behavior. The hope is that learning gained from studying one case can be generalized to many others. Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective and it is difficult to generalize results to a larger population.

Descriptive Research: 1. The Case Study Clinical psychologists: use case studies to present information about a person suffering from a particular disorder. While case studies allow researchers to get the richest possible picture of what they are studying, there are limitations. . Limitations: May contain evidence that a certain researcher thought to be important. Researchers may overinflate importance because it is a small sample. Are unlikely to be representative of people in general. Longitudinal case study - participants could exit & it is difficult to determine cause. Participants who exit, may do so for significant reasons compared to those who do not exit the study.

Descriptive Research: 2. The Survey Method A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes, opinions or behaviors of people usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people. You give a survey when you want to know how people “feel. ” Used in both descriptive & correlational research. Use Interview, mail, phone, Internet etc… Cheap, anonymous, diverse population, & easy to get random sampling (a sampling that represents your population you want to study).

Descriptive Research: 2. The Survey Method Validity of data depends upon: How questions are worded. Who was surveyed? Did they represent the population? Limitations: willingness of people to complete the survey People may say what they ‘think’ others want them to say. Still is a great way to gather data and look at raw numbers.

Survey Method: The Bad ★ Low Response Rate ★ People Lie or just misinterpret themselves. ★ Wording Effects How accurate would a survey be about the frequency of diarrhea?

Descriptive Research: 2. The Survey Method Students often confuse the use of surveys to measure the dependent variable in an experiment with the survey method. While surveys can be used as part of the experimental method, the survey method, as described, is a kind of correlational research in which the researcher does not manipulate the independent variable.

Why do we sample? One reason is the False Consensus Effect: the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs & behaviors.

You. Tube: Schallhorn on Random Sampling vs. Random Assignment

Descriptive Research: 3. Naturalistic Observation Observing and recording behavior in natural environment. No control or interaction - just observation. Students often confuse naturalistic observation with field experiments. Both involve doing research out in the world. However, N. O. does not impact the behavior of the participants. What are the benefits and detriments of Naturalistic Observation?

Examples of Naturalistic Observation The goal: get a realistic & rich picture of the participants’ behavior. To that end, control is sacrificed. Jane Goodall’s work at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania for 40 years is an example of N. O. By observing chimpanzee behavior she was able to attain a deeper understanding than any human had previously. However, some of very strict scientific protocol were not always used. Goodall was not a natural scientist. Her insights though did lead to an understanding that chimps have personalities, use tools, are not vegetarians, and can behave in a VERY aggressive manner. Pictured to the right: (Top) Jane Goodall at the Houston Zoo in 2012.

Naturalistic Observation Drawbacks: Valuable where other methods are likely to be disruptive or misleading, however if people know they are being observed, they tend to act differently than they normally would. Also, observations can be distorted if observers expect to see certain types of behaviors. Can be fixed by having a group of observers. Hawthorne Effect = Merely selecting individuals to participate can impact their behavior and performance alone. Hawthorne Works had commissioned a study to see if its workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light. The workers' productivity seemed to improve when changes were made and slumped when the study was concluded. It was suggested that the productivity gain occurred due to the impact of the motivational effect on the workers as a result of the interest being shown in them.

You. Tube: Understanding Psychology with Philip Zimbardo Research Methods

Experimental Research Explores cause & effect relationships. Like other sciences, experimentation forms the backbone of research in psychology. Famous experiments in Psych: ★ Pavlov’s salivating dogs ★ Milgram’s obedience study ★ Asch’s conformity experiment Experiments are the only research method that isolates cause and effect!

Experimental Research Explores cause and effect relationships. Eating too many bananas causes --> Constipation

Experimental Terminology Independent Variable - IV: Factor that is manipulated Dependent Variable - DV: Factor that is measured Extraneous Variables: Factors that affect DV, that are not IV Experimental Group: Group exposed to IV Control Group: Group not exposed to IV Placebo: Inert substance that is in place of IV in Control Group

Experimental Terminology Experimental Group: Group exposed to Independent Variable, receives special treatment. Control Group: Group not exposed to Independent Variable, comparison groups.

Experimental Terminology Valid = research measures what the researcher set out to measure; it is accurate. Reliable = research can be replicated; it is consistent. Sample = group of participants. Population = anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be the sample. Random Selection = every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. Random Assignment = controls for participant-relevant confounding variables. Assignment is the process of dividing participants into groups AFTER selection. Using random assignment gives participants an equal chance of being placed into any group. Stratified sampling = a process that allows a researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population on some criteria. (example, representation of different races, genders, etc. ) **Psychologists see “random” differently than laypeople do. Random sampling is best done using a computer, a table of random numbers, or picking names from a hat. ** Participant-relevant confounding variable = Using random assignment limits the effect. Participants should not be able to choose their group. Situation-relevant confounding variable = The situations into which the different groups are put must be equivalent except for differences produced by the independent variable.

