1. How Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions
Module 2
Research Strategies
How Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions
-II-

2. Discussion sections
Check your section again; you might have been reassigned
10% of grade from attendance and participation
10% from pop quizzes

3. Methods of psychology Description
Case study
Observation
Correlation
Explanation (cause and effect relationships)
experiment

4. Description Case Study
observation technique in which on individual (or few incidences) are studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principals
Studies of brain damaged individuals
Piaget
Suggest hypotheses for further studies
Problems??
May be unrepresentative
cannot be generalizable

5. Description Survey Looks at many cases with less depth
Ask people to report their behaviors or opinions
Questtionnaires and interviews
Koç University student satisfaction survey
Problems??

6. Who do we survey?
Usually question a representative, random sample of people selected from a population.
Population
all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study
Random Sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

7. How do we ask questions?
If there is a serious fuel shortage this winter, do you think there should be a law requiring people to lower the heat in their homes, or do you oppose such a law?
Should be 39.4 %
Oppose 60.6 %
If there is a serious fuel shortage this winter, do you think there should be a law requiring people to lower the heat in their homes, or do you oppose such a law because it would be too difficult to enforce?
Should be 26.0 %
Oppose 74.0 %
Wording effects:
How we word our questions influences how people answer them

8. Description Naturalistic Observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations (or in more controlled environments) without trying to manipulate and control the situation
Count, rate or measure in a systematic way
Can be done in natural environments or in the lab
Aggressive behavior of children?
Problems?
Third descriptive method: watching and recording the behavior of organisms

9. Methods of psychology: Correlation
2. To predict human and animal behavior and mental processes, psychologists conduct
- Correlational studies: the examination of the quantitative relationships between two variables
how does one behavior relate to the occurrence of another behavior?
if we know one behavior’s pattern can we then, in turn, predict the pattern of occurrence of another behavior?
After describing a behavior, the next step is to be able to predict it.

10. Variable Defined
Any characteristic or attribute that varies in amount and kind
Gender (variable): female (attribute)
Success
Weight, Height
Self-esteem
Reaction time in a learning experiment
Intelligence
Achievement motivation
Any characteristic or attribute of persons, objects, or events that can take on different numerical values.
These different values are called attributes
So gender: variable
female: attribute
personality: variable
extravert: attribute

11. (positive or negative)
Correlation
Correlation Coefficient
a statistical measure of the extent to which two variables vary together, and thus how well either variable predicts the other
Indicates direction
of relationship
(positive or negative)
Correlation
coefficient
r = +.37
Indicates strength
of relationship
(0.00 to 1.00)

12. Direction of relation Positive correlation ---- age and shoe size
Negative correlation ---- age and sharpness of eye sight
No correlation

13. Coffee and test performance
What is the nature of the relation?

14. Correlation does not imply causation
Three Possible Cause-Effect Relationships
could cause
(1)
Low self-esteem
Depression or
(2)
Depression
could cause
Low self-esteem or
Low self-esteem
CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION
In order to determine causality we must turn to experimental methods.
Health and owning ash trays rd variable - cigarette smoking.
(3)
Distressing events
or biological
predisposition
could cause
and
Depression

15. Illusory Correlation
The perception of a relationship where none exists
Outcome of a tendency to attend to those phenomena that confirms our beliefs
Examples:
It always rains on the weekend
It always rains after you wash the car
The phone always rings when you are in the shower
Librarians are quiet
Stereotypes
is the phenomenon of seeing the relationship one expects in a set of data even when no such relationship exists. ...
Meaning- seeking - Another way to think of it – a false impression that two variables correlate.
These are more salient – we have a tendency to remember events that confirm our expectations.
Ignoring those events that disconfirm belief
Examples (full moon/births; sugar/hyperactivity; getting cold,wet/colds)
Beliefs about the common cold
Streotypes usually form through illusory correlations

16. Goals of psychology To describe behavior and mental processes
To predict behavior and mental processes
To understand / explain and mental processes psychologists conduct:
Experimental method:
The clearest way to assess cause and effect
Rules out alternative explanations
Psychology can help us to understand what influences our behavior.

17. 2 key features of experiments: manipulating and controlling
The researcher manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable)
Controls all other variables
By design (random assignment, also measure possible third variable, pre-testing)
By statistical analysis

18. Experimental Method
Amount of alcohol
Reaction time

19. Experimental method - Manipulation
Independent Variable (IV)
the experimental factor that is manipulated
the variable whose effect is being studied
Dependent Variable (DV)
the experimental factor that may change in response to the independent variable
in psychology it is usually a behavior, attitude or mental process

20. Figure 2.4 Experimentation Myers: Exploring Psychology, Seventh Edition In Modules Copyright © 2008 by Worth Publishers

21. Other examples Anger: Studying
IVs: Anger Mgmt Group Therapy vs. Control Group
DV: Scores on Anger Inventory Questionnaire
Studying
IVs: Amount of time studying
Ex of operational definition: 30 minutes; 1 hour per day
DV: Scores on Tests
It is not the nature of the variable but how it is used in an experiment makes it an IV or a DV.

22. Experimental Method Experimental group Control group
The group of subjects who experience the treatment (manipulation of the IV), that is, one version of the independent variable
Control group
The group of subjects that experience no treatment (or a contrasting treatment to the Exp. Group)
serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment
Significant difference between the experimental and control groups is attributed to the IV
Similar to the experimental group in all aspects except the specific manipulation (the IV)

23. Experimental Method: Control
Random Assignment
assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance
minimizes pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups
Controls all other variables
By design (random assignment, also measure possible third variable, pre-testing)
By statistical analysis
Random assignment helps the groups to be more identical
More equal in age, income level, education, etc.
Therefore more confident that differences between groups is caused by treatment

24. Example
Study: One of the factors that influence aggression is imitating/modelling aggressive behavior of influential individuals.
Hypothesis: Watching a violent film will result in an increase in the aggressive behaviors of children IV DV
Manipulation
Control IV DV
Manipulation (Experimental stimulus – i.e., film)
Control (through random assignment)

25. Watch a film with no violence
Example
Significant difference is expected
Pretest:
Level of aggressive behavior
Watch a
film with
violent content
Experimental
Group
Posttest:
Level of aggressive behavior
No difference is expected
Significant difference is expected
Watch a film with no violence
Pretest:
Level of aggressive behavior
Posttest:
Level of aggressive behavior
Control
Group
No difference is expected
Time

26. The Classical Experiment
Three essential components
Independent
Variable (IV)
&
Dependent
Variable (DV)
Pre-test
&
Post-test
Experimental
Groups
&
Control
Dependent variable is measured, a stimulus is presented, and dependent variable is re-measured.
There are two groups of comparable subjects. Only one group is exposed to the stimulus.
Differences in the changes in DV are attributed to the IV
Operational definitions are essential.

27. Experimental method: Other methods of control
Double-Blind Procedure
both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo
commonly used in drug-evaluation studies
Placebo
an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent