PSYC 101 1st Edition Lecture 2Outline of Last Lecture II. Introduction to Psychology 101A. Psychology, science, & truthIII. Types of Psychologists and the professionIV. Four basic themesV. Psychological perspectivesVI. Dr. Green’s in-class philosophy and helpful guidelinesOutline of Current Lecture I. Theory and Research MethodII. Scientific Method: Developing ExplanationsIII. Research ProcessIV. TheoryV. Operational definitionsVI. Correlational Study and MethodVII. ExperimentsVIII. Independent variable vs. Dependent variableIX. Multifactor ResearchX. Experiments revisitedCurrent Lecture- Theory and Research Method-3 goals of psychologya. Measurement and Description-What is happening?b. Understanding and Prediction-Why is it happening?c. Application and Control (if relevant)- Scientific Method: Developing Explanations-Theoriesa. Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest; an integrated set of principles.. -Hypothesisa. A prediction stated in a way that allows it to be tested; more specific than a theory These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Research Process-Empirical Evidencea. Evidence gained and verifies through objective observation, measurement, and experimentation-A specific hypothesis (prediction) is derived from broad theory; usually it talks about a relationship between two or more concepts (variables) such as “playing computer games reduces GPAs” a. Requires specific operational definitions (translation into specific measurement)b. Many different hypotheses can come from the same theory - Theory-Purpose of theoriesa. Fits the known facts; helps organize themb. Guides research and makes predictionsc. Applies to real world-Testing theoriesa. Not all theories are testable (Freud)b. Can never prove a theoryc. Requires operational definition of abstract concepts- “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.” – Albert Einstein- Activity-Operational definitions make abstract concepts measurable and observable (a specific example of theoretical concepts for a specific research study) -Think of operational definitions for:a. Aggressionb. Liking a friendc. Depressiond. Satisfaction with dating relationship- Developing operational definitions for entire hypotheses-People are attracted to those who have very similar attitudes to them - Watching TV violence is associated with increased aggressive behavior -Testing yourself with your textbook closed will improve test scores- Types of operational measurements-Self-reports (questionnaires)-Response performance (reaction time, tests)-Physiological measures (heart rate, pupil dilation)-Unobtrusive behavioral measures (how close someone sits, eye contact, smiling)- Descriptive Studies-Case Studiesa. Intensive study of one or a few individualsb. Interviews, tests, observations, and more can all be part of the case studyc. Psychologists who most often use case studies are clinical psychologists ( depression, anorexia) or biological psychologists/ neuroscientists (person with brain damage)- Advantages and disadvantages of case studies-Advantagesa. In depth knowledge about that personb. Rich source of ideasc. Helps theory building-Disadvantagesa. Can’t generalizeb. Possible bias (self-reports, faulty memory)c. Hard to determine causation- Descriptive Studies-Observational studiesa. Problem of affecting behaviorb. Unable to know why- Surveys-representative or random sample of population: individuals in sample should match thetype of people in population you wish to generalize to-deception-phrasing of question (should we “allow” or forbid” cigarette ads on TV)- Correlational Method-Way of determining the degree of association between two variables-What do you need to do a correlation?a. A set of observations on two variable (pairs of scores like height and weight)- Correlational Studies-Advantagesb. Necessary when manipulation impossible or unethical (romantic relationships, smoking)c. Useful for predictiond. Correlation coefficient (r) gives a quantitative measure (from -1 to +1)- Scatter Plots-correlation coefficient (r) tells you about relationship:a. Strength: further from 0 means stronger relationshipb. Direction: positive or negative- Representing a correlation-strength of correlation- Disadvantage of correlational research-cannot conclude causality-third variable problem- Third Variable Problem-3 possible casual explanations-correlation does not imply causation- Variable A could cause Variable B– Depression could cause low self-esteem - Variable B could cause Variable A– Low self-esteem could cause depression - A third variable, C, could cause A and B! An abusive relationship could cause depression and low self-esteem. What else? – Genetic presdisposition, psychology class... - Experiments: the Gold Standard-The relationship between two (or more) variables is investigated by deliberately producing a change in one variable in a situation and observing the effects on other aspects of the situation - Experiments-the investigator varies some factors, keeps others constant, and measures the effects on randomly assigned subjects-Dependent variable (DV)a. dependent on influence of experimentb. variable being measured in experiment-Independent variable (IV)a. variable that researcher manipulatesb. cause of change in the dependent variable- Independent Variables-number of levels of an IV (at least two)a. “levels” or “groups”-control group: not exposed to experimental treatment-simplest experimental group and control group-more than two levels, don’t use above terms- Independent variables and random assignment-between-participants: each P experiences only one level of IV (most common)a. Randomly assign individuals to one of the levels (groups)-within-participant: each P experiences all levels of IVa. Randomly assign individuals to one of the conditions first, and they experience the other(s) later-random assignment: each P has equal chance of being in each level of IVa. Minimizes pre-existing differences between individuals assigned to the different groupsb. On average, the groups should be the same BEFORE the experiment, so if they are different at the END of the experiment (DV), we believe it’s because of the IV (the only difference)c. NOT the same as random