Ways of measuring the brain Mop up.

Activities to consolidate learning Activity 2: Apply your knowledge A psychologist wants to investigate: Brain waves triggered by being tickled on the hand Brain waves during different stages of sleep (REM-dream sleep and N-REM) Difference in frontal lobe activity of psychopaths and normal controls Structure of the brain of a girl called Genie (who was locked in a room with no contact for the first 8 years of her life) and has now passed away. Which would be the best method of investigation for each of these examples? Explain why this method is more suitable for this particular example, than the other methods?

Activity 3: Comparison mind map On the whiteboards, in your groups, create an evaluation mind map identifying: one key strength and one key weakness for each method In a different colour, compare the different ways of measuring the brain Add to hand out strength fMRI Investigating the brain

Research Methods A2: Lesson 1 “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong” Albert Einstein

Objectives To be able to… Outline the features of science Carry out an experiment (stroop test) with a focus on: write aims and hypothesis for the study. psychological report writing creating an informed consent and debrief form.

Starter: Can you remember the features of science?

Features of science Science is dependent on empirical methods so empiricism is at the heart of science The key features of science are (taken straight from the specification) • Objectivity (and the empirical method) • Replicability and falsifiability • Theory construction • Hypothesis testing • Paradigms and paradigm shifts

Replicability Ability to check and verify scientific information. Ability to repeat the method to assess if similar findings are achieved Ability to achieve similar findings. DO NOT DEFINE REPLICABILITY AS….‘replicability is the ability to replicate’ Replicability is an important part of the scientific process. Scientific method involves defining a problem and formulating a hypothesis which is tested with empirical research. Research findings are an important part of this process. If we wish to draw conclusions from research studies, the procedures and findings should be repeatable. Unrepeatable results may imply flaws or lack of control within the method used and are of limited use in theory construction.

Activity 1 Read the statements and decide which feature of science is being explained. Complete page 6 in your research methods pack

Activity 2: Exam focus (A02) Mind map, all the possible content that could be included in your answer. A psychodynamic psychologist wished to investigate the function of dreams. He asked five friends to keep a ‘dream diary’ for a week by writing a descriptive account of their dreams as soon as they woke up in the morning. He interpreted the content of their dreams as an expression of their repressed wishes. Referring to the study above, explain why psychodynamic psychologists have often been criticised for neglecting the rules of the scientific approach. (Total 3 marks)

Activity 2: Exam focus – mark scheme How the psychodynamic approach as depicted in the stem neglects the rules of science. interpretation of content of dreams open to bias and subjectivity no verifiable evidence small sample; opportunity sample of friends and implications for generalizability qualitative data collected and implications for statistical analysis; retrospective data / memory distortions – reports written on waking dreams are private experience and covert problem of replicability. no reference to a testable hypothesis.

What is the scientific research process? Identify a research question. (Usually this comes from observing peoples’ behaviour or from a broader psychological theory) Formulate a theory to explain an aspect of human behaviour Predictions are made from theories in the form of a testable hypothesis. Test the hypothesis (Design and carry out empirical research to find evidence). Analyse the results and draw conclusions. Can you accept or reject your hypothesis Do the results support the theory? Does the hypothesis need revising and re-testing? Does the theory need modifying? Collect further evidence in order to see whether the theory should be accepted or not. Proposed explanation for the phenomenon

What are the sections of a psychological report? On your table, write down all the section of a report and detail what each section should include Page 11

Experiment: the stroop test Before we begin…. What is the difference between an aim and a hypothesis? Aim: A precise statement of why a study is taking place Hypothesis: Precise testable research prediction

Hypothesis Two hypothesis are formulated at the beginning of a study: The alternative hypothesis (H1) Predicts that there will be a significant difference Directional or non directional (one tailed or two tailed) The null hypothesis (HO) predicts that there will not be a significant difference

The stroop test Read the following handout about the stroop test experiment. Task: Individually, write an appropriate aim and experimental/null hypothesis for the study. Write word on paper – automatic response to read. Colour – not automatic (activity then read)

The stroop test http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/words.html

Construct a consent form/debrief form In your groups, your task is to create a consent and debrief form for your experiment that you can hand to your participants before and after the experiment. After: write a set of standardised instructions that you will read to each participant before they complete the stroop test. Write word on paper – automatic response to read. Colour – not automatic (activity then read)

Additional homework Using the consent form and the sheet provided, conduct the stroop test on participants You will need to have the data for next Friday’s lesson (30/09) as we will be analysing the results! Next lesson we will be writing up the ‘Method’ section of your experiment.

Next lessons Lesson 2 Method Lesson 3 Data analysis (hwk to write up experiment)

Exam focus (A02) A researcher believed that there is a biological basis to aggression in males. She predicted that there would be a significant difference between the levels of the hormone testosterone in aggressive males and the levels of the hormone testosterone in non-aggressive males. In order to test her prediction, the researcher statistically analysed the levels of testosterone in saliva samples from 20 aggressive males and 20 non-aggressive males. Outline three ways in which the study described above could be considered to be scientific. (Total 3 marks) One mark per outline of a way: each identified feature of the scientific approach explained in relation to the study. Possible features from the study: measuring levels of hormones; use of saliva samples; sample of 40 participants; prediction based on theory; statistical testing. Accept other features that can be inferred eg replication. Explanations might refer to: empirical method; factual, verifiable, objective measures; precision / measuring on interval / ratio scale; operational prediction / testable hypothesis derived from theory; theory amenable to scientific testing; possible to replicate the procedure; theory capable of refutation; sample size. Markers should be aware that some of the above scientific principles may overlap. 1 mark for two or more features and / or scientific principles named but not explained