Experimental Method Only experiments can identify cause-and-effect relationships. Experimenter bias = a special kind of situation-relevant confounding variable. Experiment bias is the unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently to increase the chance of confirming their hypothesis. Can be eliminated using double-blind procedure: neither the participants nor the researcher are able to affect the outcome of the research. (have someone who is unfamiliar with the participant role to interact with the participant) Single blind = participants do not know which group they have been assigned.

Experimental Method Experimental Group = gets the treatment operationalized in the independent variable. Control Group = does not get the independent variable. (without the control group, one can not know whether changes in the experimental group are due to the experimental treatment or simply to any treatment at all) Hawthorne Effect = Merely selecting individuals to participate can impact their behavior and performance alone. Hawthorne Works had commissioned a study to see if its workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light. The workers' productivity seemed to improve when changes were made and slumped when the study was concluded. It was suggested that the productivity gain occurred due to the impact of the motivational effect on the workers as a result of the interest being shown in them. Placebo method = an inert but otherwise identical substance. Placebo effect = People exhibit psychological effects of a drug, even though it is a placebo and not an actual drug. AKA: “Reactivity”

Experiment: POPULATION LBHS Teachers Hypothesis - Caffeine helps keep high school teachers alert & happy. Representative Sample: Male & Female Multiple Subjects Multiple Houses, Locations Random Sample: All teacher names are put into a hat and pulled 60 names. Stratified Sample: Divide the staff into categories (male/female, new/vets, different subjects taught)

Experiment: Hypothesis - Caffeine helps keep high school teachers alert & happy. Experimental Group: Group A - participants drink 2 cups of Control Groups: regular (caffeinated) coffee every morning Group B - Participants drink 2 cups of decaf for a month. coffee every morning for a month Group C - Participants drink hot, brown, coffee flavored water for a month Random Sample: Once a sample is obtained, researcher randomly assigns participants to control & experimental groups. How do we assign groups? After participants are gathered, hand out numbered cards in no particular order to all. Separate by number into control & experimental groups.

Hypothesis - Caffeine helps keep high school teachers alert & happy. Experiment: Independent Variable: (cause) Dependent Variable: The factor manipulated by the experimenter whose effect is being studied. Type of drink: caffeinated, decaf, (effect) The factor that may change in response to independent variable. In psych, it is usually behavior or mental process. water What is measured? Behavior: Alertness/Crankiness, etc. How is it measured? Questionnaire at beginning to establish a baseline & then at the end of each day for the month.

In our experiment, group C is getting a “placebo” - they think it’s coffee or caffeine, but it is not. This is to check the “true effect” of the independent variable.

Experiment: Hypothesis - Caffeine helps keep high school teachers alert & happy. Single Blind: Double Blind: Teachers (participants) do not know which group (control or experimental) they have been assigned. Teachers (participants) nor the person gathering data know which group is the control or experimental group. Which is better, why? Double blind is better, but not always necessary. It balances out bias. Confounding Variables! They are not good. ★ Still some caffeine in decaf coffee. ★ - Experience with coffee prior to experiment (i. e. whether they have had coffee in the past) ★ - Amount of sleep

Remember to rewind, re-watch, take notes. . . and write down questions to bring to class. I know these terms, their useage and the application of this can be difficult. That’s why we are going to cover this in class in a number of ways also. However, watching the video now gives you a jump on things and will make the learning stick when you do finally get it. Repetition is at the root of learning. Hang in there!

Quasi-Experiments Studies that have the same ‘control’ as experiments yet do not include the random assignment of participants. EXAMPLE: Researchers want to test hypothesis that a pregnant woman’s use of drugs will cause abnormalities in her developing baby. You would need to randomly assign women who are 8 weeks pregnant to a group that would be using drugs. Could you ethically complete this experiment? A quasi-experiment would be used in a case like this where researchers would not be able to do the experiment as normal. A researcher would never be allowed to administer drugs to a pregnant woman, just to test the effects on the baby. No IRB would allow it! However, there are women who do drugs and are pregnant. If you were able to get them to join the experiment, you could then test the effects. These types of situations are what make these experiments “quasi” or a semblance of an experiment. It seems like an experiment, but lacks the normal controls.

You. Tube: Schallhorn - Experimental Design