1. Chapter 1
the science of psychology

2. Studying Scientific Behavior
Methods that scientists use to study behavior have 5 basic characteristics:
1- behavior must be observable
2- methods and data must be objective
3- procedures must be repeatable
4- scientists must be able to communicate the results to others
5- experimenters must use a systematic approach- must follow an orderly arrangement of procedures

3. Psychology and the Scientific Method
LO 1.6 Psychology Is a Science; Steps in the Scientific Method
Scientific method
system of gathering data so that bias and error in measurement are reduced

4. Psychology and the Scientific Method
LO 1.6 Psychology Is a Science; Steps in the Scientific Method
Theory- explains behaviors or events by offering ideas that organize what we have observed

5. Psychology and the Scientific Method
LO 1.6 Psychology Is a Science; Steps in the Scientific Method

6. Psychology and the Scientific Method
LO 1.6 Psychology Is a Science; Steps in the Scientific Method
Steps in the scientific method:
Perceive the question
Form a hypothesis: tentative explanation of a phenomenon based on observations.
Test the hypothesis
Draw conclusions
Report your results so that others can try to replicate, or repeat, the study or experiment to see whether the same results will be obtained in an effort to demonstrate reliability of results

7. LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
AP: Different Types of Research/Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
Naturalistic observation
watching animals or humans behave in their normal environment
major advantage: realistic picture of behavior

8. LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
AP: Different Types of Research
Naturalistic observation: disadvantages
observer effect: tendency of people or animals to behave differently when they know they are being observed
participant observation: a naturalistic observation in which the observer becomes a participant in the group being observed (to reduce observer effect)

9. LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
AP: Different Types of Research
Naturalistic observation: disadvantages
observer bias: tendency of observers to see what they expect to see
blind observers: people who do not know what the research question is (to reduce observer bias)
Each naturalistic setting is unique, and observations may not hold

10. LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
AP: Different Types of Research
Laboratory observation (Directed)
watching animals or humans behave in a laboratory setting
advantages
control over environment
allows use of specialized equipment

11. LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.7 Naturalistic and Laboratory Settings
AP: Different Types of Research
Laboratory observation: disadvantage
artificial situation may result in artificial behavior
Descriptive methods lead to the formation of testable hypotheses

12. LO 1.8 Case Studies and Surveys
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.8 Case Studies and Surveys
AP: Different Types of Research
Case Study
study of one individual in great detail
advantage
tremendous amount of detail
disadvantage
cannot apply to others, can be bias
famous case study: Phineas Gage

13. LO 1.8 Case Studies and Surveys
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.8 Case Studies and Surveys
AP: Different Types of Research
Surveys
researchers ask a series of questions about the topic under study
Given to representative sample
representative sample: randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects
population: the entire group of people or animals in which the researcher is interested

14. LO 1.8 Case Studies and Surveys
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.8 Case Studies and Surveys
AP: Different Types of Research
Survey advantages
data from large numbers of people
study covert behaviors
Survey disadvantages
researchers have to ensure representative sample or the results are not meaningful
people are not always accurate (courtesy bias)

15. LO 1.8 Case Studies and Surveys
Descriptive Methods
LO 1.8 Case Studies and Surveys
AP: Different Types of Research
Random Sampling from Population
INFERENCE
SAMPLE
POPULATION

16. Finding Relationships
AP: Research Design/ Different Types of Research
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
LO 1.9 Correlational Technique
Correlation
measure of the relationship between two variables
variable: anything that can change or vary
Permits psychologists to study data over which they have little control
Ex- heat on aggression of people
Allows Psychologists to make predictions

17. Finding Relationships
AP: Research Design/ Different Types of Research
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
LO 1.9 Correlational Technique
Correlation
measures of two variables go into a mathematical formula and produce a correlation coefficient (r), which represents two things:
direction of the relationship ( + or -)
strength of the relationship (closer to 1)
knowing the value of one variable allows researchers to predict the value of the other variable
-Correlation does NOT mean Causation

18. Finding Relationships
AP: Research Design/ Different Types of Research
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
LO 1.9 Correlational Technique
Correlation coefficient ranges from
-1.00 to
The closer to or -1.00, the stronger the relationship between the variables
no correlation = 0.0
perfect correlation = or +1.00

19. Finding Relationships
AP: Research Design/ Different Types of Research
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
LO 1.9 Correlational Technique
Positive correlation: variables are related in the same direction
as one increases, the other increases
as one decreases, the other decreases
Negative correlation: variables are related in opposite direction
as one increases, the other decreases
Correlation does not prove causation!

