PSY3213C Research Methods in Psychology Exam 1 Study Guide NOTE Exams may contain material not included on this guide Material on guide is not guaranteed to be on exams Use this information as a GUIDE for your studying but do not treat it as a map that will show you everything This information comes from the textbook AND the lectures A good first step Be able to answer ALL of the Check Your Understanding Questions from the Chapters covered in this book 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 consume o Producer Provide us with data o Consumer Apply research in real world context Find effective ways of applying therapies and treatments 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 o Facilitated communication where a therapist helps clients communicate by guiding their hands as they type sentences on a computer o autism patients o cerebral palsy o unconscious cuing while supporting the client s hands the facilitator has many opportunities to influence what the client types o if facilitator and client shown two different pictures usually the word that was typed reflected the image that was seen by the facilitator o also there is controversy because they would type with one figure while looking away which indicated that the facilitator had the power What are the four different scientific cycles Understand the relevant examples discussed in the book o Ex How did Harry Harlow use the theory data cycle to examine the contact comfort theory vs the cupboard theory of attachment o The four scientific cycles 1st is a give and take between theory and data scientist test theories through research and in turn adapt their theories based on the data that result from that research 2nd there is a dive and take between applied research which directly targets real world problems and basic research which is intended to contribute to the general body of knowledge 3rd psychologists write up the results of their research for other scientists submit them to journals for review and responds to the opinions of other scientists 4th the findings of psychological research are sometimes reported to the popular media while a scientist might be inspired by current events to being a new line of research o The Theory Data Cycle o This is the most important cycle scientists collect data to test change or update their o Ask specific questions that are grounded in theory making predictions and reflecting o Phone analogy it s broken so you plug it in then take to the store First you asked questions your theory set up the kinds of questions you Next your questions led you to specific predictions which you tested by collecting data then set up situation to test prediction charge phone Then you used your outcome to change your idea about the problem o Cupboard theory the mother is viewed by baby as source of good over time the sight of the mother brings pleasure to the baby she acquires a positive value for the baby because she is the cupboard from which food comes Assuming your dog loves you because you feed it falls into this theory o Contact comfort theory instead of attached because of food babies are attached because of the comfort of cozy touch theories on data asked o In the natural world the baby clings to the mother for both reason so it is impossible to tell why o Harlow tested this theory by separating food and contact Two make shift mothers only mothers his lab raised monkeys had ever seen One out of wire only provided food One was fury but had no milk only provided comfort The monkey could support either theory or they could divide their time equally between the two types of mothers They constantly chose the contact comfort theory and only when they needed food would they climb down to the wire mother Harlow used the two theories to predict how the monkeys would act then used the data he recorded to only support one of the theory theory data cycle in action o Empiricism the approach of collecting data and using it to develop support or challenge a theory o What makes a good theory Supported by data falsifiable and are parsimonious Falsifiable the theory needs to lead to predictions that when tested could prove to be wrong and thus challenge the theory itself o The simpler theory if two theories are equally explained by Parsimonious data Scientists evaluate their theories based on weight of the evidence o The Basic Applied Research Cycle o Applied research is done with a practical problem in mind the researchers hope tat their findings will be directly applied to the solution of that problem in a particular real world context Mental disorders new methods for teaching predict who is likely to do well in school etc o Basic research is not intended to address a specific practical problem the goal of basic research is simply to enhance the general body of knowledge Understand structure of visual system capacity of human memory o Translational research is the dynamic bridge between basic and applied research o The Peer Review Cycle o Journals are peer reviewed o The Journal to Journalism Cycle o Journalism includes the kinds of news and commentary that most of us read or hear on the tv magazines and newspapers and on internet sites o Current events inspire psychology research o The news media covers the latest scientific findings o The important benefits of science writing depend on two things first journalists need to report on the most important scientific stories and second journalists need to describe the research accurately o Mozart effect better on spatial temporal task but it got blown into better in the SAT How is a theory different from a hypothesis o A theory is a statement or a set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another Harlow s theory extensive observations about the overwhelmingly importance of bodily contact The theory led him to investigate specific questions o A hypothesis is a prediction which is a way of stating the specific outcome that the researcher expects to observe if the theory is accurate Harlow s predictions related to the way the baby monkeys would interact with two kinds of mothers he predicted that the babies would spend more time on cozy than wire mother Naturally a single theory can lead to a
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