Research in Psychology A Scientific Endeavor

Goals of Psychological Research Description of social behavior Are people who grow up in warm climates different from those in cold climates? Establish a relationship between cause & effect Does heat cause higher amounts of aggression? Develop theories about why people behave the way that they do Does hot weather change behavior? Application Creating effective therapeutic treatments, more successful negotiation tactics, and greater understanding amongst groups of people

Empirical Research Empirical Knowledge based on direct observation Theory Set of ideas which try to explain what we observe Goal is to find support OR disprove  We can never prove!!

The Five step research process The Five steps include: 1) Write research question 2) form a hypothesis (statement that predicts the answer to the question) 3) test hypothesis (conduct an experiment or carry out research) 4) analyze results (collect and interpret data, organize data to make it meaningful) 5) draw conclusions (affirm or reject the hypothesis)

The Process of Doing Research First, select a topic Observe some phenomenon Good theory:  Has predictive power  Is simple & straightforward Then, search the literature Find out what others have done that may be applicable to your area of interest

The research question Constructs: a construct is a concept that cannot be directly measured I.e. aggression Psychological research needs to be directed at a measurable concept, not a construct The measurable concept is BEHAVIOR- behaviors can be measured

The research question Examples of research questions: How Does Social Anxiety disorder Affect the Routine Life of a Person? Does Gender Affect Depression in Individuals? Does Gender Affect Memory? What is the Relationship between Physical Illness and Stress? How does Bipolar Disorder Affects the Routine Life of a Person? What is the role of Environment in Personality Development

The Process of Doing Research Next, formulate hypotheses Hypothesis: specific statement of expectation derived from theory  State the relationship between two variables Variable: can be any event, characteristic, condition, or behavior- the variables are what are being measured Hypotheses can be written as “if- then” statements

The Process of Doing Research Then pick your research method- what kind of empirical research are you going to conduct? Design Experimental vs. correlational (Design) Setting Field vs. laboratory (Setting) Finally, collect & analyze your data

The process of doing research Once you carry out the research, collect results and, you should then replicate the study draw conclusions Why? Have to make sure these findings happen more than once- can’t be random or random chance Repeated study must produce same results Sometimes scientists change some of the conditions of the study before it is replicated Sometimes study participants are changed- may want to change some characteristics of the participants (i.e. gender)- changing some characteristics might test the consistency of the findings.

The process of doing research Once the researcher draws conclusions and replicates the study, he/she can decide if the original hypothesis was accurate- this is where developing theories comes into play Once the research is complete (all replicated studies), the researcher then evaluates conclusions Researcher suggests studies for the future-- new questions, and the academic world will continue to evaluate this research

Let’s take a closer look... at research methods The research design: Experimental vs. correlational designs Experimental: involves manipulating variables. The researcher uses the 5 step process to see if a change in one variable leads to a change in another variable

Let’s take a closer look...at variables Independent variable (predictor variable) Factor(s) that change the outcome variable How do we operationalize & manipulate? Dependent variable (outcome variable) Dependent on the influence of other factor(s) How do we operationalize? To operationalize a variable means to define the variable with a measurable factor (or, this is how you figure out how you will measure the variable)

Experimental Research Researcher manipulates one variable (IV) to see effect on other variable (DV) Try to hold everything else constant True experiments have Random sampling: selecting subjects randomly from population Random assignment: chance assignment to condition In scientific research, control groups are important

Experimental Group v. Control Group Experimental group: the group of subjects that receive the treatment (the manipulated independent variable) Control Group: the group of subjects that did not receive treatment (I.e. they did not receive the IV). This group is essential for comparison purposes Placebo: this treatment appears to be the same as the IV, but in reality, the control group is not receiving the treatment- this is used often times when medications are being test Placebo effect: participants act differently because they expect a change with treatment

The sample Why might we need to take a sample? When taking a sample- Must accurately reflect the population- should be as similar as possible to the target pop Need to make sure that the sample has no biases, if they are being surveyed. Random sampling: individuals in the study are selected by chance from target population All members of population have an equal chance of being selected Stratified sample: subgroups in population are represented proportionately in the sample Often, large random samples are stratified, even if the researcher does not intend for it to be But, in order for a large sample to naturally stratify, it must be random- i.e. Americans vs. motor cycle owners; motor cyclists are not a random group of people

So, if its an experiment- Independent variable Dependent variable Control group placebo

Single Blind and Double Blind Studies Single Blind Studies: An experiment that is conducted where the participants are unaware of which group, control group or experimental group, they are in. They are unaware of who receives the treatment and who receives the placebo. Double Blind Studies: An experiment that is conduced so that neither the experimenter or the participants are aware of which participants are in the control group and the experimental group.

Let’s take a closer look... At other research methods The research design: Experimental vs. correlational designs Correlational: observe the relationship between two variables  Describe patterns of behavior Types include  Naturalistic observation  Surveys  Case studies  Longitudinal studies  Cross sectional Studies

Naturalistic Observation Observe subjects in their natural environment and record behaviors Here, you are looking for a connection (or relationship) between variables Example:

Surveys used to find out people attitudes and behaviors People are asked a series of questions about a particular subject Can be written or oral Can be a fast way to incorporate a lot of people in the study Problem is honesty of participants- people are scared of confidentiality, or they want to answer correctly

Case Studies In-depth investigation of a person or a small group Spend time questioning and interviewing participants to find out about backgrounds- helps to generalize Freud used case studies to develop psychoanalysis Have to be careful to generalize observations, esp. when you can’t replicate the study Downfalls: like surveys, case study interviews are based on people’s recollections- which are often inaccurate

Longitudinal Studies Study the same group of people over a long period of time (longitudinal) Observe changes over time i.e. language and development studies downfall: lack of availability for participants over that period of time, expensive

Cross Sectional Studies Instead of following the same people over a long period of time, select samples of people from different ages Downfall: info gained is less reliable, also difficult to identify the cause of the differences of the ages-since they are different people

Correlational research If correlation means relationship, then- Positive correlation: as one variable increases in value, the other variable increases in value (that is the relationship between the 2) Negative correlation: as one variable increases in value, the other variable decreases in value (or vice versa)

Positive Correlation From:

Positive Correlation From:

Negative Correlation From:

Negative Correlation From:

Correlational research Advantages Sometimes manipulation of variables is impossible or unethical Efficient – look at lots of data Disadvantages CANNOT DETERMINE CAUSATION Could be a lurking variable

Ethics in Research Should the study be done? Value vs. potential cost APA guidelines, IRB, colleagues How do we protect subjects? Informed consent Confidentiality & anonymity Debriefing