PSYCHOLOGY 2E

Chapter 2 PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH

PowerPoint Image Slideshow
How does television content impact children’s behavior? (credit: modification of work by
“antisocialtory”/Flickr)
WHY IS RESEARCH IMPORTANT?
At one time in history, people believed the earth was flat and that mental illnesses
were caused by possession.
People can be very wrong in their ideas about the world when they do not rely on
evidence to support their claims.
Research is a mandatory process in validating claims.

Scientific research is empirical; it is grounded in

objective, tangible evidence that can be observed
time and time again, regardless of who is
observing.

Without research, we would only have intuition and

groundless assumptions.
Through research we are able to prove certain
ideas through study and testing. Figure 2.2 Some of our ancestors,
across the world and over the centuries,
believed that trephination—the practice
Psychology is a science, therefore, research is of making a hole in the skull, as shown
required to not only further investigate something here—allowed evil spirits to leave the
but provide verification and support of the findings. body, thus, curing mental illness and
other disorders. (credit:
“taiproject”/Flickr)
USE OF RESEARCH INFORMATION

Advertising campaigns often claim to be based on “scientific evidence” when in

reality it is based off of belief.

Thinking critically about claims:

- What is the expertise of the person making the claim?

- What might they gain if the claim is valid?

- Does the claim seem justified given the evidence?

- What do other researchers think of the claim?

 THE PROCESS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH:
INDUCTIVE VS DEDUCTIVE REASONING

Deductive reasoning - results are predicted based on a general premise.

- All living things require energy to survive (premise), ducks are living things,
therefore ducks require energy to survive (conclusion).

Inductive reasoning - conclusions are drawn from observations.

- You see many fruit growing on trees and therefore assume all fruit grows on trees.

1. Scientists form ideas

(theories/hypotheses) through
deductive reasoning.

2. Hypotheses are then tested

through empirical observations
and scientists form conclusions
through inductive reasoning.
Psychological research relies
3. These conclusions lead to new on both inductive and
theories and hypotheses (or deductive reasoning.
more broad generalizations).
 THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Scientists use inductive reasoning to form

theories which then generate hypotheses.

Theory – well-developed set of ideas that

propose an explanation for observed
phenomena.

Hypothesis – tentative and testable statement

(prediction) about the relationship between two
or more variables.
- Predicts how the world will behave if the
theory is correct.
- Usually an “if-then” statement.
- Is falsifiable (capable of being shown to be
incorrect).

The scientific method of research includes proposing hypotheses, conducting research,

and creating or modifying theories based on results.
FIGURE 2.6

Many of the specifics of (a) Freud's theories, such as (b) his division of the mind into id,
ego, and superego, have fallen out of favor in recent decades because they are not
falsifiable. In broader strokes, his views set the stage for much of psychological thinking
today, such as the unconscious nature of the majority of psychological processes.
2.2 APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

Clinical or case studies

Naturalistic Observation
Surveys
Archival Research
Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Research
CLINICAL OR CASE STUDIES

Clinical or case studies focus on one individual.

The studied individual is typically in a extreme or unique psychological
circumstance that differentiates them for the general public.

- Allows for a lot of insight into a case.

- Difficult to generalize results to the larger population.

Example: Genie
Genie was studied by psychologists
after she was found at age 13, having
suffered severe abuse and social
isolation. Psychologists were interested
in the effect social isolation had on her
development.

(Credit: Captive Humans)

FIGURE 2.7
Observation of behavior in its natural setting.
Naturalistic behavior is generally hidden under scrutiny or observation.
- Seeing a police car behind you would probably affect your driving behavior.
To study the most accurate and genuine behaviors, naturalistic observation has
proven most effective.
Through naturalistic observations, any feeling of performance or anxiety of the
studied individuals is eliminated.
Observer bias - when observations may be skewed to align with observer
expectations.
- Establishment of clear criteria to observe should help eliminate observer bias.

Seeing a police car behind you would probably affect your driving behavior. (credit:
Michael Gil)
FIGURE 2.8

(a) Jane Goodall made a career of conducting naturalistic observations of

(b) chimpanzee behavior. (credit “Jane Goodall”: modification of work by Erik Hersman;
“chimpanzee”: modification of work by “Afrika Force”/Flickr.com)
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
(subset of individuals) from a larger
population.

Surveys can be administered in a

number of ways, including
electronically administered research,
like the survey shown here. (credit:
Robert Nyman)
ARCHIVAL RESEARCH

Uses past records or data sets to answer various research questions, or to search for
interesting patterns or relationships.

A researcher doing archival research examines records, whether archived as a (a)

hardcopy or (b) electronically. (credit “paper files”: modification of work by “Newtown
graffiti”/Flickr; “computer”: modification of work by INPIVIC Family/Flickr)
LONGITUDINAL AND CROSS-SECTIONAL
RESEARCH

Cross-Sectional Research – Compares multiple segments of a population at a

single time (such as different age groups).
Longitudinal - Studies in which the same group of individuals is surveyed or
measured repeatedly over an extended period of time.

Researchers often expect some participants to drop out, particularly in this type of
study and therefore often initially recruit a lot of participants.
Attrition - reduction in number of research participants as some drop out of the study
over time.

Longitudinal research like the CPS-3 help us to better understand how smoking is
associated with cancer and other diseases. (credit: CDC/Debora Cartagena)
 CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH
Correlation – Relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are
correlated, one variable changes as the other does.

Correlation Coefficient - number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the
relationship between variables, and usually represents by r.

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 thing as no correlation.

Scatterplots are a graphical view of the strength and direction of correlations. The stronger
the correlation, the closer the data points are to a straight line.
CORRELATION DOES NOT INDICATE
CAUSATION
Cause-and-effect relationship - changes in one variable cause the changes in the
other variable; can be determined only through an experimental research design.

Confounding variable - unanticipated outside factor that affects both variables of

interest, often giving the false impression that changes in one variable causes
changes in the other variable..

Example:
• As ice-cream sales increase, so does the overall rate in crime.
• A relationship exists between ice-cream and crime but is it correlation
or does one cause the other?
• In this example, temperature is a confounding variable. As the
temperature increases, ice-cream sales increase and people are
more likely to be outside increasing crime rates.
CORRELATION DOES NOT INDICATE
CAUSATION

Does eating cereal really cause someone to be a healthy weight? (credit: Tim Skillern)
ILLUSORY CORRELATIONS
As well as mistaking correlation for causation, people can also make false
correlations.

Illusory Correlations - Seeing relationships between two things when in reality

no such relationship exists.

Confirmation bias - tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs.

Illusory correlations can be involved in the formation of prejudicial attitudes that

can lead to discriminatory behavior.

Many people believe that a full moon makes people behave oddly. Research
demonstrates that this relationship does not exist.

Many people believe that a full moon makes people behave oddly. (credit: Cory Zanker)
CAUSALITY: CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS
& USING THE DATA

The only way to establish that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between two
variables is to conduct a scientific experiment.
A scientific experiment has precise requirements for design and implementation.

THE EXPERIMENTAL HYPOTHESIS

Hypotheses can be formulated through:
- Observation
- After review of previous research
DESIGNING AN EXPERIMENT
EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS
Experimental group - The participants that experience the manipulated
variable (group designed to answer the research question).
Control group - Participants that do not experience the manipulated variable.
- Serve as a basis for comparison and controls for chance factors that might
influence the results of the study
Experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental
and control groups, so any differences between the two are due to
experimental manipulation rather than chance.
DEFINING VARIABLES AND HOW THEY WILL BE MEASURED
Operational definition - description of what actions and operations will be
used to measure the dependent variables and manipulate the independent
variables.
DESIGNING AN EXPERIMENT
AVOIDING BIAS AND THE PLACEBO EFFECT
Experimenter bias - researcher expectations skew the results of the study.
Participant bias – participant expectations skew the results of the study.

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. (Controls for participant expectations).
Double-blind Study - experiment in which both the researchers and the participants
are blind to group assignments. (Controls for both participant and experimenter
expectations).

Placebo effect - people’s expectations or beliefs influencing or

determining their experience in a given situation.
- 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 us a placebo effect, the experimental group receive the
medication and the control group receive a placebo
treatment (a sugar pill). This is a double-blind study.
- Any differences between the groups will be due to the
medication.
FIGURE 2.16

Providing the control group with a placebo treatment protects against bias caused by
expectancy. (credit: Elaine and Arthur Shapiro)
VARIABLES
Independent Variable – Variable that is influenced/controlled by the experimenter.
Ideally this should be the only important difference between the experimental and
control group.

Dependent Variable – Variable that the researcher measures to see how much effect
the independent variable had.

In an experiment, manipulations of the independent variable are expected to result in

changes in the dependent variable. (credit “automatic weapon”: modification of work by
Daniel Oines; credit “toy gun”: modification of work by Emran Kassim)
SELECTING PARTICIPANTS
Participants – Subjects of psychological research.

Populations are too large for a researcher to include everyone so samples are used.

Sample - subset of individuals selected from the larger population.

Population – overall group of individuals that the researcher is interested in (e.g.

College students).

Random Sample - subset of a

larger population in which every
member of the population has an
equal chance of being selected.
- This form of sampling is
preferred because it is more
likely that the selected
participants will be Researchers may work with (a) a large population
representative of the larger or (b) a sample group that is a subset of the
larger population. (credit “crowd”: modification of
population (sex, ethnicity, work by James Cridland; credit “students”:
social economic status etc). modification of work by Laurie Sullivan)
ASSIGNING PARTICIPANTS TO GROUPS:
EXPERIMENTAL OR CONTROL

Random Assignment – Method of experimental group assignment in which all

participants have an equal chance of being assigned to either group.
- Can be achieved using statistical software or by simply flipping a coin.
- Prevents systematic differences between groups such as gender or age.
Without random assignment, an experiment cannot find a true cause-and-effect
relationship. Any relationship could be due to preexisting differences between the
groups.
Random assignment helps to avoid preexisting systematic differences so that any
significant differences between groups can be said to be the result of the
manipulation.
ISSUES TO CONSIDER

