PSY3213 Study Guide for Exam 1 Chapter 1 Psychology Is a Way of Thinking How do the responsibilities of being a good research producer compare to those of being a good research consumer Responsibilities of a good research producer o Conducts literature searches o Has good methodology o Analyzes and interprets results o Shares those results By being a good research producer one knows the different aspects of research that are important to focus on Through this knowledge one becomes a better research consumer they will look for things like good methodology that the results of an experiment were interpreted correctly and that the researchers have investigated other literature related to their topic How does the example of facilitated communication demonstrate that both consumers and producers of research are prone to making mistakes when they don t pay attention to methodology Facilitated Communication Institute a tremendous breakthrough that individuals on the autism spectrum who could not communicate verbally could communicate when someone steadied their hand so they could type words on keyboard Because it was such a breakthrough that researchers and consumers alike ignored the lack of methodology involved in the research So many individuals wanted it to be true that this was ignored o Klewe 1993 Eventually a closer look was taken Children with autism were given pictures of animals and asked to identify them on the computer There was facilitated communication by having another individual place their hand on the child o IV Facilitator s knowledge of target picture the individual with autism would be shown a different image than the facilitator o DV If target word was typed when the individuals with autism were shown different pictures than the facilitators the word for the picture the facilitator was shown was typed every time What are the four different scientific cycles Understand the relevant examples discussed in the book The Four Scientific Cycles o Theory Data Cycle scientists collect data to test change or update their theories This is the most common cycle AKA The Scientific Method Example Harry Harlow compared the already existing cupboard theory and thought of his own explanation the contact comfort theory that would explain the same phenomenon He used an experiment with baby rhesus monkeys to demonstrate that infants prefer warm soft mothers to the wire one he made that produced food His findings supported the contact comfort theory o Basic research Applied research Cycle Using knowledge from basic research to develop and test applications to health care psychotherapy or any other intervention is called Translational Research o Peer Review Cycle Scientific articles are published in peer reviewed journals That is wen an editor receives a manuscript the editor sends it to three or four experts on the subject The experts tell the editor about the manuscript s virtues and flaws and the editor decides whether the paper deserves to be published in the journal o Journal to Journalism Cycle Occurs when scientists find inspiration or ideas for a new topic of study in current events that they read about in the media Vice versa the media will cover the latest scientific finds When this occurs the information can be distorted to lead the public to believe misinformation Example The Mozart Effect A study found that when students heard Mozart music played for 10 minutes they performed better on a subsequent spatial intelligence test when compared with students who had listened to silence or to a monotone speaking voice Somehow this was portrayed by the media as Mozart makes you smart and this isn t necessarily true according to the study How is a theory different from a hypothesis A theory leads researchers to pose research questions which lead to an appropriate research design In the context of the design researchers formulate hypothesis Researchers then collect data which feed back into the cycle Hypothesis A good hypothesis is falsifiable It is much easier to demonstrate something is false than if it is true The best you can hope is that your data supports your claims o Example of Media Violence Hypothesis Exposure to violent video games will increase aggression Theory Watching others engage in behaviors and observing the outcome of those behaviors makes it more or less likely that an individual will also engage in those behaviors What criteria determine if a theory is a GOOD theory A good theory should be falsifiable but is still supported by numerous pieces of evidence hypotheses and tests How does translational research provide a bridge between basic and applied research Applied Research There is a practical problem the researchers are trying to solve The goal is that findings will be directly applied to that problem Basic Research There isn t a problem that the researchers are directly trying to solve Basic research is simply to enhance the general body of knowledge Transitional Research Using knowledge from basic research to develop and test applications to health care psychotherapy or any other intervention Basically using basic research that already exists and applying to applied research What does it mean for journals to be peer reviewed What does this process entail Peer Reviewed Journals publish scientific articles In order for something to be peer reviewed it must be rigorously reviewed by other scientists there must be anonymous review so there s honest assessment o Depending on how the study was conducted manuscripts can be rejected accepted or accepted with minor or major revisions What are the big issues related to making sure that the Journal to Journalism cycle get things right Scientists read science journals but often non scientists write and read about the findings in the popular press Media will pick up journal articles and present them to the public How this media presents them will often shape how the public views this topic The consumer needs to be able to assess the validity of these so called findings What is an implicit theory Implicit Theory Everyone has his or her own implicit theory It is a set of assumptions or ones perspective based on their own life experiences and up bringing Someone s implicit theory is difficult to change Chapter 2 Sources of Information Evaluating Finding and Reading Information Explain why relying on personal experience is less helpful than looking to see what research says about a given topic Relying on personal experience
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