Introduction to Psychology | Intro to Course and Research Methods | Dr. Fikslin
Learning Goals – Introduction to Course
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Understand the structure, expectations, and grading criteria of the course
Receive a brief introduction to psychology that we will explore further later in the course
Section 1. Defining Psychology
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What is psychology?
What does the origin of the word psychology mean?
Learning Goals – Research Methods
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Understand the definitions, benefits and limitations of common types of study design
in psychology
Learn the definitions and applications of key statistical concepts to interpreting psychological
research
Discuss some of the ethical issues in psychological research and data reporting
Section 1. Psychology as a Science
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What is psychology?
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The study of behavior and mental processes
What is the word for the study of knowledge?
Ways of Knowing
1. Intuition:
2. Authority:
3. Rational thought:
4. Empirical investigation:
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Replication crisis
Section 2. Types of Psychological Research
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What is a theory?
What is a hypothesis?
Descriptive Approaches
1. Case studies:
2. Naturalistic Observations:
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3. Surveys:
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What is random sampling and why is it important?
Introduction to Psychology | Intro to Course and Research Methods | Dr. Fikslin
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Correlational Approach
1. What does a correlation measure?
2. How do you interpret a correlation coefficient?
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Strength of association
Positive vs negative correlation
Experimental Approach
1. What makes an experiment an experiment?
2. Experimental variables
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Independent variable:
Dependent variable:
3. What is random assignment?
4. What is a confound?
5. Features of good experiments
Section 3. Science and good experiments
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Why do we have faith in science?
Features of good experiments
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Control condition
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Blind and double-blind participation
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Replication
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External validity
Interpreting descriptions of research
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How do you know if a study is correlational or experimental study based on how
researchers describe relationships between variables?
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What is an example of a psychological research question you have and how would you explore
that relationship using a correlational versus an experimental study?
Section 4. Data Analysis & Reporting
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Central tendency
1. Mean:
2. Median:
3. Mode:
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What is standard deviation?
Inferential statistics
Introduction to Psychology | Intro to Course and Research Methods | Dr. Fikslin
1. What is statistical significance?
2. What does p < .05 mean?
Section 5. Research Ethics
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Ethical presentation of data
Preventing unethical science
1. Institutional Review Board
2. Informed consent
3. Protection of those who cannot give consent
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What does WEIRD stand for and how is psychology WEIRD? How does this influence
the quality of psychological science?
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