How know what claims to accept? Research Methods How know what claims to accept?

Claims about Human Behavior Too often we were willing to accept statements about human behavior based on the opinions of people who have status and authority This is referred to as authoritative evidence and can seriously mislead us. A lobotomy is a surgical procedure that separates the frontal lobe from the rest of the brain. It was performed on mental patients based on the opinions of psychiatrists instead of sound scientific evidence.

The Tragic History of Lobotomies

All fields of science demand that an conclusions about behavior must be based on scientific evidence—not on opinions of anyone! Allowing opinions to be an acceptable reasons for performing lobotomies on thousands of patients destroyed many lives. This procedure, by separating the frontal lobe from the rest of their brain, destroyed the patients ability to process information and respond appropriately. They no longer were able to problem-solve, plan ahead or to express emotions.

Science demands that conclusions be based on empirical evidence Empirical evidence refers to data that is observable and measurable. Such means that psychiatrists had the responsibility to observe and measure the impact of lobotomies on a few patients before proceeding. Inexplicably and tragically this was not done resulting in over 50,000 mental patients in the US receiving a lobotomy with tragic results for most.

Research methods used to obtain empirical data on how subjects behave Naturalistic Observations: Observe subjects in natural settings. Survey & Interviews: Ask subjects to describe their own behaviors and attitudes. Case Studies: Useful for studying subjects with a unique and unusual condition. Correlational Studies: See how behaviors are associated with variables in the environment.

What do these four research designs have in common? All four of those research methods collect data on behavior without altering the situations or controlling any variable—so are non-experimental. The subjects are observed, interviewed and tested but no alterations are made to their behaviors or their environments. So these four research designs provide objective, empirical data on how people behave but not why.

Non-experimental research studies Jane Goodall observed chimpanzees in rain forests to obtain empirical data on their capacity for problem-solving and social interactions. Data on the pace of life—how fast people move—in 30 countries revealed a correlation with the climate. Gottman’s observations & interviews with married couples provided data on which styles of interactions predicted divorce versus a long, happy marriage.

Jane Goodall observing Chimps

Gottman discovered that couples style of resolving conflict had predictive power

Victor, the wild boy of Avalon, who was raised by wolves. Case Studies: Study for a lengthy time subjects who have had very unique experiences Victor, the wild boy of Avalon, who was raised by wolves. People blind throughout childhood who are then provided vision as an adult. Phineas Gage who survived after a 3 ½ steel rod blew through the left of his brain.

Case Study of Boy Raised by Wolves

Results of case studies of children and animals who grow up with minimal social interaction all very similar Exhibit no language or social skills Developmentally very slow Often violent and emotionally stunted Their brains’ are severely underdeveloped

Case study of Phineas Gage

Examples of correlational studies The more people use electronic media the less content they feel about life. This is a negative correlation as when one variable goes up, the other variable goes down. Higher class attendance is correlated with higher test grades. This is a positive correlation as when one variable goes up, so does the other variable.

Correlations between variables does not explain why they are correlated. For example, is the use of electronic media causing people to feel badly or do depressed people frequently use electronic media? Or could a third factor such as poor health cause a person to regularly use electronic media as well as making them feel moderately depressed? Is regular attendance causing a student to perform well on tests or is their high drive to achieve causing both their high attendance and their high test scores?

Correlation is not Causation: Lung Cancer and Smoking A very strong positive correlation between smoking and lung cancer has been demonstrated. For years, tobacco companies still claimed this was not scientific support that smoking causes cancer as another variable might be causing smoking & cancer. For example, maybe anxious people are more likely to smoke and anxious people experience more stress so more likely to develop cancer.

Importance of Experimental Research: Able to conclude cause-effect Control environment of subjects by exposing one group to smoking and one group to not smoking Compare cancer rates of subjects in both groups after years of exposure to smoking or not smoking. Could never do such with humans but willing do expose animals to such inhuman treatments—such as beagles.

Experiments with beagles proved smoking causes lung cancer Randomly assign beagle puppies to smoking versus non-smoking group—the independent variable. Beagles in the group that smoked were far more likely to develop lung cancer—the dependent variable.

Experiment with Beagles

Components of every experiment Every experiment has an independent and dependent variable The independent variable is the treatment given to the subjects. The dependent variable is the behavior that results from the treatment

Every experiment has an experimental group & control group Experimental group is the one given the treatment—as the group of beagles conditioned to smoke. The control group is the one not given the treatment so is there for comparison—the group of beagles that did not smoke.

Research Methods Be able to describe and provide an example of the major research designs: observations case studies, correlations and experiments. Be sure to review the two outside readings: one provides an excellent example of an observational study (Gottman) and the other provides an excellent example of the use of case studies (visual restoration).