Exploring Social Psychology by David G. Myers 7th Edition Introducing Social Psychology Social Psychology Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
How Do We Do Social Psychology? Forming and Testing Hypotheses Theory: An integrated set of principles that explain and predict observed events Hypothesis: A testable proposition that describes the relationship that may exist between events Research may take place in the field or in a laboratory Two primary research methods are correlational and experimental Introducing Social Psychology Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Correlational Research: Detecting Natural Associations Study naturally occurring relationships among variables Allow prediction; do NOT infer causation Introducing Social Psychology Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Understanding Correlations Introducing Social Psychology What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Experimental Research: Searching for Cause and Effect Control: Manipulating Variables Independent and Dependent Variables Random Assignment Ethical Concerns: Mundane/Experimental Realism Deception Informed Consent Potential Harm Confidentiality Debriefing Introducing Social Psychology To determine causation Control & Random Assignment Control – experimenter controls all variables (actively manipulates one or a few) Random Assignment – Ss have equal chance of being in either control or Experimental group these differ only in who gets treatment Concerns: Placebo Effects – effects due to study itself Ex: Ss given a sugar pill also have decreased depression because they expect to get better Demand Characteristics Ex: S’s modify behavior because they know they are being studied (Hawthorne effect) Solutions Single and double-blind procedures – neither subjects (nor experimenter) knows who gets experimental treatment. Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Understanding Experiments Introducing Social Psychology Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Two Methods of Doing Research: Correlational and Experimental Introducing Social Psychology Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Things to Consider in Social Psychological Research Theory Hypothesis Population Sample Random assignment Informed Consent Debriefing Independent variable Dependent variable Placebo effects Third variables Causation Reliability Validity Introducing Social Psychology Design a Study Exercise “Design a Group Study” Exercise Spend three minutes reviewing and modifying your own ideas. Get in groups of 6 (1 person is elected note taker/master organizer) Each person takes 1 – 2 minutes to present ideas to group (Organizer takes notes) Group discusses each idea AFTER all have been presented Decide on 1 study that is reasonable for group study (and doable) Develop idea further, focusing on the following: Develop a hypothesis Does this fit with any theory (personal or scientific) ask me for help here Identify population, samples, independent and dependent variables, Are measures valid? Can we determine reliability of measures? What are the benefits and costs of this method? Is this Ethical? What must you worry about (wording, third variables, placebo)? What can you conclude (scientifically speaking)? Why should anyone care about these results? Put on Post paper in the following format Introduction i. Background theory development ii. Hypothesis Methods i. Participants ii. Materials iii. Procedure Results i. What you expect (use a graph or table) Discussion i. Conclusions ii. Concerns iii. Implications Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Introducing Social Psychology Supplemental Slides Introducing Social Psychology Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Introducing Social Psychology The Research Process Introducing Social Psychology What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Introducing Social Psychology The Research Process Introducing Social Psychology What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Understanding Correlations Introducing Social Psychology What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Understanding Correlations Introducing Social Psychology What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Understanding Experiments Introducing Social Psychology What does it mean if two variables are correlated? Copyright © 2015 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.