*Research MethodsExperimental Method: Research method involving the manipulation of one or more variables under carefully controlled conditions…Ideal for finding causal relationships*Experimental MethodIndependent variable: A variable that is set, changed, or manipulatedDependent variable: A variable that is measured to see whether they change as a result of experimental manipulationsExperimental group: the group that receives the treatment or manipulation being allowedControl group: the group that does not receive the treatment and is otherwise identical to the experimental group. If there is more than one difference (variable) it is not a good experimentBe cautious of asserting causal relationships*ProcessPopulation Random sample Random assignment must be randomly assigned to experimental group or control group; if not, there could be a bias that confounds the experimentSubject A: Experimental condition (independent variable)Subject B: Control group (absence of experimental condition)Measure effects of bothThis is the [ideal] process by which cause and effect are established* VideoPsychologists use interviews, surveys, psychological experimentsResearch can be done in “real life,” the lab, the field an in places as unusual as a flight simulatorBeliefs can come from our culture, individual experience, critical thinking skillsWithout developing critical thinking skills we can be swept up into false/faulty/fake influencesSpiritual healing (Haitian voodoo) can influence someone’s physical and psychological stateRelationship with the treaterAssertions that “it will work”  Placebo affect: believing a medication actually has an effect on your illness when it has no scientific backing (sugar pills)Placebo affect1/3 of people will feel betterProblems with dataAsserting causal relationships where they are notSmall sample size for large conclusionsPseudo scientific technologyThe test is not valid: it can be defeated, wrongPeople who lie can get “aroused” (sweat, faster heart rate) some may not; some people who tell the truth can be concerned and be aroused even though they tell the truthIf the subject is told the test works, if the subject is guilty they will be nervous and be caught; if they are told it is theater, they will be reassured and passFind out who was in the studyCorrelation is not causationKeep in mind the power of placebo’s to alternate realityProfessor expresses emphasis on psychic ability sectionsSENSATION AND PERCEPTIONSensation: the process by which our sensory receptors and the nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies (or the presence of particular molecules) (taste/smell) from our environmentHow we receive input from our environmentHow we receive info from our world [rely on sensory observation]It is a selective process by which we construct our reality (we cannot feel, hear, see.. everything)Perception: The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects* Sensory modalitiesVision: electromagnetic energy (photons that travel in waves); highly visual beingsAudition: pressure wavesTaste: chemical sensesSmell: chemical sensesSkin senses: (somesthetic) touch, pressure, temp, painKinesthesia: receptors in muscles and joints tell how the body is positionedVestibular: head and body orientation*Reception, Transduction, CodingStimulus: physical event Receptors:assembled in organsdiffuseselectivesensitive to particular ragetransduction sends these senses to the brain so they can be coded and decoded (perception); transduction is the conversion of physical or chemical stimulus into information/perceptionBrain:CodingDecoding“perception”*Methods of Information Processing“Bottom- up processing”- Comprehensionanalysis that begins with he sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory informationindividual elements of a stimulus are integrating to from a wholeStart: Phonemes (basic sounds)Morphemes (words, prefixes, suffixes) Sentences (phrases) Meaning (thought/idea)“Top-down processing” -ProductionInformation processing guidied by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectationsStart: Meaning (thought/idea)  Sentences (phrases)  Morphemes (words, prefixes, suffixes) Phonemes (basic sounds)Perception/type casting (using prior experience to assert something- an actor that is big, tough, and scary is casted and recognized as the “villain”)Interpreting sensory informationConditioning and trauma is a kind of learningSensory experiences can influence how you interpret your worldA traumatic event (a bad flight with lots of turbulence): similar movement can trigger the same fear*Exploring the sensesWhat stimuli cross our threshold for conscious awareness?Could we be influenced by stimuli too weak (subliminal) to be perceivedWhy are we unaware of unchanging stimuli, like a Band-Aid on our skin*PsychophysicsDEFINITION: A study of how physical energy or other sensory properties relate to our psychological experience; A study of the relationship between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of themQUESTIONS:What stimuli can we detect?At what intensity?How sensitive are we to changing stimulation?KEY ELEMENTSAbsolute threshold: the minimal stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus (light, sound, pressure, taste, odor) 50% of the timeone candle in a dark room 30 miles away, the ticking of a watch in a quite room, one teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water CHECK IN PPTSubliminal stimulation: Stimulation that is below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awarenessCan we sense stimuli below our absolute thresholds?Can we be affected by stimuli so weak as to be unnoticed?Can we be persuaded by subliminal messages (subliminal advertising, memory enhancers)?Difference threshold: The difference that a person can detect between two stimuli. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable differenceWebster’s law: the principle that, to perceive their difference, to stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).EX)if you add 10 grams to a 100- gram weight, you can detect the difference (10% change)if you add 10 grams to a 1000- gram weight, you will not detect the difference (1% change)two lights must differ by 8%two objects must differ in weight by 2%Two tones must differ in frequency by