1. Non- Experimental Methods in Psychology

2. Experimental or Not? What's the difference?
Experimental studies- extremely important because they are the only way to determine causal relationships
Not always available because of the subjective nature of psychology, ethics, or other reasons
Is used when available because of the clear relationship between cause and effect that it can provide

3. Naturalistic Observation- Where it all began
N.O. Refers to the observation of subjects in their natural habitat
Limited to the description of behavior and subject to different sources of bias. Cannot prove causality or correlation by itself.
Subject must be in unaltered natural environment- observing gorilla behavior at the zoo is no good because the behavior could change due to captivity and humans
Sources of bias and error:
Observer effect: animals tend to act differently when observed- observer must remain concealed in order to avoid
Observer bias: observers tend to see what they want to see or leave out important details unknowingly- observational records help avoid this
Anthropomorphic error: Attempting to explain animal behavior through the use of human thoughts and emotions- observational records help avoid this

4. Jane Goodall
Naturalist and observer of chimpanzees in Tanzania for over 40 years
Defied conventions by naming chimps, interacting with them, and developing close relationships while she studied
Suggested that chimp behavior such as grooming, tickling, petting, hugging, and kissing, spoke to a complex emotional life between chimps
Although widely seen as an expert and revolutionary of animal psychology, was also accused of anthropomorphizing when she explained chimp behavior
Chimps may have acted differently because she was involved and actually was admitted as a low ranking member of the chimpanzee family

5. Case Studies
Case studies are in depth studies on a single subject or event
They are useful tools to analyze data when rare things occur that cannot be replicated by experimentation due to being impractical to replicate or unethical
Through careful and meticulous observation, much can be learned from these single cases

6. Phineas Gage
Phineas Gage was working construction in the 1860's, when a dynamite explosion caused a 13 pound steel rod to penetrate his skull
He survived and within two months was walking, talking, and moving normally, but his personality had changed from an honest, dependable worker to a foul-mouthed liar
First in-depth case study of a frontal lobotomy, lead scientists to theorize about the parts of the brain that control certain behaviors
Other people who have sustained similar injuries to Gage have not shown the same personality changes. This demonstrates a flaw of the case study approach

7. Survey Methods
Surveys use public polling in order to answer psychological questions
Participants are asked a number of carefully worded questions and their answers are recorded for further analysis
Representative sample- In order to make sure the survey is not biased, surveyors want to select a sample of people that are representative of a larger population. To do this they should include a variety of ages, sexes, races, political affiliations, and anything else that varies in the population that the sample is trying to mimic
Population- The entire group of animals belonging to a particular category
Biased surveys- Surveys that are not representative of the population that they are trying to describe. Many surveys, including magazine surveys are extremely biased