Stroop effect 4 primary goals in science Critical thinking Scientific inquiry process Task being to identify colour of a different coloured word interference du to excess sensory info that competes for same cognitive resources 1 description of phenomenon 2 prediction when a phenomenon might occur 3 controlling conditions 4 explaining cause Questioning evaluating claims seeking definitions for parts of claims Relies on objective methods empirical evidence 1 hypothesis using theories 2 reviewing literature 3 choosing method to conduct study 4 conducting the research 5 data analysis 6 discussion of results Unexpected findings Types of studies Case study Observation study Self reporting study Correlational studies Sometimes occur are valuable but must be replicated elaborated Case study observation self reporting correlational experimental Examines individual or organization findings may not generalize Must be defined clearly collected systematically bias may occur due to participants knowing they re being studied Surveys questionnaires interviews for direct study may be biased due to participants wanting to appear a certain way Describe predict how variables are related NOT used to establish causality or directionality 3rd variable problem Directionality problem Researchers find a relationship between 2 variables but can t determine which variable caused changes in other ex stress sleep Occurs when researcher can t directly manipulate variables so is unsure that another unmeasured variable is the cause Ex traumatized soldiers having more trouble learning new tasks than non traumatized you don t want to induce trauma on someone to find answers so use corr Studies Researcher manipulates independent variable Ethical reasons for correlational studies Experiment Confound Random sampling External validity Selection bias Culturally sensitive research Observational techniques Reactivity Institutional review boards Confidentiality Informed consent Risk benefit ratio measures 2nd variable dependent Anything outside of design that affects a dependent variable that may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study ex texting while driving study has confound of which transmission is used Everyone in selection pool has an equal chance to be picked most researchers use convenience samples students Degree to which the findings can be generalized outside ht lab big pushback on using college students as convenience samples Groups that aren t equivalent affects dependent variable random assignment used to ensure equality Studies that take into account the role of culture in thought behaviour Systematic assessment coding of overt behaviour reactivity an issue Presence of an observe changes behaviour Hawthorne effect Review proposed research to ensure they meet scientific ethical standards in protection of participants Quality accuracy of data often depend on participant s certainty that their privacy is ensured anonymity doesn t mean confidentiality All relevant info given to participants that might affect willingness if deception is used a careful debriefing is done afterward Analysis of whether or not the research is important enough to warrant placing participants at risk Naturalistic participant observation Longitudinal cross sectional Socially desirable better than average effects Person responds as they think they should faking good Descriptive studies Developmental studies Self reporting bias Socially desirable responding Better than average effect Response performance Quantifying perceptual or cognitive processes in People describe themselves in a better light than what might be true Psychological response to a stimulus types include reaction times response accuracy stimulus judgment Examining how bodily fxns change in association w assessment Polygraph behaviours or mental states Measures psych activity related to behaviours or mental states Electrical activity in brain Electrophysiology Electroencephalograph EEG device measuring brain activity too noisy to isolate specific responses to particular stimuli Event related potential ERP brain activity is response to specific stimuli by Positron emission tomography Magnetic resonance imaging Functional magnetic resonance imaging Placebo effect Features to look for in research Descriptive statistics Meta analysis averaging across may trials PET provides computer aided reconstruction of the brain s metabolic activity by tracking a radioactive substance MRI scanner w powerful magnetic field that the tissues in the body respond to fMRI measures blood flow by assessing change in blood s oxygen level Improvement in health or attitude attributed to an inert drug or bogus treatment participants must believe it will work 1 internal validity 2 reliability 3 accuracy low random systematic error Summarize results central tendencies median mean average variability standard dev range significance tests correlations Gathering many studies on same topic combine results