20. Figure 1.3 Five Scatterplots These scatterplots show direction and strength of correlation. It should be noted that perfect correlations, whether positive or negative, rarely occur in the real world. 20

21. LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
The Experiment
LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
AP: Operational Definitions
Experiment
a deliberate manipulation of a variable to see whether corresponding changes in behavior result, allowing the determination of cause-and-effect relationships
Operational Definition
definition of a variable of interest that allows it to be directly measured
definition: aggressive play

22. LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
The Experiment
LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
AP: Identify Variables in Experimental Designs
Independent variable (IV)
the variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the experimenter
IV: violent TV
Dependent variable (DV)
the variable in an experiment that represents the measurable response or behavior of the subjects in the experiment
DV: aggressive play

24. LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
The Experiment
LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
AP: Identify Variables in Experimental Designs
Experimental group
subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent variable
experimental group: watch TV

25. LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
The Experiment
LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
AP: Identify Variables in Experimental Designs
Control group
subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent variable and who may receive a placebo treatment (controls for confounding variables).
control group: no TV

26. LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
The Experiment
LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
AP: Identify Variables in Experimental Designs
Random assignment
the process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control groups randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group
controls for confounding (extraneous, interfering) variables
Confounding variables- differences between the experimental and control group other those from the IV

27. LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
The Experiment
LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
AP: Identify Variables in Experimental Designs
Experimental Group
Random Assignment
SAMPLE
Test for Differences
Control Group

28. Are differences due to manipulation or confounding variable (mood)?
The Experiment
LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
AP: Identify Variables in Experimental Designs
Experimental Group
Confounding Variables
SAMPLE
Are differences due to manipulation or confounding variable (mood)?
Control Group

29. LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
The Experiment
LO 1.10 Designing an Experiment
AP: Identify Variables in Experimental Designs
Experimental Group
No Confounding Variables
Differences are due to manipulation, not an extraneous variable, because mood is randomly determined.
SAMPLE
Control Group

30. LO 1.11 Placebo and Experimenter Effects
The Experiment
LO 1.11 Placebo and Experimenter Effects
AP: Predict Validity Based on Research Design
Placebo effect
the phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study can influence their behavior
Single-blind study
subjects do not know whether they are in the experimental or the control group (reduces placebo effect)

31. LO 1.11 Placebo and Experimenter Effects
The Experiment
LO 1.11 Placebo and Experimenter Effects
AP: Predict Validity Based on Research Design
Experimenter effect
tendency of the experimenter’s expectations for a study to unintentionally influence the results of the study
Double-blind study
neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which subjects are in the experimental or control group (reduces placebo effect and experimenter effect)
Differences between Observational and Experimental

32. Comparing Research Methods
LO 1.11 Placebo and Experimenter Effects

33. Example of a Real Experiment
LO 1.12 Conducting a Real World Experiment
Hypothesis
knowing that other people might think one’s success in school is due to athletic ability rather than intelligence can make an athlete perform poorly on an academic test
Independent variable
timing of “high threat” question
Dependent variable
test scores

34. Example of a Real Experiment
LO 1.12 Conducting a Real World Experiment
Experimental group
answered “high threat” question before taking the test
Control group
answered “high threat” question after taking the test
Results-supported hypothesis
those asked the “high threat” question before the intellectual test scored significantly lower on that test

35. Qualitative vs Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data- observation data (walking, talking, running, etc) Quantitative Data- Numbers Many times qualitative data is changed to quantitative data

36. Ways to measure data Nominal Scale- Data that has no intrinsic meaning
Ex- Males vs females, group 1 vs group 2
Ordinal Scale- data that can be put in order
Ex- frosh, soph, junior, senior
Interval Scale- If there is a meaningful difference between two numbers
Ex- Time
Ratio Scale- similar to interval scale where 0 is the absolute point

37. Statistics in Psychology
AP: Apply Basic Descriptive Statistical Concepts
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
LO 1.13 Why Statistics Are Important to Psychologists and Psychology Majors
Statistics: the branch of mathematics that is concerned with the collection and interpretation of data from samples
Sample: a group of people selected (usually at random) from a larger population of people
Statistics help psychologists
see if groups differ from each other
see if two variables are related to each other

38. Statistics in Psychology
AP: Apply Basic Descriptive Statistical Concepts
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
LO 1.13 Why Statistics Are Important to Psychologists and Psychology Majors
Descriptive statistics: a way of organizing and summarizing numbers
Measures of central tendency: used to summarize data and give you one score typical of your sample
Measures of variability: indicate how spread out the data are

