1. September 10/11, 2014
OBJECTIVE: Students will evaluate the ethics of psychological research in order to examine and re-evaluate student-designed experiments, animal experimentation, and the ethics of a recent Facebook study.
WARM UP: Turn in any late work with a note!
1. Take out your experiment design from last class.
2. Define self-fulfilling prophecy.
HOMEWORK: 1) Complete the PsychSim5 “What’s Wrong With This Study?” (Due A-9/12, B-9/15)
2) Review your Unit 1 Cornell Notes for Final Unit 1 Quiz ( A-9/12, B-9/15) 3) Watch the CrashCourse Psychology Video #2 and write a 1 paragraph review. (Due A-9/16, B-9/15) .

2. Summary of the types of Research
Comparing Research Methods
Research Method
Basic Purpose
How Conducted
What is Manipulated
Weaknesses
Descriptive
To observe and record behavior
Perform case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations
Nothing
No control of variables; single cases may be misleading
Correlational
To detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another
Compute statistical association, sometimes among survey responses
Nothing
Does not specify cause-effect; one variable predicts another but this does not mean one causes the other
Click to reveal row for each research method.
Experimental
To explore cause-effect
Manipulate one or more factors; randomly assign some to control group
The independent variable(s)
Sometimes not possible for practical or ethical reasons; results may not generalize to other contexts

3. Problems in Experimental Research
What types of problems do you think psychological researchers may encounter when conducting experimental research?

4. Problems in Experimental Research
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy:
Researcher’s expectations influence his/her own behavior, and thereby influence the participant’s behavior (e.g. thinking a subject will respond in a certain way, and unassumingly acting in a manner that will cause the subject to then do so)
AKA experimenter’s bias

5. Problems in Experimental Research
Have you ever experienced a “self-fulfilling prophecy?”

6. Problems in Experimental Research
Placebo Effect:
A change in a participant’s behavior that results from a belief that the treatment will have an effect, rather than the actual treatment (e.g. participant thinks he/she is receiving “Red Bull,” but instead receives non-caffeinated soda, and still “feels energized”)

7. Solutions in Experimental Research
How can psychological researchers avoid self-fulfilling prophecies and placebo effects when conducting experimental research?

8. Solutions in Experimental Research
Single-Blind Procedure:
Participants are unaware of which participants received the treatment (e.g. participants do not know which participants received “Red Bull”)
Double-Blind Procedure:
Participants and experimenter(s) are unaware of which participants received the treatment (e.g. participants and experimenter(s) do not know which participants received “Red Bull”)

9. Solutions in Experimental Research
How do single-blind and
double-blind procedures
help avoid self-fulfilling prophecies on behalf of the experimenter
and participants?

10. Ethics in Research
After the 1960’s, the APA began to strengthen their ethical guidelines for psychological research.
All public universities now have Institutional Review Boards to approve research.
Participants in a study must:
sign informed-consent agreements
be given the option to opt in or out
must be debriefed when the study is over.
Beneficence > harm

11. When is it ethical to perform experiments or research on animals?
Animal Testing
When is it ethical to perform experiments or research on animals?

12. “The Facebook Experiment”
Read and reflect on the Everyday Research Methods blog post from author, Beth Morling. Write a review of the article, including responses to the questions posed by the author, in the “Facebook experiment.”

13. “Emotional Contagion”

14. Credit for selected slides:
Mr. P. McCormick, Columbia H.S.