Module 2
Psychology & Science
ANSWERING QUESTIONS
Researchers tend to use three methods
Each one provides different kinds of information
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
SURVEY
Way to obtain information by:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________.
Answer a fixed set of questions about particular subjects
SURVEY (CONT’D)
Disadvantages
Information can contain errors
Results can be _________________
How questions are __________________ and who asks them.
Advantages
Quick and efficient way to collect information on:
_________________________________________________________________________ from a large sample of people
Can compare answers from various ethnic, _________________, ____________________, and cultural _____________CASE STUDY
Case study
___________________ analysis of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences, behaviors, or problems of a single
individual
Most often are a Personal case study: ___________________________
statement in support of a particular viewpoint based on detailed observation of a person’s own personal ____________
There can be errors
error and bias: _______________________________________________________
CASE STUDY (CONT’D)
Disadvantage
Detailed information about a particular person may not apply to others
Advantage
Detailed information allows greater ____________________________________ of a particular person’s life
EXPERIMENT: USE OF PLACEBOS
Placebo
“Intervention in _________________________”
Ex…….taking a pill, receiving an injection, or undergoing an operation, that resembles medical therapy but, in fact, has
no medical effects
Placebo effect
Change in a patient’s illness that’s attributable to an _________________________________ rather than to a medical
treatment
EXPERIMENT: USE OF PLACEBOS
EXPERIMENT: USE OF PLACEBOS (CONT’D)
Researchers believe that placebos work by ______________________ tension and distress and by creating powerful
_______________________________ prophecies
I HAVE HELP WITH THIS PROBLEM
Individuals think and behave as if the drug, actually a placebo, is effective (HUMANISTIC)
Ex….Teenagers and Alcohol
CORRELATION
Correlation
An association or relationship between the ____________________________ of two or more events
Correlation coefficient
A number that indicates the _____________________ of a relationship between two or more events: the closer the
number is to –1.00 or +1.00, the ________________________ is the strength of the relationship
CORRELATION (CONT’D)
Perfect positive correlation coefficient
+1.00 means that an increase in one event is always matched by an equal increase in a second event
Positive correlation coefficient
Indicates that as one event tends to _______________, the second event tends to, but does not always, increase
Increases from +0.01 to +0.99 indicate a strengthening of the relationship between the occurrence of two events
CORRELATION (CONT’D)
Zero correlation
Indicates that there is ________________________________between the occurrence of one event and the occurrence
of a second event
Negative correlation coefficient
Indicates that as one event tends to ______________________, the second event tends to, but does not always,
decrease
-0.01 to -0.99 indicates a strengthening in the relationship of one event increasing and the other decreasing
CORRELATION (CONT’D)
Perfect negative correlation coefficient
-1.00 means that an increase in one event is always _______________________ by an equal decrease in a
__________________ event
Correlations such as -1.00 are virtually never found in applied psychological research
DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH
What is the best technique for answering a question?
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH (CONT’D)
Interview
Technique for obtaining information by asking _____________________ ranging from open-ended to highly structured
subject’s _______________________ and _________________________, one-on-one situation
Questionnaire
Technique for obtaining information:
Subjects read a list of _____________________ questions and _______________________ off specific answers
DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH (CONT’D)
Laboratory experiments information about the brain, genes, or behavior least error and bias by using a
___________________________ environment that allows careful ___________________ and _____________________
Standardized tests:
administering a ___________________ test given to hundreds of people shown to reliably measure thought patterns,
personality traits, emotions, or behaviors
DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH (CONT’D)
Animal models examining or manipulating some:
____________________, ____________________, or _____________________________ factor that is similar to some
__________________ problem, _________________________, or _________________________
Example
Researchers genetically altered mice to have extra receptors for brain chemicals involved in schizophrenia.
APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS
Concerns about being a subject
Human and animal
Code of ethics
American Psychological Association (APA) publishes a code of ethics and conduct for psychologists to follow:
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
__________________________________
____________________________________
Code spells out the _____________________________ of psychologists and the ________________ of participants
APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS (CONT’D)
Ethics of animal research
How many animals are used in research?
-estimated over ____ million animals used each year in biomedical research
Are research animals mistreated? : Of the millions of animals used in research, only a few cases of animal mistreatment
have been confirmed researchers support the __________________________________ Act
APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS (CONT’D)
Ethics of animal research
Is the use of animals justified?
Researchers are currently using animals to ______________ many things including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, fetal
alcohol syndrome, schizophrenia, AIDS, and transplantation of brain tissue, none of which is possible with
__________________ subjects
Who checks on the use of animals in research?
US Department of ______________________________
Universities hire _______________________
Universities have animal __________________________________
APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS (CONT’D)
Ethics of animal research
How do we strike a balance?
Many experts in the scientific, medical, and mental health communities believe that the conscientious and responsible
use of animals in research is ______________________ and should continue
Activity:
•
Get into groups of two and get out a piece of paper. Your group member needs to be someone who you have
not worked with yet in this class.
•
Pretend for a second that you are a psychologist in a university setting that has a budget to perform an
experiment. For each of the following types of experiments you need to propose and idea that you that you
would like to see tested for each different type of experimental method. Tell me your rational for wanting to see
this experiment done.
-Questionnaires and _____________________________
-Laboratory __________________________
-__________________________ tests
-________________________ models
DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH