Psychological Research Methods Excavating Human Behaviors

Hindsight Bias The tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that you knew it all along. Only after Kerry won the Iowa Primary, did people begin to say that Dean was too liberal. What would people say about Kerry if Dean won?

Overconfidence We tend to think we know more than we do. 82% of U.S. drivers consider themselves to be in the top 30% of their group in terms of safety 81% of new business owners felt they had an excellent chance of their businesses succeeding. When asked about the success of their peers, the answer was only 39%. (Now that's overconfidence!!!)

Scientific Method 1.Observe some aspect of the universe. 2.Invent a theory that is consistent with what you have observed. 3.Use the theory to make predictions. 4.Test those predictions by experiments or further observations. 5.Modify the theory in the light of your results. 6.Go to step 3.

Hypothesis A tentative theory that has not yet been tested. Have operational definitions. Be replicable.

Types of Research Descriptive Correlational Experimental

Descriptive Research Any research that observes and records. Does not talk about relationships, it just describes. What is going on in this picture? We cannot say exactly, but we can describe what we see. Thus we have…..

Types of Descriptive Research The Case Study The Survey Naturalistic Observation

The Case Study Where one person (or situation) is observed in depth. What are the strengths and weaknesses of using a tragedy like the Columbine School Shootings as a case study?

The Survey Method Used in both descriptional and correlational research. Use Interview, mail, phone, internet etc… The Good- cheap, anonymous, diverse population, and easy to get random sampling (a sampling that represents your population you want to study).

Random Sampling

Survey Method: The Bad Low Response Rate People Lie or just misinterpret themselves. Wording Effects How accurate would a survey be about the frequency of diarrhea?

Naturalistic Observation Observing and recording behavior in natural environment. No control- just an observer. What are the benefits and detriments of Naturalistic Observation?

Why do we sample? One reason is the False Consensus Effect: the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Correlational Research Detects relationships between variables. Does NOT say that one variable causes another. There is a positive correlation between ice cream and murder rates. Does that mean that ice cream causes murder?

Measured using a correlation coefficient. A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors relate to one another

How to Read a Correlation Coefficient

Experimental Research Explores cause and effect relationships. Eating too many bananas causes Constipation

Steps in Designing an Experiment 1.Hypothesis 2.Pick Population: Random Selection then Random Assignment. 3.Operationalize the Variables 4.Identify Independent and Dependent Variables. 5.Look for Extraneous Variables 6.Type of Experiment: Blind, Double Blind etc.. 7.Gather Data 8.Analyze Results

Experimental Vocabulary Independent Variable: factor that is manipulated Dependent Variable: factor that is measured Extraneous Variables: factors that effect DV, that are not IV. Experimental Group: Group exposed to IV Control Group: Group not exposed to IV Placebo: inert substance that is in place of IV in Control Group

Analyze Results Use measures of central tendency (mean, median and mode). Use measures of variation (range and standard deviation).

A Skewed Distribution Are the results positively or negatively skewed?

Ethics in Psychology Case Studies Milgram’s Study Tuskegee Syphilis Study Stanford Prison Study

Stanley Milgram's Experiment "Obedience and Individual Responsibility" Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, conducted a study focusing on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. He examined justifications for acts of genocide offered by those accused at the World War II, Nuremberg War Criminal trials. Their defense often was based on "obedience" - - that they were just following orders of their superiors. In his experiment, so-called "teachers" (who were actually the unknowing subjects of the experiment) were recruited by Milgram. They were asked administer an electric shock of increasing intensity to a "learner" for each mistake he made during the experiment. The fictitious story given to these "teachers" was that the experiment was exploring effects of punishment (for incorrect responses) on learning behavior. (Deception) The "teacher" was not aware that the "learner" in the study was actually an actor - - merely indicating discomfort as the "teacher" increased the electric shocks. Ref:

Stanley Milgram's Experiment Cont. When the "teacher" asked whether increased shocks should be given he/she was verbally encouraged to continue. Sixty percent of the "teachers" obeyed orders to punish the learner to the very end of the 450-volt scale! No subject stopped before reaching 300 volts! At times, the worried "teachers" questioned the experimenter, asking who was responsible for any harmful effects resulting from shocking the learner at such a high level. Upon receiving the answer that the experimenter assumed full responsibility, teachers seemed to accept the response and continue shocking, even though some were obviously extremely uncomfortable in doing so. The study raised many questions about how the subjects could bring themselves to administer such heavy shocks. REF:

"The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male" In 1932 the Public Health Service (PHS) decided to proceed with a study in Macon County. Unlike the previous project, which uncovered the high level of syphilis in the local African-American population, the specific goal of the new study was to examine the progression of untreated syphilis in African- Americans. Permission was obtained for the use of the excellent medical facilities at the teaching hospital of the Tuskegee Institute and human subjects were recruited by spreading the word among Black people in the county that volunteers would be given free tests for bad blood, a term used locally to refer to a wide variety of ailments. Thus began what evolved into "The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male," a project that would continue for forty years. The subject group was composed of 616 African-American men, 412 of whom had been diagnosed as having syphilis, and 204 controls. (Deception)The participants were never explained the true nature of the study. Not only were the syphilitics among them not treated for the disease -- a key aspect of the study design that was retained even after 1943 when penicillin became available as a safe, highly effective cure -- but those few who recognized their condition and attempted to seek help from PHS syphilis treament clinics were prevented from doing so.

Ethical Racism??? Eunice Rivers, an African-American PHS nurse assigned to monitor the study, soon became a highly trusted authority figure within the subject community. She was largely responsible for assuring the cooperation of the participants throughout the duration of the study. She was aware of the goals and requirements of the study, including the failure to fully inform the participants of their condition and to deny treatment for syphilis. It was her firm conviction that the men in the study were better off because they received superior medical care for ailments other than syphilis than the vast majority of African- Americans in Macon County. What do think about her logic?

But Wait – There’s More The nature of the Study was certainly not withheld from the nation's medical community. Many venereal disease experts were specifically contacted for advice and opinions. Most of them expressed support for the project. In 1965, 33 years after the Study's initiation, Dr. Irwin Schatz became the first medical professional to formally object to the Study on moral grounds. The PHS simply ignored his complaint. The following year, Peter Buxtin, a venereal disease investigator for the PHS began a prolonged questioning of the morality of the Study. A panel of prominent physicians was convened by the PHS in 1969 to review the Tuskegee study. The panel included neither African-Americans nor medical ethicists. Ignoring the fact that it clearly violated the human experimentation guidelines adopted by the PHS in 1966, the panel's recommendation that the Study continue without significant modification was accepted. By 1972, Buxtin had resigned from the PHS and entered law school. Still bothered by the failure of the agency to take his objections seriously, he contacted the Associated Press, which assigned reporter Jean Heller to the story. On July 25, 1972 the results of her journalist investigation of the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male were published. The response to Heller's revelations was broad-based public outrage, which finally brought the Study to an immediate end.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Questions What right does a researcher have to expose subjects to such stress? What activities should be and not be allowed in marketing research? Does the search for knowledge always justify such "costs" to subjects? Who should decide such issues?