Module 2

Module 2

Psychology & Science

ANSWERING QUESTIONS

• Research methods– Survey– Case study– Experiment

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)

• Researchers use all three methods– survey– case study– experiment

• each method provides a different kind of information

SURVEYS

• Survey – way to obtain information by asking many individuals– answer a fixed set of questions about particular

subjects

SURVEYS (CONT.)

• Disadvantages– information can contain errors– results can be biased

• Advantage– efficient way to obtain much information from a large

number of people

CASE STUDY

• Case study

– an in-depth analysis of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences, behaviors, or problems of a single individual

– Personal Case Study: Testimonial

• statement in support of a particular viewpoint based on detailed observation of a person’s own personal experience

– Error and Bias: Self-fulfilling Prophecy

• A strong belief or making a statement (prophecy) about a future behavior and then acting, usually unknowingly, to fulfill or carry out the behavior

CASE STUDY (CONT.)

• Disadvantage– detailed information about a particular person may not

apply to others• Advantage

– detailed information allows greater understanding of a particular person’s life

EXPERIMENT

• Experiment – a method for identifying cause-and-effect

relationships by following a set of rules and guidelines that minimize the possibility of error, bias, and chance occurrences

EXPERIMENT (CONT.)

• Disadvantage– information obtained in one experimental situation or

laboratory setting may not apply to other situations• Advantage

– has the greatest potential for identifying cause-and-effect relationships with less error and bias than either surveys or case studies

CULTURAL DIVERSITY: USE OF PLACEBOS

• Placebo– intervention, such as taking a pill, receiving

and injection, or undergoing an operation, that resembles medical therapy but which in fact, has no medical effects

• Placebo effect– change in the patient’s illness that is

attributable to an imagined treatment rather than to a medical treatment

CULTURAL DIVERSITY: USE OF PLACEBOS (CONT.)

– researchers believe that placebos work by reducing tension and distress and by creating powerful self-fulfilling prophecies

– individuals think and behave as if the drug, actually a placebo, is effective

CULTURAL DIVERSITY: USE OF PLACEBOS (CONT.)

• Placebo examples– Rhino Horn– Bear Gallbladders– Tiger Bones– Cough Medication

CORRELATION

• Correlation– an association or relationship between the occurrence

of two or more events• Correlation coefficient

– a number that indicates the strength of a relationship between two or more events: the closer the number is to –1.00 or +1.00, the greater is the strength of the relationship

CORRELATION

CORRELATION (CONT.)

• Perfect positive correlation coefficient– +1.00 means that an increase in one event is always

matched by an equal increase in a second event• Positive correlation coefficient

– indicates that as one event tends to increase, the second event tends to, but does not always, increase

– increases from +0.01 to +0.99 indicate a strengthening of the relationship between the occurrence of two events

CORRELATION (CONT.)

• Zero correlation– indicates that there is no relationship between the

occurrence of one event and the occurrence of a second event

• Negative correlation coefficient– indicates that as one event tends to increase, the

second event tends to, but does not always, decrease– -0.01 to -0.99 indicates a strengthening in the

relationship of one event increasing and the other decreasing

CORRELATION (CONT.)

• Perfect negative correlation coefficient– -1.00 means that an increase in one event is always

matched by an equal decrease in a second event– correlations such as –1.00 are virtually never found in

applied psychological research

DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH

• What is the best technique for answering a question?– Questionnaires and interviews– Laboratory experiments– Standardized tests– Animal models

DECISIONS ABOUT DOING RESEARCH (CONT.)

• Interview– technique for obtaining information by asking

questions, ranging from open-ended to highly structured, about a subject’s behaviors and attitudes, usually in a one-on-one situation

• Questionnaire– technique for obtaining information by asking subjects

to read a list of written questions and check off specific answers


• Laboratory experiments– techniques to gather information about the brain,

genes, or behavior with the least error and bias by using a controlled environment that allows careful observation and measurement

• Standardized tests– technique to obtain information by administering a

psychological test that has been given to hundreds of people and shown to reliably measure thought patterns, personality traits, emotions, or behaviors


• Animal Models– involves examining or manipulating some behavioral,

genetic, or physiological factor that closely approximates some human problem, disease, or condition

– Example:• human stem cell transplants in mice with spinal

cord injuries


• Choosing research settings– Naturalistic setting– Laboratory setting


• Naturalistic setting– relatively normal environment in which researchers

gather information by observing individuals’ behaviors without attempting to change or control the situation

• Laboratory setting– involves studying individuals under systematic and

controlled conditions, with many of the real-world influences eliminated

SCIENTIFIC METHOD: EXPERIMENT

• Advantages of scientific method– Scientific Method

• approach of gathering information and answering questions so that errors and biases are minimized

SCIENTIFIC METHOD: EXPERIMENT (CONT.)

• Conducting an Experiment: seven rules– Rule 1: Ask– Rule 2: Identify– Rule 3: Choose– Rule 4: Assign– Rule 5: Manipulate– Rule 6: Measure– Rule 7: Analyze


• Rule 1: Ask– hypothesis – educated guess about some phenomenon stated in

precise, concrete language to rule out any confusion or error in the meaning of its terms


• Rule 2: Identify– independent variable

• a treatment or something that the researcher controls or manipulates

– dependent variable• one or more of the subjects’ behaviors that are

used to measure the potential effects of the treatment or independent variable


• Rule 3: Choose– random selection

• each participant in a sample population has an equal chance of being selected for the experiment

• Rule 4: Assign– experimental group

• those who receive the treatment• control group• participants who undergo all the same procedures

as the experimental participants except that the control participants do not receive the treatment


• Rule 5: Manipulate– double blind procedure

• neither participants nor researchers know which group is receiving which treatment

• Rule 6: Measure– by manipulating the treatment so that the

experimental group receives a different treatment than the control group, researchers are able to measure how the independent variable (treatment) affects those behaviors that have been selected as the dependent variables


• Rule 7: Analyze– statistical procedures

• used to determine whether differences observed in dependent variables (behaviors) are due to independent variables (treatment) or to error or chance occurrence

APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS

• Concerns about being a subject– human and animal

• Code of ethics– the American Psychological Association publishes a

code of ethics and conduct for psychologists to follow when doing research, counseling, teaching, and related activities

APPLICATION: RESEARCH CONCERNS (CONT.)

– Debriefing– includes explaining the purpose and method of the

experiment, asking participants their feelings about being participants in the experiment, and helping the participants deal with possible doubts or guilt that arise from their behaviors


• Role of deception– one way that researchers control for participants’

expectations is to use bogus procedures or instructions that prevent participants from learning the experiment’s true purpose

– researchers must justify the deceptive techniques by the scientific, educational, or applied value of the study and can only use deception if no other reasonable way to test the hypothesis is available


• Ethics of animal research– How many animals are used in research?

• estimated over 25 million animals are used each year in biomedical research

– Are research animals mistreated?• of the millions of animals used in research, only a

few cases of animal mistreatment have been confirmed

• researchers support the Animal Research Act


• Ethics of animal research– Is the use of animals justified?

• researchers are currently using animals to study epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, fetal alcohol syndrome, schizophrenia, AIDS, and transplantation of brain tissue

• none of which is possible with human subjects– Who checks on the use of animals in research?

• U. S. Department of Agriculture• universities hire veterinarians• universities have animal subject committees


• Ethics of animal research– How do we strike a balance?

• many experts in the scientific, medical, and mental health communities believe that the conscientious and responsible use of animals in research is justified and should continue

Module 2

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