Unit 1 - Research Methods Flashcards
Scientific study of behavior and mental processes, Looks at the connection between behavior and mental processes
psychology
Before it was called psychology
People wondered how the mind worked
There was evidence of trephination (cutting holes into a skull to let evil spirits out) back in the stone age.
Phrenology - feeling the head/psychics/fortunes
The first official textbook in the field of psychology was
The Principles of Psychology by William James
Context influences people’s interpretation of information.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts
Gestalt theory
Psychoanalysis – focus on unconscious motives and internal conflicts to determine human behavior.
Repression:
- Freudian slip = say something we didn’t mean to say
- Dream Analysis = we can figure out what’s in our subconscious and what we repress through our dreams
Main goal as human being is to satisfy desires:
- Id, Ego, and Super Ego (devil/satisfied needs, reality principle/in between, angel/ideal situation)
Defense Mechanisms: unconscious strategies we utilize to deal with anxiety/uncomfortableness
Freud and psychoanalysis
John Watson, Behaviorism
- scientific study of observable behavior
- Father of Behaviorism is John Watson
- States that psychology must be limited to observable, measureable events = behaviors
- wanted feelings and emotions removed from the study of psychology
Watson is famous for Little Albert Experiment (rats)
When reinforced/rewarded animals more likely to repeat action (Think about when you train a pet), People learn the same way
B.F. Skinner and Reinforcement
Classical Conditioning (think dogs salivating)
Ivan Pavlov
Looks at the purpose of our behavior and mental processes in order to help us to adapt and survive
Functionism
introspection
Structuralism
assist people w/ problems in living and in achieving greater well being – adjustment problems/”everyday” problems
Counseling Psychologist
studies, assess, and treats people w/ psychological disorders (depression, bipolar disorder, phobias, etc.)
Clinical Psychologist
also treat people w/ psychological disorders but have medical degree and can provide/prescribe medications
Psychiatrist
Scientific method
- Form a Question or Theory
- Form a Hypotheses
- Research/Experiment
- Analyze Data
- Conclusion and Replication
Data collection
Case Studies (Little Albert, Genie)
Survey (Wording Effect)
Naturalist Observation
Longitudinal Study
Cross-Sectional Study
Experiments
Expresses a relationship between two variables.
A variable is anything that can vary among participants in a study.
Hypothesis
Whatever is being manipulated in the experiment.
Hopefully the independent variable brings about change.
Independent variable
Whatever is being measured in the experiment.
It is dependent on the independent variable.
Dependent variable
Explain what you mean in your hypothesis.
How will the variables be measured in “real life” terms.
How you operationalize the variables will tell us if the study is valid and reliable.
Operational Definitions
Sampling
Identify the population you want to study.
The sample must be representative of the population you want to study.
GET A RANDOM SAMPLE.
Types of samples
Stratified Sampling = picking any demographic and making your population representative of that
Systematic Sampling = every 10th person gets asked to take the survey
Convenience Sampling = convenient option
Looking to prove causal relationships.
Cause = Effect
Experimental method
The object of an experiment is to prove that A causes B.
A ____ ____ is anything that could cause change in B, that is not A.
confounding variable
Random assignment
Once you have a random sample, randomly assigning them into two groups helps control for confounding variables.
Just the fact that you know you are in an experiment can cause change.
Without a control group you can’t say whether change was due to treatment or other variables
Hawthorne effect
Correlation
Correlation expresses a relationship between two variables.
Does not show causation.
Positive correlation = The variables go in the SAME direction
Negative correlation = The variables go in opposite directions
Correlation coefficient
A number that measures the strength of a relationship.
Range is from -1 to +1
The relationship gets weaker the closer you get to zero.
Measure of central tendencies
mean (average), median (middle #), and mode (most frequent #)
Measures of variability
Range = distance from highest to lowest scores.
Standard Deviation: the variance of scores around the mean.
The higher the variance or SD, the more spread out the distribution is.
Normal distribution
Mean in middle, bottom is measure of standard deviation
68, 95, 98 % rule (1, 2, 3 st devs away)
APA Ethical Guidelines for Research
IRB- Internal Review Board
Both for humans and animals.
Animal research:
- Clear purpose
- Treated in a humane way
- Acquire animals legally
- Least amount of suffering possible.
Human research:
- No Coercion (must be voluntary)
- Informed consent
- Anonymity
- No significant risk
- Must debrief
Genie documentary
the wild child
- spent her childhood locked up in her bedroom, had developed no language skills
- passed the critical period for language so was no able to learn after being saved
- Explores the ethical controversies surrounding her case and the effects that isolation had on her development
- Ethical issue was that David Rigler was researcher, therapist, and foster father of Genie
