Do Now: In full sentences on your index card; list three (3) differences between 9th and 12th graders.

How would you prove it!

Objective: How is Experimentation Used in Psychology? DO NOW: Write Down Objective (Focus) in your notes. Objective: How is Experimentation Used in Psychology? Experimental psychology is an area of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to research the mind and behavior. In the past, psychological experimentation has been controversial due to unethical experiments. It is now strictly regulated by the American Psychological Association (APA).

We are going to play a short game. Is everyone ready to play? If so raise your hand. Is everyone comfortable? Turn your index card over and put your answers on there

People who are relaxed have better memories. Hypothesis People who are relaxed have better memories. http://web.monroecc.edu/manila/webfiles/psychlearning/PT21.htm

Look at the list of words below for one minute Look at the list of words below for one minute. Memorize as many words as you can in this amount of time.  Nine Swap Cell Ring Rust Plugs Lamp Apple Table Sway Army Bank Fire Hold Worm Clock Horse Color Baby Sword Desk Find Bird Rock Good Job! (a little positive reinforcement ), now same thing with these. Horse Cat Dog Fish Bird Orange Yellow Blue Green Black Table Chair Desk Bookcase Bed Teacher School Student Homework Class Apple Banana Kiwi Grape Mango

Are there any problems with our experiment?

Who got 7 or more the first time. Who got at least 5. Who got less Who got 7 or more the first time? Who got at least 5? Who got less? Who got more the second time? Experimental Psychologist George A. Miller says the typical storage capacity for short-term memory is seven to five items. However, strategies such as chunking can significantly based on category, can increase memorization and recall and people remember more words. Please sign your index card and hand up your answers and put them in the box so I can lock them up.

The American Psychological Association 1992 What are Ethics? The American Psychological Association 1992 In dealing with human subjects, psychologists follow a code of ethical principles published by the A.P.A. obtain informed consent from all subjects protect subjects from harm and discomfort treat all experimental data confidentially explain the experiment and the results to the subjects afterward Prior to 1970 – this wasn’t always followed.

How do we use the Scientific Method in Psychological Research? Hypothesis: Statement of expected results Subjects chosen Subjects divided up Experimental Group (get the experiment) Control Group (do not get the experiment) Variables: Factors that change in an experiment

How to tell the difference between variables Independent Variable IF A request is made by a person in a uniform Dependent Variable THEN More people will reply to this request

What is the experimental group? Group on which critical part of experiment is performed This group gets the real sleeping pills

What is the Control Group? Subjects who are just like the experimental group except will not participate in the study This group will receive a placebo A Placebo is a medicine that has no active ingredients and works by power of suggestion

What is a Control? Experimental Subjects removed Examples: Subject with cold, on medication, etc. Something that could skew results Experimental Subjects removed

(The variable the experimenter changes) Do Sleeping Pills Work? Dependent Variable What results from the experimenter manipulating the independent variable Ex. Better sleep, less sleep, etc. Subjects Two groups of people in similar health, same age, similar sleep issues Control Removal of factors that may prove hypothesis – but would alter results. Older people, people with colds, on other medication, etc. Independent Variable (The variable the experimenter changes) Experimenter gives one group real sleeping pills and one group placebos Hypothesis 2 of my newly developed sleeping pills will help people with insomnia

What is a double-blind study? Patient’s expectations Wondering which group gets real drug Subject Researcher interprets results Knowing who got the real drug can impact objectivity Researcher Patient doesn’t know Researcher doesn’t know Accurate Results

Reading: Stanley Milgram Experiment Stanford Prison Experiment Are researchers responsible for their subjects – even if they volunteer for an experiment?

Wrap Up 1. What is a hypothesis?

2. What part of an experiment is the Independent Variable?

3. What part of the experiment is the Dependent Variable?

4. What is the experimental group?

5. What is a control group?

6. When would you use a control?

7. What is a placebo and what is its purpose?

8. What are some ethics psychologists must follow in experimentation?

What types of Research Studies are Used in Psychology? Objective: There are a variety of ways to conduct psychological experiments. Some are good for one thing, but not for another. There are always pros/cons to each type. Certain types of studies are: Case Studies, Longitudinal Studies, Cross Sectional Studies, Naturalistic Observation, Lab Studies, Field Studies. There will often be common pitfalls to each type. Write down in notes as focus.

Description Psychologists describe behavior using case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation

Description Survey technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people Random Sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion Population all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study

But be careful… False Consensus Effect tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors Hindsight Bias - ls known as the knew-it-all-along effect or creeping determinism, is the inclination, after an event has occurred, to see the event as having been predictable, despite there having been little or no objective basis for predicting it. Overconfidence - When you are overconfident, you misjudge your value, opinion, beliefs or abilities and you have more confidence than you should given the objective parameters of the situation.

Description Case Study Psychologists study one or more individuals in great depth in the hope of revealing things true of us all Is language uniquely human?

