1. Research Design!

2. Today’s Class Discuss the research topics Brain whev about how we can develop them into research projects In the process of talking them through, begin reviewing research design

3. Research Ideas into Research Designs Identify potential questions –Many of your ideas may yield multiple “research questions” Talk over how we might design a study to examine a question Questions may be examined with both experimental and non-experimental approaches

4. Wanting to be too happy? Happiness “seeking” and unhappiness. Are we more unhappy because we are expecting to be happy? Do our expectations influence our feelings more than (or perhaps just as much as) our circumstances? How to apply this to UML students?

5. Youth and Media Media imagery extols youthfulness This can be a burden for the middle aged and old Is it also a burden for the young?

6. Does Money Matter? Quasi-experimental research showed that increases in income influenced child achievement How do we think this would play out among UML students? What other variables might we need to examine?

7. I like myself, I think Research found that people who prefer positive stimuli have a higher correlation between implicit and explicit self esteem. They concluded that these people trusted intuition more What other factors might influence the relation between implicit and explicit self esteem?

8. Music Type of personality predicted some music preferences R & B predicted lower depression in girls Would the same tendencies be true of emerging adults? Why perhaps not?

9. Please go away while I do this very difficult thing. Experimenter presence positively influenced ability to do a “challenge” task Negatively influenced ability to do a “threat” task Beliefs about the difficulty of the task were important

10. Research Topic Personality and Obesity across the lifespan Study showed that some personality traits (impulsivity) appeared to be more linked with obesity over time How could we apply this to a UML sample?

11. That diet commercial just killed my appetite Women who had a tendency towards restrictive eating were likely to restrict more when exposed to tv with slender women and diet commercials How would men react to something analogous? Is there a possible experiment here?

12. Know yourself and join the crowd Study showed that some identified with an in group for “self determined” reasons Others may identify with an in group for “external” reasons These types of identification are associated with different consequences How might we look at this in UML students? What might we need to control for?

13. Colored paper is pretty, but it could make me flunk Research showed that students performed less well on tests conducted on colored paper Would this be true for students who also commonly use highlighters or colored paper in their work? Would it be true for students who have usually high or usually low test performance?

14. You aren’t what you eat People with binge eating disorder had lower self-image Students rated themselves as being larger than they were, based on their actual body mass index What other factors might we look at? Gender? Experimental approaches?

15. Self regulation, identity, and self esteem Self regulation (attentional control) was related to identity development, which was in turn related to self esteem Why? Are other types of self regulation related to identity development? Can we “dysregulate” subjects and ask about their self esteem?

16. Just not feeling motivated Self efficacy predicted studying style in reading and writing among college students Would this be true among students with both better and worse grades?

17. Facebook! First year students who had more facebook friends reported lower self esteem and poorer academic adjustment Would it be possible to control for overall computer use—in addition to facebook use?

18. Eyewitless testimony Eyewitnesses are often wrong Would note taking improve accuracy? Are eyewitnesses more likely to be wrong about some things than others? What else influences this? Why do we feel so compelled by eyewitness testimony?

19. Avoiding pregnancy Women with access to emergency contraception were more likely to endorse vignettes involving riskier sex Does awareness of EC influence UML’s students ideas about sexual behavior?

20. Religion, Spirituality, Mental Health and Ethics Is religiosity related to ethical beliefs Is the type, or intensity of religious belief related to ethical beliefs? What other factors might influence this?

21. Perceived drug use Drug use appears very prevalent based on media reports How prevalent do UML students think it is in their peers? Is this related to their own drug use?

22. Risky personalities? Do some personality traits (in the normal range) predict more risky behaviors? Would being more “neurotic” lead to more risks such as substance abuse Or being less “conscientious”?

23. Noone wants to be the other woman Women more negatively rated women they perceived to be a potential “other woman” in a photo scenario, if she was provocatively dressed They identified more strongly with the wife in Fatal Attraction Is there a temporal element here? What about a less intense representation of this issue? What if “the other woman” is presented as not a desperate freak?

24. Self esteem High self esteem subjects performed differently on a reaction time task than low self esteem subjects Is that a good thing? Do men and women relate their own self esteem similarly to the type of person they would like to date?

25. Competition and Aggression Is it playing a violent video game that leads to aggression, or playing a competitive video game? How could we look at this in UML students? An experimental paradigm?

26. Compliance What influences the tendency to comply— even when we know that we are complying with something incorrect? Does an individual surrounded by a group feel compelled to go along?

27. Stereotyping gender and emotion Children stereotype other children’s facial emotions Will adults assign genders to characters exhibiting more or less “stereotyped” gender emotions? What else can influence gender stereotyping?

28. Addicted to…caffeine How much do UML students really know about the effects of caffeine? How much caffeine do they drink? Do they have an “instrumental” approach to their coffee drinking?

29. Computer happiness Is computer usage associated with happiness Does it depend on what it is used for? Does it depend on the amount of time?

30. Does sex sell Research shows that women responded more positively to sex themed advertising if there was also a “commitment” element What other factors could influence how men and women respond to sex themed advertising?

31. Does mood influence perception of environment? Subjects wrote about a neutral or negative experience while listening to music of various types Later they were asked to note what type of music it was Is the mental state you are in likely to influence your perception of what is going on around you?

32. Motivations for Drug Use People use drugs for different reasons –Relaxation, fun, escape Are there differences in why men and women choose drug and alcohol use, in addition to differences in frequency?

33. Time of Day and Smoking Does the time of day of smoking influence level of addiction (in addition to how much someone smokes)?

34. Sports and Delinquency Sports participation seems both positively and negatively related to delinquency What are the factors that could influence the direction of that relationship?

35. National Security and beliefs about others Are Americans overly geared towards external threats? Do we use this as a way of reducing a focus on our own issues?