1. Chapter 1 Psychological Science Descriptive Research

2. Types of Psychological Research Descriptive Research Correlational Research Experimental Research

3. Types of Psychological Research Descriptive Research Correlational Research Experimental Research

4. Types of Psychological Research Descriptive Research  Survey  Case Study  Naturalistic Observation Correlational Research Experimental Research

5. Description  Survey  Commonly used in both descriptive and correlational research  technique for gathering the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people  usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people from a defined population

6. Aspects of A Survey  Population  all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study  Sampling  How respondents are selected may affect the outcome of a survey  A Random Sample is a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

7. Aspects of A Survey  Wording Effect  How a question is worded and framed may affect the outcome of a survey  False Consensus Effect  tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

8. When wording effect attacks! End Women’s Suffrage!

11. Since 9% said that Nader was the only candidate worth voting for, one would have expected him to get at least 9% of the vote in the 2000 election. He only got about 3%. What happened? There was a biased statistic because the sample wasn't randomly drawn from the population. A disproportionate number of Nader supporters participated in the poll in order to make him appear more viable as a candidate.

12. Can we conclude that United, American, and Delta are the worst airlines and Alaska, Southwest, and Continental are the best? Solution: No. The airlines that had the most complaints also had the most passengers.

13. This clipping from US News and World Report on 1/29/01 suggests that Alaskans are terrible parents. Is this true? Solution: The difference in the abuse rates probably stems from different definitions for abuse in the various states. For example, Alaska (the "worst" state) says that a child is abused if his or her health or welfare is harmed or threatened. Pennsylvania (the "best" state) defines it as a recent act or failure to act.

14. Can we conclude from the following diagram that it's safer to drive while under the influence? Solution: No. Drunk drivers have a fatality risk 7.66 times the norm, while non-drunk drivers have a risk only about.6 of the norm. Only a very small percentage of drivers in New York City drive while under the influence, but they account for a disproportionate number of accidents.

15. The following statistics suggest that 16-year-olds are safer drivers than people in their twenties, and that octogenarians are very safe. Is this true? Solution: No. As the following graph shows, the reason 16-year-old and octogenarians appear to be safe drivers is that they don't drive nearly as much as people in other age groups.

16. Surveys

17. Description Case Study  Psychologists study one or more individuals in great depth in the hope of revealing things true of us all Is language uniquely human?

18. Description  Naturalistic Observation  observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation