MODULE 2 PSYCHOLOGY & SCIENCE

ANSWERING QUESTIONS Researchers tend to use three methods Each one provides different kinds of information  Survey  Case study  Experiment

SURVEY  Way to obtain information by asking many individuals  Person to person, telephone or mail  Answer a fixed set of questions about particular subjects

SURVEY (CONT’D) Disadvantages  Information can contain errors  Results can be biased  How questions are worded and who asks them Advantages  Quick and efficient way to collect information on behaviors, beliefs, experiences, and attitudes from a large sample of people  Can compare answers from various ethnic, age, socioeconomic, and cultural groups

CASE STUDY Case study  In-depth analysis of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences, behaviors, or problems of a single individual  Most often are a Personal case study: testimonial  statement in support of a particular viewpoint based on detailed observation of a person’s own personal experience  There can be errors  error and bias: self-fulfilling prophecy

CASE STUDY (CONT’D) Disadvantage  Detailed information about a particular person may not apply to others Advantage  Detailed information allows greater understanding of a particular person’s life

EXPERIMENT: USE OF PLACEBOS Placebo  Intervention in experiment  Ex…….taking a pill, receiving an injection, or undergoing an operation, that resembles medical therapy but, in fact, has no medical effects Placebo effect  Change in a patient’s illness that’s attributable to an imagined treatment rather than to a medical treatment

EXPERIMENT: USE OF PLACEBOS

EXPERIMENT: USE OF PLACEBOS (CONT’D)  Researchers believe that placebos work by reducing tension and distress and by creating powerful self-fulfilling prophecies  I HAVE HELP WITH THIS PROBLEM  Individuals think and behave as if the drug, actually a placebo, is effective (HUMANISTIC)  Ex….Teenagers and Alcohol

CORRELATION Correlation  An association or relationship between the occurrence of two or more events Correlation coefficient  A number that indicates the strength of a relationship between two or more events: the closer the number is to –1.00 or +1.00, the greater is the strength of the relationship

CORRELATION (CONT’D)

Perfect positive correlation coefficient  means that an increase in one event is always matched by an equal increase in a second event Positive correlation coefficient  Indicates that as one event tends to increase, the second event tends to, but does not always, increase  Increases from to indicate a strengthening of the relationship between the occurrence of two events

CORRELATION (CONT’D) Zero correlation  Indicates that there is no relationship between the occurrence of one event and the occurrence of a second event Negative correlation coefficient  Indicates that as one event tends to increase, the second event tends to, but does not always, decrease  to indicates a strengthening in the relationship of one event increasing and the other decreasing

CORRELATION (CONT’D) Perfect negative correlation coefficient  means that an increase in one event is always matched by an equal decrease in a second event  Correlations such as are virtually never found in applied psychological research

DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH What is the best technique for answering a question?  Questionnaires and interviews  Laboratory experiments  Standardized tests  Animal models

DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH (CONT’D) Interview  Technique for obtaining information by asking questions  ranging from open-ended to highly structured  subject’s behaviors and attitudes,  one-on-one situation Questionnaire  Technique for obtaining information  Subjects read a list of written questions and check off specific answers

DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH (CONT’D) Laboratory experiments  information about the brain, genes, or behavior  least error and bias by using a controlled environment that  allows careful observation and measurement Standardized tests  administering a psychological test  given to hundreds of people  shown to reliably measure thought patterns, personality traits, emotions, or behaviors

DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH (CONT’D) Animal models  examining or manipulating some behavioral, genetic, or physiological factor  that is similar to some human problem, disease, or condition  Example  researchers genetically altered mice to have extra receptors for brain chemicals involved in schizophrenia

APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS Concerns about being a subject  Human and animal Code of ethics  American Psychological Association (APA) publishes a code of ethics and conduct for psychologists to follow when doing research, counseling, teaching, and related activities  Code spells out the responsibilities of psychologists and the rights of participants

APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS (CONT’D) Ethics of animal research  How many animals are used in research?  estimated over 25 million animals used each year in biomedical research  Are research animals mistreated?  of the millions of animals used in research, only a few cases of animal mistreatment have been confirmed  researchers support the Animal Research Act

APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS (CONT’D) Ethics of animal research  Is the use of animals justified?  researchers are currently using animals to study many things including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, fetal alcohol syndrome, schizophrenia, AIDS, and transplantation of brain tissue, none of which is possible with human subjects  Who checks on the use of animals in research?  US Department of Agriculture  universities hire veterinarians  universities have animal subject committees

APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS (CONT’D) Ethics of animal research  How do we strike a balance?  many experts in the scientific, medical, and mental health communities believe that the conscientious and responsible use of animals in research is justified and should continue

Get into groups of two and get out a piece of paper. Your group member needs to be someone who you have not worked with yet in this class. Pretend for a second that you are a psychologist in a university setting that has a budget to perform an experiment. For each of the following types of experiments you need to propose and idea that you that you would like to see tested for each different type of experimental method. Tell me your rational for wanting to see this experiment done. Questionnaires and interviews Laboratory experiments Standardized tests Animal models

DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH Questionnaires and interviews Laboratory experiments Standardized testsAnimal models