39. LO 1.14 How Tables and Graphs Represent Patterns in Data
Representing Data
LO 1.14 How Tables and Graphs Represent Patterns in Data
Frequency distribution: a table or graph that shows how often different scores appear in a set of scores

40. LO 1.14 How Tables and Graphs Represent Patterns in Data
Representing Data
LO 1.14 How Tables and Graphs Represent Patterns in Data
Histogram (bar graph)
Polygon (line graph)

41. LO 1.14 How Tables and Graphs Represent Patterns in Data
Representing Data
LO 1.14 How Tables and Graphs Represent Patterns in Data
The normal curve (bell curve)
Very useful because it has very specific relationships to measures of central tendency and measures of variability
Standard deviation

42. LO 1.14 How Tables and Graphs Represent Patterns in Data
Representing Data
LO 1.14 How Tables and Graphs Represent Patterns in Data
Skewed distribution
Positive or negative
Bimodal distribution

43. Statistics and Central Tendencies
LO 1.15 Statistics that Examine Central Tendencies
Measure of central tendency: the number that best represents the central part of a frequency distribution
Mean: arithmetic average
outliers
Median: the score that falls in the middle of an ordered distribution of scores
Not affected by outliers
Mode: the most frequent score is taken as the central score

44. Statistics and Central Tendencies
LO 1.15 Statistics that Examine Central Tendencies
When the distribution is normal, the mean, median, and mode are very similar
Skewed distributions
The mean is pulled in the direction of the tail of the distribution
The mode is still the highest point
The median is between the two

45. Statistics and Central Tendencies
LO 1.15 Statistics that Examine Central Tendencies

46. Statistics and Central Tendencies
LO 1.15 Statistics that Examine Central Tendencies
Bimodal distributions
None of the measures of central tendency will do you much good
You must discover why there are two groups in your one distribution

47. Measures of Variability
LO 1.16 Statistics that Examine Variations in Data
Measures of variability are used to find out how spread out scores are from one another
Range: the difference between the highest score and the lowest score
Standard deviation: the square root of the average squared difference, or deviation, of the scores from the mean of the distribution

48. Measures of Variability
LO 1.16 Statistics that Examine Variations in Data

49. Inferential Statistics
LO 1.17 How Statistics Determine Whether or Not Differences in Data Sets Are Due to Chance Variation
Inferential statistics: allow researchers to make conclusions about research results and determine generalizability
Statistical significance: how likely differences are to be real and not just caused by random variations
t-test
p = probability
Significant difference: a difference not due to chance (p <.05

50. Ethics in Psychological Research
LO 1.18 Ethical Concerns in Conducting Research
AP: How Ethics Guide Research
Institutional review boards
groups of psychologists or other professionals who look over each proposed research study and judge it according to its safety and consideration for the participants in the study

51. Ethics in Psychological Research
LO 1.18 Ethical Concerns in Conducting Research
AP: Ethical and Legal Guidelines
Common ethical guidelines:
The rights and well-being of participants must be weighed against the study’s value to science.
Participants must be allowed to make an informed decision about participation.
Deception must be justified.
Participants may withdraw from the study at any time.

52. Ethics in Psychological Research
LO 1.18 Ethical Concerns in Conducting Research
AP: Ethical and Legal Guidelines
Common ethical guidelines (cont’d):
Participants must be protected from risks or told explicitly of risks.
Investigators must debrief participants, telling them the true nature of the study and their expectations regarding the results.
Data must remain confidential.

53. Ethics in Psychological Research
LO 1.18 Ethical Concerns in Conducting Research
AP: Ethical and Legal Guidelines
Common ethical guidelines (cont’d):
If for any reason a study results in undesirable consequences for the participant, the researcher is responsible for detecting and removing, or correcting, these consequences.

54. Ethics in Psychological Research
LO 1.18 Ethical Concerns in Conducting Research
AP: Ethical and Legal Guidelines
Animal research answers questions we could never investigate with human research.
The focus is on avoiding exposing animal subjects to unnecessary pain or suffering.
Animals are used in approximately 7 percent of psychological studies.

55. LO 1.19 Principles of Critical Thinking
making reasoned judgments about claims
Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions
Examines the assumptions, assesses the source, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

56. LO 1.19 Principles of Critical Thinking
Four basic criteria:
There are very few “truths” that do not need to be subjected to testing.
All evidence is not equal in quality.
Just because someone is considered to be an authority or to have a lot of expertise does not make everything that person claims automatically true.
Critical thinking requires an open mind.