CHAPTER ONEIntroduction to Research:Behavioral Research:Used-To study important human problems and provide solutions to themTo help understand which methods of educating children are most effectiveTo provide important information that complements other scientific approachesGoal-To discover how people perceive their world, how they think and feel, how they change over time and how they learn and make decisions and how they interact with others.Empirical- they are based on systematic collection and analysis of data within a common frameworkData- information collected through formal observation or measurement that is then analyzedRelying on Our Intuition:Often incorrect about our intuition about why others do what they do and why we ourselves do what we do.Limitations:Frequently believe that we would have been able to predict the outcome ahead of time.Useful for getting ideas but they are not infallible, need to back it up empirically.Hindsight Bias- tendency to think that we could have predicted something that we probably could not have.Scientific Method:Scientific method- set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that scientists use to conduct research. Prescribes how scientists collect and analyze data so that they can replicate (add to or modify) previous research and lead to an accumulation of knowledgeLook at facts and accumulate empirical evidence and the extent to which this evidence supports a prediction or not.Have a hypothesis and determine if data corresponds to the data we haveEstablish knowledgeNeed to be skeptical and question everythingConflicting resultsNuances and qualifiers-->main fact that doesn’t always happen“alcohol is bad BUT wine could be good...only red”Contradictions with real lifeSmoking kills...but not the people I knowTruth is “stranger” than fictionAn unusual # of people live in places with names similar to theirs (georgias in georgia)Handshakes are revealing of people’s personalitiesEmpirical InvestigationCollecting, organizing and interpreting data within a common frameworkMethods: special arrangements, observational/measurement plansObjectivity- free from personal bias or emotions of the scientistsOther scientists know exactly how the scientist collected and analyzed the data.Free from personal bias or emotions.Values Versus Facts in Scientific Research:Values- personal statements that cannot be proven“abortion should not be permitted”Facts- objective statements supported empirically“there were over 16,000 homicides in the US in 2002Facts and the Formation of ValuesFacts may contribute to the formation of valuesHelp to determine what research is appropriate or important to conductDistinguishing between Facts and ValuesMore than one way to interpret data-- people have their own hypotheses and beliefs about human behavior and they can easily make their own interpretations of the results of behavioral research.What and how is being studiedInterpretation of empirical dataMeasuresValues and Facts in the Research ReportGoal is to make clear what parts of the research process are objective and which are notResearch Report- document that presents scientific findings using a standardized written format (APA)Intro and Discussion- what topics are of importance and how the data should be interpretedResults and Discussion- completely objective, describing the procedures of the experiments and the statistical analyses. Attempts to differentiate between objective and subjective componentsBasic and Applied Research:Basic- Underlying principles of behaviors that can be used to solve specific problems(ex) How different types of practice influence memory for pictures(ex) People who smoke have a higher tendency for cancerApplied- investigates issues that have implications for everyday life (APPLIES TO A REAL WORLD PROBLEM) and provide solutions to everyday problems. -->Gives ideas for the kinds of topics that basic research can study(ex) What types of psychotherapy are most effective in reducing depression.(ex) do different lifestyles impact the smokers tendency for cancerProgram Evaluation research- study the effectiveness of methods designed to make positive social changes like training programs, learning programs.Translational Research- (NIH roadmap for medical research)Importance of Studying Research MethodsEvaluating Research Reports:Distinguishing good from bad research.Conducting Research:Difficult- no two people are alike and no two people respond to attempts to study them in the same behaviorResearch Designs: Three Approaches to Studying BehaviorResearch Design- specific method a researcher uses to collect, analyze and interpret data.DESCRIBE- snapshot of pattern of behaviorsPREDICT-EXPLAINDescriptive research- research designed to answer questions about the current state of affairsAdvantage: attempts to capture the complexity of everyday behavior and provide complete understanding of what is currently happening. (20)Disadvantage: although it allows us to get an idea of what is happening it is limited to providing static pictures.(ex) what is the prevalence of aggressive behavior among elementary school childrenSurveys and Interviews- allow us to get a picture of what people are thinking, feeling or doing at a given point in timeNaturalistic observation- observing everyday events without the person knowingQualitative research- observing and describing events as they occur with the goal of capturing all of the richness of everyday behavior and with the hope of discovering and understanding phenomena that might have been missedQuantitative research- uses more formal measures of behavior including questionnaires and systematic observation of behavior which are designed to be subjected to statistical analysis. Describes ongoing behavior in its original form, more subjective because it does not use statistical analysis so the values of the researcher and the objectivity are not separated.Correlational research- Establishing a systematic relationship between two or more variables. Allows you to predict things in the future depending on how strong the correlation isAdvantage: used to assess behavior as it occurs in everyday livesDisadvantage: cannot lead to causation and results are limiting(ex) is there any relationship between playing video games and aggressive behavior among children(ex)Variable- any attribute that can assume different values among different people or across different times or places.Pearson product-moment correlational