Research Methods in Psychology Experiments

Can You Follow Directions? Complete the worksheet “Can you follow directions?” When you are finished, please sit quietly

Experiments are the epitome of psychological research. They are the most important research method to the field of psychology. It will help you understand experiments in science and help you discover new things about human behavior. How does this connect?

Following Directions What did we learn about human behavior? We want to be considered the best! Being told to follow directions causes you to immediately follow them, no matter what. This might be especially true for a school setting.

Followed DirectionsDid not follow directions Results/Data

Discussion What might cause someone to follow directions incorrectly? Does it make sense to follow every direction blindly?

Experimentation How did I operationally define my variables? YELLING NAME, FOLLOWING UNNECESSARY DIRECTIONS SITTING QUIETLY ABILITY TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS

Operational Definitions Describing a variable using specific, measurable traits. How does listening to Beyoncé songs affect mood? – Listening to Beyoncé songs: ALL THE SINGLE LADIES 1 time through with headphones in a room by yourself. – Mood: RATING OF HAPPINESS ON A 10 POINT SCALE How does reading affect intelligence? –

Experiment: a research method used to determine cause and effect between variables

Independent Variable: the variable you manipulate TRICKY DIRECTIONS IV If the directions were read carefully, only steps #1 and #2 would have been followed.

Dependent Variable: the outcome of the independent variable (what is being measured in the study?) ABILITY TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS DV How many of you followed directions perfectly?

Confounding Variables – One or more variables not under the control of the experimenter that can change the outcome of the results. EX: If some of you were not able to read the directions, or simply did not care to do the bellringer.

Research Settings Laboratory Experiment – a setting designed for research – provides uniform conditions for all subjects – Eliminiates confounding variables – may seem artificial

Research Settings Field research – behavior observed in real-world setting – measures may be more representative of reality – poor control over conditions Collect the data: Field Experimentation: Gender Conformity

Data-Collection Methods Self-report procedures in which people rate or describe their own behavior or mental state – questionnaires – rating scales on a scale from 1 to 7 rate your opinion of … – judgements about perceptions on a scale from 1 to 100 how hot is...

Data-Collection Methods Observational methods in which researchers directly observe and record behavior rather than relying on subject descriptions – naturalistic observation - researcher records behavior as it occurs naturally – tests - researcher presents stimuli or problems and records responses

Examples Writing with colored pencils effects academic performance in high school Eating breakfast improves performance on FCAT People with unusual names are less successful

Variables Independent Variables CAUSE Dependent Variables CAUSE EFFECT

Dependent Variable Low Light Normal Light Growth DV=Growth IV=Light More light CAUSES increased GROWTH in plants

Mother’s Milk vs. Cows Milk Correlational research has found a positive correlation between mother’s milk and intelligence – But does this mean that smarter mothers (who more often breast feed) have smarter babies? – Or does it mean that nutrients in mother’s milk contribute to brain development?

Experimentation Mother’s milk CAUSES babies to be smarter at age 8 – HOW DO YOU THINK THE RESEARCHERS OPERATIONALLY DEFINE SMARTER? Mother’s Milk Cow’s Milk IQ ? ? ? ?

How does doing yoga cause you to lose weight?

THINK If I have some people do YOGA and some people GO ON A DIET, will I be able to determine that YOGA CAUSED people to lose weight? – What if both groups gain 5 lbs because of aging? YOGA DIET WIEGHT

THINK I can tell yoga CAUSES people to lose weight by comparing the people that do yoga to people that don’t. YOGA NO YOGA WIEGHT

Experimental and Control Group Experimental Group: group you DO SOMETHING to Control Group: group you DON’T do something to – This helps us determine cause and effect Yoga No Yoga Weight Control Experimental

Practice Do sex education programs reduce teen pregnancies? – INDEPENDENT/DEPENDENT VARIABLE? – EXPERIMENTAL/CONTROL? – CONFOUNDING VARIABLES? Sex Education No Sex Education Teen Pregnancy

Practice How does smoking marijuana effect your memory? – INDEPENDENT/DEPENDENT VARIABLE? – EXPERIMENTAL/CONTROL? – CONFOUNDING VARIABLES? Smoking No Smoking MEMORY

Independent Practice – draw the three boxes in your notes Does beating a dog make it aggressive? IV? DV? Experimental Group? Control Group? Confounding variables?

Independent Practice – draw the three boxes in your notes Does eating hot Cheetos make you burp more during the day? IV? DV? Experimental Group? Control Group? Confounding variables?

Exit Ticket DRAW THE BOXES. LABEL VARIABLES AND GROUPS. If there is a potential confounding variable, label it. Does eating breakfast improve performance on ACT testing? Are people with unusual names are less successful? Does drinking alcohol reduce reaction time?

Exit Ticket Create a table that displays the strengths and weaknesses of field and laboratory experiments.