REMEMBER Quiz Tuesday The Scientific Method Scientists develop theories and test hypotheses Theory an explanatory statement about a phenomenon Stress and immune system functioning Hypothesis specific application of the theory It is a testable assumption about what should happen if the theory is correct Stress questionnaire and number of visits to doctor Research Process Theory low self esteem feeds depression Hypotheses people with low self esteem will score higher on a depression scale Research and observations administer tests of self esteem and depression Se if a low score on one predicts a high score on the other Psychological Theories and Explanations Activity Soldiers from rural backgrounds had higher morale and adapted better during basic training than soldiers from larger cities cid 127 Waking up early physical manual labor responsibilities longer hours group mentality setting Soldiers with high IQs were more fearful and more likely to develop psychosomatic disorders than were soldiers with low IQs Think about all details problems that may arise see bigger picture know more of danger ahead actions and afterthoughts cid 127 Morale was much worse among soldiers fighting in front line than among soldiers in relatively safe jobs working far behind the front lies such as supply specialists or clerks Higher risk have to see other people die Soldiers in Europe were more highly motivated to return home while the fighting was continuing than they were after the war had ended Home was not the same different conditions how much memories from war adapted to war conditions self preservation meet locals cid 127 White soldiers were more highly motivated than Black soldiers to become officers Different treatment superiority different values back home slim possibilities extra criticism Plausible explanations are easy to generate cid 127 What looks like a good explanation and seems correct can convince use we re right This happens even when you re explaining things deliberately untrue Activity was just survey no real answer Four Goals of Psychological Science Describe events determine that a phenomenon exists What ex Study Children s TV includes violent acts Predict events determine the conditions in which a phenomenon occurs When ex Studies link too much TV with poor academics Unwanted children show lower self esteem Explain events determine the extent to which one variable causes another Why Change use what we learn to help people Causal or not Correlation causation cid 127 Watching lots of TV linked with poor academics Predicted relationships not always casual Correlation extent to which two factors vary together how well one predicts the other Correlation Correlation relationship can range from 1 0 to 1 0 Strength closer to 1 or 1 stronger Direction negative or positive Correlation does not mean causation Always three possible relationships A causes B B causes A cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 C causes A and C causes B Experiment Determine causality cid 127 Must have intelligence is the dependent variable Random assignment to conditions Independent variable a factor manipulated by the experimenter The effect of the independent variable is the focus of the study ex effects of breast feeding upon intelligence breast feeding is the independent variable Dependent variable a factor that may change in response to an independent variable In psychology it is usually a behavior or a mental process ex cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127 cid 127
View Full Document
Unlocking...