Chapter 2-

Psychological
research
Why is research important?
• At one time in history, people believed that the earth was flat and that mental
illnesses are cause by possession.
• People can be very wrong in their ideas about the world when they don’t depend
on evidence to support their claims.
• Psychology is a science, therefore, research is required to not only further
investigate something but to provide verification and support of the findings.
• Research is a mandatory process in validating claims.
• Scientific research is emparical; it is grounded in objective, tangible evidence
that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing.
• Some of our ancistors, across the world and over the
centuries, belived that trephination: The practice of
making a hole in the skull, allowed evil spirits to leave
the body. Thus, curing mental illness and other disorders.
The process of scientifc
research: Inductive vs.
deductive reasoning
• Inductive reasoning: Conclusions are
drawn from observation. For example,
you see fruits growing on trees and
therefor all fruits grow on trees.
• Deductive reasoning: Results are
predicted based on a general theory.
For example, all living things need
energry to survive (theory), ducks are
living things, therefore ducks need
energy to survive (conclusion).
The process of scientifc research:
Inductive vs. deductive reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning: Scientists start by observing facts and details. They
notice patterns or trends from these observations and then produce a general
idea or theory. For example, if you see that the sun rises every morning, you
might produce the theory that the sun will rise every day.
• Deductive Reasoning: Once scientists have a theory, they make specific
predictions, called hypotheses, based on that theory. They then test these
hypotheses through experiments. For example, if your theory is that the sun
rises every day, your hypothesis might be that the sun will rise tomorrow. You
then observe to see if this prediction is correct.
• Science involves both processes: observing and forming theories (inductive
reasoning) and then making predictions and testing them (deductive
reasoning).
Test your knowledge
 The scientific method
• Theory: Well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation
for observed incidents.
• Theories are repeatedly checked against the world, but they tend
to be too complex to be tested all at once; instead, researchers
create hypotheses to test specific aspects of a theory.
• Hypothesis is a testable prediction about how the world will
behave if our idea is correct, and it is often worded as an if-then
statement (e.g., if I study all night, I will get a passing grade on
the test).
• A hypothesis is also falsifiable (capable of being shown to be
incorrect).
 Falsifiable hypotheses
• Sigmund Freud had lots of interesting
ideas to explain various human
behaviors. However, a major criticism of
Freud’s theories is that many of his ideas
are not falsifiable; for example, it it is
impossible to imagine empirical
observations that would disprove the
existence of the id, the ego, and the
superego—the three elements of
personality described in Freud’s theories.
Approches to research

• Clinical or case studies.

• Naturalistice observation.
• Surveys.
• Archival research.
• Longitudinal study or cross-
sectional research.
 Clinical or case studies

• Focuses on one individual.

• The studied individual is typically in an
extreme or unique psychological
circumstance that differentiates them from
the general public.
• Allows for a lot of insight into a case.
• Difficult to generalize results to the general
population.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H2POn
mvbPo
 Naturalistic observations
• Is the observation of behavior in its natural setting without interfence. For example,
someone who wants to study how kids interact during recess. Instead of bringing the kids into
a lab, the psychologist would go to a playground and watch them play.
• To study the most accurate and genuine behaviors, naturalistic observation has
proven most effective. It can provide more realistic insights compared to a lab setting.
• Observer bias: is when a researcher’s expectations, beliefs, or personal opinions
influence the way they observe or interpret the behavior they’re studying. This can
affect the accuracy of the results. For example, if a researcher believes that boys are more
aggressive than girls, they might unconsciously pay more attention to or interpret boys’
actions as aggressive, even if the behavior is the same.
• To eliminate observer bias researchers can use techniques like double-blind studies (where
neither the participants nor the observers know the details of the study) or having multiple
observers to compare notes and ensure more accurate observations.
 Naturalistic observations
• Jane Goodall is a
primatologist who studied
chimpanzees in their natural
habitat in Tanzania. Instead
of observing them in a
controlled environment, she
lived among the
chimpanzees in the wild,
watching them as they went
about their daily lives.
 Surveys
• A list of questions that can be
delivered in many ways:
• Paper-and-pencil.
• Electronically.
• Verbally.
• Surveys can be used to gather a large
amount of data from a sample from a
larger population.
 Archival research

• Uses past records or data sets

to answer various research
questions, or to search for
interesting patterns or
relationships.
Longitudinal and cross-sectional
research
• Cross-sectional research: involves studying different groups of people at a single
time (such as different age groups).

• Longitudinal: Research in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or

measured repetedly over a long period of time. Researchers collect data from these
individuals at multiple points in time, which helps them see how things change or
develop over the years.
• Attrition: Is when when participants drop out of a study before it is completed.
• It’s a challenge in research, especially in long-term studies, because it can affect the
accuracy and reliability of the results.
Longitudinal research:
Framingham Heart Study

- Began in 1948 and is still ongoing today.

- The study aimed to investigate the causes

and risk factors of cardiovascular disease by
following participants over time.

- The study originally included over 5,000

residents of Framingham, Massachusetts.
Over the years, it expanded to include their
children and grandchildren, creating a multi-
generational study.
Analyzing findings
 Correlation research
• Correlation: Measures how two variables move in
relation to each other. It can tell us if they increase
or decrease together, or if one increases while the
other decreases.
• Positive Correlation: Two variables change in the
same direction, both becoming either larger or
smaller.
• Negative correlation: Two variables change in
different directions, with one becoming larger as
the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation
is not the same thins as no correlation.
 Correlation does not indicate
causation
• Just because two things are related (correlation), it doesn’t
mean that one causes the other (causation).
• Cause-and-effect relationship: Changes in one variable cause
changes in another variable. For example, you forget to water your plant
for a week, the plant wilts and eventually dies. Cause-and-effect can
only be determined through an experimental research desgin.
• Comfounding variable: An unanticipiated outside factor that affects
both variables of interest, often giving the false impression that
changes in one variable causes changes in the other variable.
 Illusory correlations

• Illusory correlations: Seeing

relationships between two things when in
reality no such relationship exists.
• Example: Many people believe that a full
moon makes people behave oddly.
Research shows that this relationship does
not exist.

• Confirmation bias: Tendency to ignore

evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs.
Causality: conducting experiments & using the
data
• The only was to establish that there is a cause-and-effect relationship
between two variables is to conduct a scientific experiment.

• A scientific experiment has precise requirments for design and implementaion.

• The experimental hypothesis: Hypotheses can be formulated through:

- Observation
- After review of previous research.
Designing an experiment
• Experimental group: The experimental group is the group
that receives the treatment or intervention that is being
tested in the study.
• Example: In a study testing the effectiveness of a new diet
plan, the experimental group would follow the new diet.
• The control group does not receive the treatment or
intervention. They continue with their normal routine.
Designing an experiment
• Experimental manipulation: Is the only difference
between the experimental and control groups.

• Operational definition: Provides a clear, precise description

of how a variable will be observed, measured, or manipulated
in a specific study.
Designing an experiment
• Avoiding bias.
• Experimenter bias: Researcher expectations distort
the results of the study.
• Participants bias: Participants expectaions distorts the
results of the study.
Designing an experiment
• Single-blind study-experiment: In which the
researcher knows which participants are in the
experimental group and which are in the control group,
but participants do not.
• Double-blind study-exxperiment: In which both the
researchers and the participants are blind to group
assignments.
 Placebo effect
• Placebo effect: People’s expectations or beliefs influencing
their experience in a given situation. For example, when
people are given a pill to improve their mood their mood
may increase just because they believe it will.
• To know if a medication is really having an effect or whether
it’s the placebo effect, the experimental group receive the
medication and the control receive a placebo treatment.
This is a double-blind study.
• Any differences between the groups will be due to the
medication.
Selecting participants
• Participants: Subjects of psychological research.
• Population: Overall group of individuals that the researcher is interested
in studying. (e.g. College students).
• Sample: Subset of individuals selected from the larger population.
• Population is too large for a researcher to include everyone so
samples are used.
• Random sample: is a method of selecting participants for a study in such
a way that every individual in the larger population has an equal chance of
being chosen. participants are selected purely by chance, without any bias
or influence.
Issues to consider
 Group work
1. Stanford prison experiment.
2. The Little Albert experiment.
3. The marshmellow test.
4. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study
5. The Good Samaritan Experiment