MANIPULATING VARIABLES
As stated, random assignment is required to state causation. Once randomly
assigned, each group is then manipulated in some way. However, some experimental
designs are more complicated.
Example: The effect of sex (male/female) on spatial memory.
- Sex (independent variable) cannot be manipulated.
- Males and females cannot be randomly assigned.
This kind of an experiment is therefore called quasi-experimental.
A cause-and-effect relationship cannot be determined from this type of experiment.
ETHICS
Some questions cannot be answered using an experimental design because they
would be unethical.
Example: The effect of experiencing abuse as a child on levels of self-esteem.
- You cannot randomly assign participants to receive abuse.
- This would need to be studied using other approaches such as case studies or
surveys.
INTERPRETING EXPERIMENTAL FINDINGS

Once data has been collected, a statistical analysis is conducted.

Statistical analysis - determines how likely any difference between experimental
groups is due to chance.
Psychologists usually discuss results as significant or non-significant.
If the odds that the differences occurred by chance are 5% or less, then the
results are significant.
A true experiment, including random assignment, manipulation of the independent
variable and control of extraneous variables reduce the odds of results occurring
by chance.
REPORTING FINDINGS

Research is usually reported in scientific journals.

- Usually aimed at an audience of professionals/scholars.
- Articles published are peer-reviewed journal articles.
Peer-reviewed journal article – article read by several other scientists (usually
anonymously) with expertise in the subject matter, who provide feedback
regarding the quality of the manuscript before it is accepted for publication.
- Helps to weed out poorly conceived or executed studies.
- Improves articles with suggested revisions.
- Determines whether the research is described clearly enough to be replicated
by other researchers.
Replication:
- Determines reliability of original research design.
- Can include additional measures that expand on the original findings.
- Provide more evidence to support the original finding or to cast doubt on those
findings.
 BAD SCIENCE & RETRACTION:
THE VACCINE-AUTISM MYTH

Many peer-reviewed publications published research making claims that routine

childhood vaccines cause some children to develop autism.

Since these reports, large-scale research was carried out suggesting that
vaccinations are not responsible for causing autism.
Many of the original studies have since been retracted.

It was found that the leading research in the original study had a financial interest in
establishing a link between childhood vaccines and autism.

Unfortunately the initial claims were publicized and many people still think
vaccinations cause autism.
RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

Reliability - consistency and reproducibility of a given result.

- Would the same test give the same results every time?
- Do the instruments/tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible
ways?
When a study involves observations by multiple people, it is important that they all
make observations and record them in the same way.
Inter-rater reliability - measure of agreement among observers on how they
record and classify a particular event.

A reliable, consistent measurement does not always meant that it is measuring

something correctly.
Validity - accuracy of a given result in measuring what it is designed to measure.
- Does a test measure what it is meant to measure?
A valid measure is always reliable but a reliable measure is not always valid.
ETHICS:
RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN PARTICIPANTS
Research involving human participants must adhere to strict guidelines.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) – Committee of administrators, scientists, and

community members that reviews proposals for research involving human
participants.
- Exist at any research institution that receives federal support for research involving
human participants.
- Generally, IRB must approve research proposal before it can proceed.

Informed consent - process of informing a

research participant about what to expect
during an experiment and then obtaining the
person’s consent to participate. Includes:
- Potential risks involved
- Implications of the research
- Notification that participation is voluntary
- Notification that any data collected will be
kept confidential An institution’s IRB meets regularly to
review experimental proposals that
involve human participants. (credit:
modification of work by Lowndes Area
Knowledge Exchange (LAKE)/Flickr)
DECEPTION
Sometimes deception is necessary to prevent the participant’s knowledge of the
research question affecting the results as long as it is not considered harmful.

Deception – Purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the

integrity of the experiment.
Debriefing - when an experiment involved deception, participants are told complete
and truthful information about the experiment at its conclusion.
The Tuskegee Syphilis study
Ethical guidelines have not always existed.
In 1932, participants were recruited in an
experiment studying syphilis in black men.

Participants that tested positive were not

informed that they had the disease.

Although no cure existed at the beginning of the

study, a cure was found in 1947 (penicillin), but
it was not administered to participants.

Many participants unknowingly spread the

A participant in the Tuskegee Syphilis
disease and many died. Study receives an injection.
ETHICS:
RESEARCH INVOLVING ANIMAL SUBJECTS
- 90% of psychological research involving animal subjects uses rodents or birds.

- Animals make good substitutes because many of their basic processes are
sufficiently similar to those in humans.

- Animals are used when the research would be unethical in human participants.

- Researchers must still aim to minimize pain or distress.

Institutional Animal Care and Use

Committee (IACUC) - committee of
administrators, scientists, veterinarians, and
community members that reviews proposals
for research involving non-human animals.

Rats, like the one shown here, often serve

as the subjects of animal research.
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