Chapter 1 Psychological Science Descriptive Research

Types of Psychological Research Descriptive Research Correlational Research Experimental Research

Types of Psychological Research Descriptive Research Correlational Research Experimental Research

Types of Psychological Research Descriptive Research  Survey  Case Study  Naturalistic Observation Correlational Research Experimental Research

Description  Survey  Commonly used in both descriptive and correlational research  technique for gathering the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people  usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people from a defined population

Aspects of A Survey  Population  all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study  Sampling  How respondents are selected may affect the outcome of a survey  A Random Sample is a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Aspects of A Survey  Wording Effect  How a question is worded and framed may affect the outcome of a survey  False Consensus Effect  tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

When wording effect attacks! End Women’s Suffrage!

Since 9% said that Nader was the only candidate worth voting for, one would have expected him to get at least 9% of the vote in the 2000 election. He only got about 3%. What happened? There was a biased statistic because the sample wasn't randomly drawn from the population. A disproportionate number of Nader supporters participated in the poll in order to make him appear more viable as a candidate.

Can we conclude that United, American, and Delta are the worst airlines and Alaska, Southwest, and Continental are the best? Solution: No. The airlines that had the most complaints also had the most passengers.

This clipping from US News and World Report on 1/29/01 suggests that Alaskans are terrible parents. Is this true? Solution: The difference in the abuse rates probably stems from different definitions for abuse in the various states. For example, Alaska (the "worst" state) says that a child is abused if his or her health or welfare is harmed or threatened. Pennsylvania (the "best" state) defines it as a recent act or failure to act.

Can we conclude from the following diagram that it's safer to drive while under the influence? Solution: No. Drunk drivers have a fatality risk 7.66 times the norm, while non-drunk drivers have a risk only about.6 of the norm. Only a very small percentage of drivers in New York City drive while under the influence, but they account for a disproportionate number of accidents.

The following statistics suggest that 16-year-olds are safer drivers than people in their twenties, and that octogenarians are very safe. Is this true? Solution: No. As the following graph shows, the reason 16-year-old and octogenarians appear to be safe drivers is that they don't drive nearly as much as people in other age groups.

Surveys

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