Description

Description If marbles of two colors are mixed well in the large jar, the fastest way to know their ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller one and count them

Description Naturalistic Observation observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

(positive or negative) Correlation Correlation Coefficient a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well either factor predicts the other Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative) Correlation coefficient r = +.37 Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00)

Correlation Scatterplot a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables the slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation little scatter indicates high correlation also called a scattergram or scatter diagram

Scatterplots, showing patterns of correlations Perfect positive correlation (+1.00) No relationship (0.00) Perfect negative correlation (-1.00) Scatterplots, showing patterns of correlations

Height and Temperament of 20 Men Correlation Height and Temperament of 20 Men 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 80 63 61 79 74 69 62 75 77 60 64 76 71 66 73 70 68 90 42 81 39 48 72 57 30 84 Subject Height in Inches Temperament

Scatterplot of Height and Temperament Correlation 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 Temperament scores Height in inches 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 Scatterplot of Height and Temperament

Correlation Three Possible Cause-Effect Relationships or or could cause (1) Low self-esteem Depression or (2) Depression could cause Low self-esteem or Low self-esteem (3) Distressing events or biological predisposition could cause and Depression

Illusory Correlation Illusory Correlation the perception of a relationship where none exists Conceive Do not conceive Adopt Do not adopt disconfirming evidence confirming

Two Random Sequences Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.

Cross Sectional Studies Random sample of population May not truly measure generational issues Pro Con Case Study Detailed information Very detailed, no comparisons

Survey Quick way to gather a lot of information Questions can be misunderstood Pro Con Interview One on one information Subject can be less than truthful – interpretation issues

Pro Con Field Setting More realistic than Lab setting Lab Experiment Research completely objective Artificial Setting Pro Con Field Setting More realistic than Lab setting Difficult to control variables

Naturalistic Observation Observe in natural environment No subject feedback Pro Con Longitudinal Study Gathers information over a subject’s life Expensive to undertake and keep track of subjects

Statistical Reasoning Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z 100% 99 98 97 96 95 Percentage still functioning after 10 years Brand of truck

Statistical Reasoning Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z 100% 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Percentage still functioning after 10 years Brand of truck

Statistical Reasoning Mode the most frequently occurring score in a distribution Mean the arithmetic average of a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores Median the middle score in a distribution half the scores are above it and half are below it

Statistical Reasoning A Skewed Distribution 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 90 475 710 70 Mode Median Mean One Family Income per family in thousands of dollars

Statistical Reasoning Range the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution Standard Deviation a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean Statistical Significance a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

Ethics in Research

Do Now: Has anyone ever asked you to participate in a research study? Answer survey questions? (Phone, mall, school, online, etc.) What was it about?

Experiments: Harlow’s Monkeys In subsequent experiments, Harlow’s monkeys proved that “better late than never” was not a slogan applicable to attachment. When Harlow placed his subjects in total isolation for the first eights months of life, denying them contact with other infants or with either type of surrogate mother, they were permanently damaged. Harlow and his colleagues repeated these experiments, subjecting infant monkeys to varied periods of motherlessness. They concluded that the impact of early maternal deprivation could be reversed in monkeys only if it had lasted less than 90 days, and estimated that the equivalent for humans was six months. After these critical periods, no amount of exposure to mothers or peers could alter the monkeys’ abnormal behaviors and make up for the emotional damage that had already occurred.

Reading: Little Albert Experiment Whatever happened to Little Albert?

Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology Why do psychologists study animals? Is it ethical to experiment on animals? Is it ethical to experiment on people? Stanford Prison Experiment Long clip Milgram Experiment “To Russia with Love” (RAD)

Wrap Up 1. What was the Stanley Milgram Study? 2. What was the major outcome? 3. What was the most common answer subjects gave for “following authority”? 4. Why didn’t the Stanford Prison subjects leave the experiment? 5. What happens to Harlow’s monkeys as time goes on? 6. How can this be compared to R.A.D.? 7. Years after these experiments – incidents still occur. Like what?

What bothers you the most about high school. What is it What bothers you the most about high school? What is it? How would you prove it? How would you find out if it bothers others? How would you find out WHY it’s done?

Which method of research would best yield the most accurate data for your question?

Summary Scientific Method is used in Psychology experiments Hypothesis: statement of expected results. Can be proved or disproved through observation and experimentation Experimental Group: Group participating in experiment the subject nor researcher knowing who has the placebo – removes expectations that can skew results Control Group: Group not participating in the experiment Ethics: Guidelines for Psychological Experiments – results must outweigh risks. Control: removal of subjects that could skew results There are many types of psychological studies – each has their pros and cons. Variables: factors introduced or resulting from experiment Types: Field Studies, Lab Experiments, Naturalistic Observation, Case Studies, Surveys, Longitudinal and Cross Sectional Studies, and Interviews. Independent Variable: Variable controlled by Researcher Dependent Variable: Result of Experiment Placebo: medicine with no active ingredients – works by power of suggestion Classical Conditioning: is a learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. Double Blind Study: Experiment with neither