AP Psychology
with Ms J
Today's Agenda
Homework Presentation
Research methods
QUESTION BREAK #1
HOW DO WE DEFINE MENTAL
PROCESSES?
FUNCTIONALISM
COGNITION
PERCEPTION
CONSCIOUS
QUESTION BREAK #2
GESTALT PSYCHOLOGISTS
DISAGREED WITH FUNCTIONALISTS
AND SAID PEOPLE SHOULD BE
STUDIED:
WITH THEIR
GENETICS
IN MIND
AS A WHOLE
AS A
STRUCTURE
OF THEIR
SOCIETY
WITH THEIR
PARENTS
QUESTION BREAK #3
IF SOMEONE WERE A SEVERE
DEPRESSIVE PATIENT, WHICH OF
THE FOLLOWING HELPING
PROFESSION PSYCHOLOGISTS
WOULD BE MOST LIKELY TO BE
ASSIGNED TO THEM...
CLINICAL
COMMUNITY COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST
PSYCHOLOGIST PSYCHOLOGIST
COGNITIVE
PSYCHOLOGIST
Research
& Ethics in
Psychology
Key term in Research
Two types of research
Basic
:
done to increase a based of knowledge
Applied: attempts to directly help people through existing data
: is a scientific principle that explains
Theory
various observations
and provides a structure for research
:
Research Question
is the question around which you center your
research. It should be: clear: it provides enough specifics that one's
audience can easily understand its purpose without needing
additional explanation
: a specific statement that predicts the answer to a
Hypothesis
reseaech question
Scientific Method
1. Make an
observation. ...
2. Ask a question. ...
3. Propose a
hypothesis. ...
4. Make predictions. ...
5. Test the
predictions. ...
6. Analyze Data
7. Report Findings
Actual flow
of Scientific
Method
Scientific Method
1. Make an
observation. ...
2. Ask a question. ...
3. Propose a
hypothesis. ...
4. Make predictions. ...
5. Test the
predictions. ...
6. Analyze Data
7. Report Findings
Example of Research Questions in Psychology
General Question
How does nutrient intake affect
people’s ability to concentrate on
mental tasks?
Specific Question
General Question
How do people behave toward one
another in particular settings?
Specific Question
How do strangers behave toward
How does protein intake affect the one another in elevators?
speed at which people solve math
problems?
Hypothesis
Hypothesis
Drinking a high-protein shake
helps people solve math problems
faster.
Strangers avoid eye contact with
one another in elevators.
Research Approaches in Psychology
Experimental Studies
Naturalistic Studies
Surveys
Case studies
Archival Research
Longitudinal and CrossSectional Research
Experimental Studies
Goal
:
to seek answers to real world problems
it must be conducted in a controlled environment where
.
the variables mimic those of the real situation
: a person participating the study
Independent variable: stands alone and
Subject
is maniupulated for experiment
: main variable being
Dependent Variable
measured in a study that depends on
replicated
:
repeated.
operational definitions
:
A statement of the
procedures or ways in which a researcher is going to
measure behaviors or qualities
inter
-observer
reliability
.:
the research team will
clearly define the dependent variable and what they
are measuring
other variable
: is the group of subjects
Control group
that aren't being manipulated to see if the
independent variable is making a
difference
:
OTHER FACTORS THAT
MIGHT IMPACT THE OUTCOME OF AN EXPERIMENT.
random assignment
, which ensures that each
subject has the same likelihood of assignment to either
the experimental or control groups.
: group of subjects
Experimental Group
are being manipulated
EXPERIMENTAL HAZARDS
: is an imitation of a drug or remedy that is
A placebo
designed to trick the subject into believing he or she is receiving
the genuine treatment.
Example of Experimental Study
Specific Question
Hypothesis
How does protein intake
affect the speed at which
people solve math
problems?
Drinking a high-protein
shake helps people solve
math problems faster.
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Drinking a highprotein shake or not
duration (time) to do
math problems
Experimental Group
Control Group
Drinking a high-protein
shake before math
problems
Not drinking a protein
shake for doing math
problems
Predicted
Outcome:
Subjects that
drank a protein
shake had faster
times
Performing Experimental Studies
Single-Blind Study
where the RESEARCHERS ONLY know which subjects are
in the experimental or control group
( it can identical to
the independent variable but don't have the active
control group are given a placebo
Hindsight bias
The tendency to believe, once
the outcome is already
known of course, that you
would have foreseen it; that
even though it's over and you
know the outcome, you knew
it all along
indgreidients
Double-Blind Study
Random
Sampling
≠
Random
Assignment
where the research AND subject DONT know whose the experimental or
control group. Researchers find out at the end of the study.
:
This help with reducing bias systematic error in data
Observer Bias
:The tendency for the experimenter or observer
to report observations based on what he or she would like to
believe rather than the factual truth
s
o
r
P
Cons
Controlled experiments are the only
Maintaining a controlled setting and
way to determine whether changes
screening subjects for an experiment can
in one variable cause changes in
be expensive and time consuming. In
another variable.
addition, people are not likely to behave
the same way in a lab as they do in the
real world, and this can make subject
selection tricky at time
Naturalistic Studies
Goal
:
seeks to understand how and why of human behavior in the real world
it must be conducted in a natural setting
: lacks control of setting
and some variables that can impact the study's outcome
One drawback of naturalistic studies
Many natural behaviors are also open to interpretation
Benefit
: decreased Experimental contamination
(Factors
that
weaken the ability of a test to measure what it was designed to
measure within an experimental study)
, case
descriptive methods such as naturalistic observations
, or surveys, psychologists observe and then describe
the behaviors they see.
studies
cannot prove that one event caused another
: How do strangers behave towards
one another in elevator?
Example
HOMEWORK
1. READ RESEARCH
APPROACHES - DUE 11/9
2. EXPERIMENTAL VS.
NATURALISTIC STUDIESDUE 11/9