Psych Immersions? (Connections to something else in psychology, another text, or your world.) Critical questions from the reading?

Essential Questions EQ 1-3: How do psychologists use the scientific method to study behavior and mental processes? EQ 1-4: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different research methods? EQ 1-5: How do psychologists draw appropriate conclusions about behavior from research?

Be curious! Does involvement in HS athletics improve academic performance? Does excessive texting impede face-to-face relationships? Does personality influence musical preferences? Do ads portraying unrealistic body types reduce the self-image of the viewer? Does student consumption of caffeine in the morning improve first period grades? Does gamification of the classroom improve increase student engagement?

Be curious! Does a community service requirement positively or negatively impact student opinions of community service? Does HR increase communication in a large suburban HS? Do teacher websites improve student performance in class? Does focus on minor rules (flip-flops and hats) reduce student adherence to major rules (insubordination or class cutting)?

Hypothesis Hypothesis is a testable prediction that lets us accept, reject or revise a theory. If families do not stress gender differences then there will be fewer sex differences in siblings.

Families influence the gendering of their children. Theory Theory is an EXPLANATION based on evidence that PREDICTS behaviors or events. A Theory must: 1. Fit the known facts 2. Predict new discoveries 3. Be falsifiable 4. be simple. The simpler the better – Occam’s Razor Families influence the gendering of their children. If we were to observe that depressed people talk about their past, present, and future in a gloomy manner, we may theorize that low-self-esteem contributes to depression.

Astrology Aries (March 21–April 19) Taurus (April 20–May 20) Gemini (May 21–June 21) Cancer (June 22–July 22) Leo (July 23–August 22) Virgo (August 23–September 22) Libra (September 23–October 22) Scorpio (October 23–November 21) Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) Capricorn (December 22–January 19) Aquarius (January 20 –February 18) Pisces (February 19–March 20)

Answers E Aries (March 21–April 19) B Taurus (April 20–May 20) C Gemini (May 21–June 21) A Cancer (June 22–July 22) F Leo (July 23–August 22) D Virgo (August 23–September 22) K Libra (September 23–October 22) H Scorpio (October 23–November 21) I Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) L Capricorn (December 22–January 19) J Aquarius (January 20 –February 18) G Pisces (February 19–March 20)

Research Methods in Psychology Correlational Research Research technique based on the naturally occurring relationship between two or more variables Used to make PREDICTIONS, such as the relation between SAT scores and success at college Cannot be used to determine cause and effect

Scatterplots Perfect positive correlation (+1.00) Scatterplot is a graph that comprises of points generated by values of two variables. The slope of points depicts the direction, The amount of scatter shows the strength of relationship.

Scatterplots Perfect negative correlation (-1.00) No relationship (0.00) Scatterplot on the left shows a relation between the variables, and the one on the right shows no relationship between the two variables.

(positive or negative) Correlation When one trait or behavior accompanies another, we say the two correlate. Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00) Correlation coefficient r = + 0.37 OBJECTIVE 8| Describe positive and negative correlations and explain how correlational measures can aid the process of prediction. Correlation Coefficient is a statistical measure of relationship between two variables. Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative)

Operational Definition An exact description of how to derive a value for a characteristic you are measuring. It includes a precise definition of the characteristic and how, specifically, data collectors are to measure the characteristic. What you are studying determines the type of data you get.

Study of Low Self Esteem and Depression You do the research because you assume the two are related Compare two variables Variable 1 = Score on a self-esteem test Variable 2 = Length of a bought of depression in months

Score on a self-esteem test Length of a bought of depression in months

Correlation and Causation OBJECTIVE 9| Explain why correlational research fails to provide evidence of cause-effect relationships.

Correlation is not Causation: It only predicts!!!! Children with big feet reason better than children with small feet. (Children who are older have bigger feet than younger children; thus they can reason better) Study done in Korea: The most predictive factor in the use of birth control use was the number of appliances in the home. (Those who have electrical appliances probably have higher socioeconomic level, and thus are probably better educated.)

Correlation is not Causation: It only predicts!!!! People who often ate Frosted Flakes as children had half the cancer rate of those who never ate the cereal. Conversely, those who often ate oatmeal as children were four times more likely to develop cancer than those who did not. Cancer tends to be a disease of later life. Those who ate Frosted Flakes are younger. In fact, the cereal was not around until the 1950s (when older respondents were children, and so they are much more likely to have eaten oatmeal.)

In a Gallup poll, surveyors asked, “Do you believe correlation implies causation?’” 64% of American’s answered “Yes” . 38% replied “No”. The other 8% were undecided.

The Simpsons (Season 7, "Much Apu About Nothing") Homer: Not a bear in sight. The "Bear Patrol" is working like a charm! Lisa: That's specious reasoning, Dad. Homer: [uncomprehendingly] Thanks, honey. Lisa: By your logic, I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away. Homer: Hmm. How does it work? Lisa: It doesn't work; it's just a stupid rock! Homer: Uh-huh. Lisa: But I don't see any tigers around, do you? Homer: (pause) Lisa, I want to buy your rock.

Consider the following research undertaken by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio appearing to show a link between consumption of diet soda and weight gain. The study of more than 600 normal-weight people found, eight years later, that they were 65 percent more likely to be overweight if they drank one diet soda a day than if they drank none. And if they drank two or more diet sodas a day, they were even more likely to become overweight or obese.

Third or Missing Variable Problem A relationship other than causal might exist between the two variables. It's possible that there is some other variable or factor that is causing the outcome.

Ice cream sales and the number of shark attacks on swimmers are correlated. Skirt lengths and stock prices are highly correlated (as stock prices go up, skirt lengths get shorter). The number of cavities in elementary school children and vocabulary size are strongly correlated.

There are two relationships which can be mistaken for causation: Common response Confounding

1. Common Response: Both X and Y respond to changes in some unobserved variable, Z. All three of our previous examples are examples of common response.

There are two relationships which can be mistaken for causation: Common response Confounding

1. Common Response: Both X and Y respond to changes in some unobserved variable, Z. All three of our previous examples are examples of common response.

Illusory Correlations Redelmeier and Tversky (1996) assessed 18 arthritis patients over 15 months, while also taking comprehensive meteorological data. Virtually all of the patients were certain that their condition was correlated with the weather. In fact the actual correlation was close to zero. Usually when the data in question stands out

Essential Questions EQ 1-3: How do psychologists use the scientific method to study behavior and mental processes? EQ 1-4: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different research methods? EQ 1-5: How do psychologists draw appropriate conclusions about behavior from research?