COMM 1000 1nd Edition Lecture 7 Outline of Last Lecture I. Communication GoalsA. UnderstandingB. PleasureC. Attitude InfluenceD. Improved Relationships E. ActionsII. Qualitative Social ScientistsIII. Quantitative Social ScientistsIV. The Scientific MethodOutline of Current Lecture V. The Scientific Method ContinuedVI. Major Research DesignsA.Content AnalysisB.SurveyC.ExperimentVII. Issues to Consider for Each Research DesignVIII. Examples of Each Research DesignIX. Limitations of Each Research DesignX. PerceptionA. InterpretationCurrent LectureThe Scientific Method Continued…- Publico Findings reported to scientific methodMajor Research Designs- Content Analysis - Survey- ExperimentStudying TouchThese 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.- Researchers might asko How do individuals enact public touch? How does touch communication vary culturally?o What do people think about touch?o What are the effects of touch relationship?Content Analysis- systematic analysis of content of communication messages- Why magazines are so sexualized?- Purposeso Describe touch type (or frequency) conent How much touch occurs?o Compare content across various locations How does touch behavior differ from country to country?o Assess image of particular group Are far eastern cultures really low-touch?Issues to Consider- Need representative sample o Which groups of individuals to observe?o How many of each?- Need clear, specific definitionso What counts as touch?o What if it is an extended touch?- Limitationso Can only study material as it occurs (no manipulation)o No information about effectsExample Study- Analyzing touch behavior in 24 countries using webcams set up in bars-major variable is distance from the equatorSurvey Research- Examines what people think or do- Relies mainly on self-reports-your opinion of it- Exampleso Relationship questionnaires o Election trendso Attitude trendsIssues to Consider- Need representative sample- Need good questions- Goalso Attitudes/behaviors in populationo Relationships between different variablesExample Study- Surveyed individuals preferences for touch in different contexts (public versus private, with friends versus romantic partners- Were able to examine associations between variables such as sex, relationship, and publicversus privateLimitations of Surveys- No control - Cannot make causal conclusionso Only relationships between variablesExperimental Research- Manipulation of variableo One group gets treatment, other does not- Control of other variable- Measure effect/outcomeIssues to Consider- Goal- draw causal conclusiono Independent variable dependent variable- Need random assignmento Randomly divide participants into groupsExample Study- Individuals jealous and emotional responses to seeing a romantic partner touch one of their close friendso Does touch influence jealous response/- View photos of hypothetical situations- Dependent variableso Jealous (anger, sadness, envy, and fear)- Foundo Jealousy was significantly higher in the two touch conditions versus the no touch conditions (touch appeared to play a causal role in responses)Limitations of Experiments- Poor “external validity”o Hard to generalize beyond subjects and lab environment- Artificial setting- Limited subject populationPerception:Perception-the sensory experience of the world- Brought to you through your senseso Seeingo Hearingo Tastingo Smellingo TouchingSelective Attention- your ability to process certain of the stimuli available to us while filtering others out- your attention to register sensory stimuli is limited- You choose certain aspects of the environment to pay attention toFilters- Two Kinds:o Perceptual- actual physical and physiological limits due to human capacity  Limits of our senseso Psychological set- expectation based response Motivation or interest Past experiences or expectationsPerception is Active Process-- Selective perception-an active, sense-making processHow is Perception Active?- We SELECT (stimuli that are intense, repetitious, or changing).- We ORGANIZE (expectation-based, complete sensible picture).o How things ought to go together- We INTERPRET (assign meaning unique to perceiver).o Determine relevance of itInterpretation- Perception is evaluatedo We try to make sense of our perceptions and draw conclusions- Attention and Organization processes affect thisSelf-perception (Impression Formation)- We “perceive” ourselves.- Many biases in self-perception.o Different from those present when perceiving others.Self-Concept- your relatively stable impression of yourself- Based on physical and psychological attributes- Arrived at partly through feedback you get from other- Also through social