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The Science of Psychology & Psych Research (The Scientific Method…
The Science of Psychology & Psych Research
the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behavior in a given context.
BEHAVIOR
any activity that can be observed, recorded, or measured
MENTAL PROCESS
conscious and unconscious mental states
Psychology as a Science
systematic objective methods of observation help to learn about and explain phenomena
things psych investigates
describe and explain the entire human species
how we change as we age -- diversity across lifespan
differences: age, gender
diversity of influences -- behavior changes based on circumstances people are in
knowledge requires empirical data
not everything can be quantified (art from data)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
must
operationally define
variable
types of research
basic
: research carried out primarily to test a theory or empirical issue
applied
: research carried out to investigate a real world problem (practical problem)
Research Designs
DESCRIPTIVE
Naturalistic Observation
: observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate or control them
describes behavior, doesn't explain it
Survey
: investigates the self-reported attitudes, opinions, or behaviors of people
Biases
socially desirable responding/faking good
better than average effect
biased sampling
Case Study
: study an individual in depth in hopes of revealing universal principles
individual behavior may not be universal
CORRELATIONAL
collecting data to find a link between two phenomena
problem: correlations indicate relationship patterns but
not
causality
used to gather data in early stages of research, to prove a relationship between two naturally occurring variables, and if manipulating independent variable is impossible/unethical
correlation is positive, negative, or zerio
EXPERIMENTAL
establishes cause and effect
research design
select random sample from population
randomly assign sample pop to variable and control groups
observe whether independent variable causes change in dependent variable
ideally no preexisting bias because of random selection
example: type A behavior and coronary heart disease
correlational study established relationship between type A and coronary heart disease
operationally defined "type a"
sense of time urgency, free-floating hostility, intense competitive striving for achievement
statistically controlled for third variables (smoking, obesity, cholesterol levels)
separate into two groups
Group 1: counseling to avoid risky behaviors (smoking, eating fatty foods)
Group 2: counseling to reduce type A behavior
3 years later, analyze two groups for coronary heart disease
significantly fewer recurrent heart attacks in group 2 than group 1
The Scientific Method
focus on a theory
formulate a hypothesis
conduct research
analyze whether the data support or refute the theory
report results and embark on further inquiry
Scientific explanation
: tentative explanation for a phenomenon based on objective observation and logic, and subject to empirical test
Kenneth B. Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark (importance of scientific evidence)
investigated psychological effects of segregation
two dolls, one black, one white. kids aged 2-7, both black and white internalized segregation, said that the white doll was "prettier" and "more good"
also had children draw pictures of good/pretty child and bad/ugly child. similar results
Evaluating Scientific Data
External Validity
: degree to which the results of a study may be generalized
use white rats for psych study because easy to control and prove that the effects are only because of independent variable
using college students is sometimes harder because many other possible effects on results
Internal Validity
: degree to which data collected in a study addresses the research hypothesis in the way attended
Falsifiability
: must be able to come up with a way your hypothesis can be proved wrong
counterexample: Freud
counterexample: Bauheim autism and "refrigerator mother": idea that parent on some level didn't want child --> "cold" --> child recognizes this --> child develops autism
Replication
: must produce similar results when repeated measurements are made under identical conditions
counterexample: Mozart Effect
Replication Crisis: "Reproducability Project" reproduced ~200 studies in different fields. In psych only 1/3 success!!
studies with lowest success were in social psych... very hard to replicate b/c in same social situation people often act differently
studies in cognitive psych had much higher rate of replication
problem in psych/science in general: people not often published for replication, not valued enough by field