Experiments

Objectives Compare and contrast the methods of experiments versus the methods of observation.

Methods of Research Correlations Best to interpret and analyze observations Measure how close one thing is related to another, scatterplots Stronger correlation, closer they are related Positive correlation: as one goes up, so does the other (+,+) Negative correlation: as one goes up, the other goes down (+,-) Only reveals relationship between two things Illusory correlations

Review Application Activity 2

Experimental and Control Groups Goals for experimentation: Manipulation Control Cause and effect Test reliability and validity Experimental Group – receives treatment Control Group – do not receive experimental treatment These help to determine if the independent variable influences behavior Using both is called a controlled experiment

Independent and Dependent Variables Variables: factors that can vary or change Independent Variable: factor that is manipulated Ex: Warm temperatures cause aggression in humans. Confounding Variable: produce other effects (RA) Dependent Variable: factor that is measured Ex: Amount of hours studying affects performance on an exam

Avoiding Self-Fulfilling Prophecy influencing the behavior of the participant. Avoid this by… Single-Blind Study – keeping the participant unaware of treatment they are receiving Double-Blind Study – neither the participant nor the experimenter know who receives drug/placebo

The Placebo Effect Too often our expectations affect what happen to us Feeling better because we expect to, example Placebo: substance that has no affect a part from a person’s belief in it (sugar pill)

The Milgram Experiment Measured the willingness to obey an authority figure. Results show that ordinary individuals could easily inflict pain Great example of a single-blind study

Assignment Given the Practice in Identifying Variables sheet, read over each experiment and for each experiment do the following: List the hypothesis List the control and experimental group List the IV/DV

Statistical Evaluation Problems and Solutions in Research

Bell Ringer: Hi-Low Game Directions: Pair up with someone next to you. The teacher will read a fact without using the number. One student should write a number and show it to their opponent. The opponent should then decide if they feel the actual answer is higher or lower than the number guessed. The best of three rounds wins! Question: How did you base your guesses? How is this information acquired? How do they make the sample representative? What do we do with the data once we have compiled the information?

Discussion Respond to the following quote: “What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.” What is the meaning behind this quote? How could this quote apply to research? What problems are there with not thinking?

Descriptive Statistics Statistics: make sense of the data received Quantitative: numbers Qualitative: opinions Most common Central tendency Variability

Measures of Central Tendency Quantitative Data Daniel = 60 Suzanne = 50 Craig = 85 Allison = 100 Hillary = 80 Meaghan = 80 Erica = 95 Thomas = 65 Stephen = 60 Total = 675 This is a number that describes something about the “average” score of a distribution Mean: the average score Median: put in order from least to most, the middle score Mode: the most frequent score Bimodal: if there are two modes within the distribution

Measures of Variability Tightly clustered or widely spread Standard Deviation = distance between a particular score and the mean Allison = 100 Avg. = 75 Dev. = 25 Qualitative Data Looking for patterns in responses Topics frequently mentioned, themes

Does it really work? Reliability = consistency A test is considered reliable if we get the same result repeatedly. The results should be approximately the same Validity = effective Test measures what it is supposed to measure

Ethics in Research

Bell Ringer Given the following situation, what would you do? Step 1: The status of the economy is very poor. You do not have a job and the only chance of bringing money home is to work for the military. If you join you will become wealthy and will have an endless supply of food. Do you join the military? If yes, follow step 2. If no, follow step 3. Step 2: Now that you have joined the military you are told that you will have to kill anyone and everyone that does not fulfill the prophecy of the government. If you do not follow instructions, the government will take your family away. What will you do? Explain why. Step 3: The government has told you that if you do not comply by their wishes that you will not be given any food and you will be forced to work without pay. How do you react? Explain why.

Objectives Identify and outline the guidelines to ethics in research. Apply the ethics in research to current research project. Assess the value of research done on animals.

Research With People Confidentiality – records are private, more likely to disclose true information Informed Consent – people agree to participate in the experiment, given general overview of the research Debriefing – full disclosure to research participants of the true nature and purpose of research project after completion

Research With Animals In few cases it is necessary to test things on animals Only when the potential benefits outweigh the harm There are no ethical rules for using animals as research objects Ethics in Using Data: Necessary to be objective Must be willing to disregard hypothesis

Additional Questions (Short Answer) 41. Why might a double-blind study yield more reliable results than a single-blind study? 42. In what ways does the role of a psychiatrist and that of a psychologist differ? 43. What is the difference between quantitative and qualitative data? 44. What is the difference between experimental and control groups as related to the experiment process? 45. What do we try to prove by using an experimental group and a control group?