“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” (Chinese Proverb)

The science of human behaviour What is psychology? The science of human behaviour

An Introduction to Psychology

Psychology is the science of the mind and behaviour The human mind is the most complex machine on Earth. It is the source of all thought and behaviour The ultimate goal of Psychology is to benefit society Research in Psychology is influential in social policies

Psychology in the real world Describe Explain Predict Control

Psychological Investigations Psychologists are interested in explaining human behaviour and often conduct investigations to support their theories

Research Methods Experimental Non-experimental

Surveys/ Self report techniques Research Methods Non-experimental Experimental Case Studies Observations Laboratory experiments Field experiments Surveys/ Self report techniques Natural experiments Questionnaires Interviews Correlational analysis

What is an aim? A general statement of why the study is being carried out.

Hypothesis A statement not a question A statement that can be tested. It is a prediction of what the research will find.

Aim Hypothesis Experimental Hypothesis: All types of experiments Lab Natural Field Quasi Alternative Hypothesis All types of non-experimental research methods Social surveys Observations

Alternative Hypothesis Aim Hypothesis Alternative Hypothesis Experimental Hypothesis Directional Non-directional Directional Non-directional

Directional Hypothesis States that there will be a difference between two conditions/ groups States the kind of differences or relationship between two conditions or groups of participants States which condition will do better or worse

Non-directional Hypothesis States that there will be a difference between two conditions/ groups It does not state what the difference will be. It does not states which condition will do better or worse

Variables Variables are anything that can change or vary, be measured or controlled. Psychologists are interested in the relationship between variables

Examples of Variables Age Class Gender Ethnicity IQ scores Reading scores Arithmetic scores

CONTROL Variables Independent variables (IV) are the variables whose cause the change in dependant variables Dependant variables (DV) is dependant on the changes brought by the independent variable CONTROL

Variables Independent variables (IV) are the variables whose cause the change in dependant variables Dependant variables (DV) is dependant on the changes brought by the independent variable Extraneous/ confounding variables: These are the variables that the researcher has no control over & could ultimately effect the outcome of the experiment.

Psychological Investigations How many humans are in the world? Can psychologist study the behaviour of all these people? Explain your answer

Participants Target population? All the people who share characteristics which the researcher wishes to draw conclusions from

What is the problem with target populations? Too large to be investigated A sample of the target population is to be investigated instead

Samples Identify one problem with samples Unrepresentative =

If the sample used in an investigation is unrepresentative of the target population then it is likely that we can not generalise the findings of that investigation to other people. The investigation will have low population validity

Consent must be obtained from all participants