Lecture 2 - Research Strategies Flashcards
Who was the first one to psychologically study the mind?
Wilhelm Wundt
introspection
study of one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings
who was E.B. Titchener?
Wundts student.
Focus on structuralism
structuralism
The analysis of mental structures
what is the mind
what did William James focus on
functionalism, the study of how the mind works
why do we have a mind
popular wisdom
The general idea of what we think is true
name two examples of popular wisdom
- birds of a feather flock together
- interpersonal attraction
why do we need psychological science
In order to see what popular wisdom holds true
what is hindsight bias
once we have all the info needed and know of the outcome, we believe we could have predicted what happened
How is psychological science research done?
The scientific method
what is the scientific method
it tests ideas with the use of data and evidence (empiricism)
name the steps of the scientific method/The research process
- formulate research question
- formulate a hypothesis
- design the study to test hypothesis
- perform the study (test the hypothesis)
- interpret the data (draw conclusions)
- communicate the findings
hypothesis
testable prediction
operational definition
statement about the procedures the researcher used to measure a variable
what are some examples of operational definitions
self-report, survey, brain scan, etc.
What are the different approaches to psychological research
- case study
- naturalistic observation
- Survey method
what is a case study
in-depth analysis of one subject (or more)
what is naturalistic observation
describe and measure people and or animals behavior systematically
what is the advantage and disadvantage to naturalistic observation
advantage: natural, trust there is no artificial present
disadvantage: people tend to act differently when they know they’re being watched
what is the survey method
asking people questions about their thoughts, feelings, desires, and actions and recording their answers
What are the problems to the survey method
The wording and the response bias. The way questions are asked affect responses and people may or may not tell the truth
what is important issue when doing the survey method
Random sampling (random selection)
Random sampling
Everyone in the population has an equal chance of being studied
what is the correlational method
examine strength and direction of relationship between two variables
correlation coefficient (r)
Measure of the strength of the association between two variables (ranges from -1.00 to +1.00)
negative correlation
variables change in opposite directions
positive correlation
variables change in the same direction
correlation does not indicate …
CAUSATION
experiment
researcher changes one variable in a controlled situation and observes the effects of that change on other aspects of the situation
independent variable (IV)
manipulated by experimenter
dependent variable (DV)
Outcome variable
what is the purpose of experiments
to test the effects of the independent variable and the dependent variable
experimental condition (group)
receives treatment/stimulus
Control condition (group)
doesn’t receive treatment/stimulus
comparison group
Random assignment
participants have an equal chance of being in every experimental group
placebo effect
observed improvement due to an inert treatment
expectancy effect
results one expectations held by the experimenter lead unintentionally to behavior toward the participant that, in turn, affects the participants behavior
Double-blind procedure’s
neither the participants nor the researchers know who has been assigned to the experimental or control group
