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Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychologi cal Science
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Page 1: Appel PSY 150 403 Chapter 1 Slides

Chapter 1

Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

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Topics and Questions

The history and growth of psychology

The big question: Nature vs. Nurture

Biopsychosocial levels of analysis

Psychology’s subfields Avoiding three

“common sense” thinking errors

How do I explain dreams? Anxiety? The abilities and funny behavior of babies?

The Scientific Attitude: Curiosity, Skepticism, Humility

The Scientific Method Description, Correlation,

and Experimentation Frequently Asked Questions

about Psychology Applying psychology to

learning the text: SQ3R

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From speculation to science: The Birth of Modern Psychology

Aristotle (4th century BCE) had ideas about how the body and mind work.His method: making guesses.

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) added two key elements to help make psychology a science:1. carefully measured observations2. experiments

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Push a button when a ball dropped (based on when they heard the ball hit a platform): 1/10th of a second.

Push a button when consciously aware of hearing the ball hit the platform: 2/10ths of a second.

Wilhelm Wundt’s 1879 experimentmeasured the time it took for people to:

Why were the times different?

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Structuralism

Edward Titchener, like his teacher Wundt, used data from introspection, reporting on sensations and other elements of experience.

Structuralism: Using these introspective reports to build a view of the mind’s structure

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Functionalism: The school of thought that Psychological processes have a function: helping us survive as individuals, adapt as a species

The developer of functionalism, William James (1842-1910), asked: How did the human style of thinking and behavior enable our ancestors to live long enough to reproduce?

James mentored another pioneer

William James

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Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930) became a memory researcher and the first female president of the APA.

She studied with William James but was denied a Harvard PhD. Why?

Because of her gender.

Psychology Pioneers

Mary Whiton Calkins

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Psychology Pioneers

Margaret Floy Washburn,

PhD

Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939): The first female to earn a

Psychology PhD The second female APA

president Author of The Animal

Mind.

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Shifting definitions of “psychology”

Wilhelm Wundt and

Edward Titchener,

around 1900: “The science

of mental life.”

John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner,

behaviorists, 1920’s: “The

scientific study of

observable behavior.”

Cognitive psychologists,

1960’s, studied

internal mental processes, helped by

neuroscience.

Now we combine these definitions: “The science of behavior and mental

processes.”

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Behaviorists study and experiment with observable behavior.

Watson experimented with conditioned responses.

Skinner studied the way consequences shape behavior.

Like other behaviorists, he saw little value in introspection.

Trends in Psychological Science: Behaviorism

John B. Watson

B. F. Skinner

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Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis: He studied and helped people with a

variety of mental disorders. More about Freud when we study

personality and therapy

Sigmund Freud

Trends in Psychology: Freudian/Psychoanalytic Psychology

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Humanists: Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers (1960s): studied people who were thriving rather

than those who had psychological problems.

developed theories and treatments to help people to feel accepted and to reach their full potential.

Carl Rogers

Abraham Maslow

Trends in Psychology: Humanism

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The Growth of Psychology

Psychology’s pioneers have come from many fields: physiology, philosophy, medicine, and biology.

Advances in psychology also have been made in many countries

Psychology has spread rapidly; there are 71 member nations in the IUPS.

The subjects studied in psychology have

multiplied too… as we shall see in this course.

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The Big Issue in Psychology: N-N

To what extent are our traits already set in place at birth (our “Nature”)?

And to what extent do our traits develop in response to our environment/ experience (our “Nurture”)?

The Nature-Nurture Question:

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vs. Nature Nurtur

e

Plato: Ideas such

as “the good” and “beauty”

are inborn. Descartes:

Some ideas are innate.

Charles Darwin: Some traits become part of our nature through

natural selection: they help us survive long

enough to pass the traits to the next generation.

Aristotle:All knowledge

comes through the senses.

John Locke:The mind is a

blank slate (blank chalkboard or

screen) “written on” by experience.

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Nature Nurture

We have differences

that are shaped by our environment.

We share a common

origin that gives us an

inborn human nature in common.

+

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“Nurture works on what Nature endows.”

The Roles of Nature and

Nurture:

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Biology Plus Environment..are part of

psychology’s three “biopsychosocial” levels of analysis.

The deep level, Biology:

genes, brain, neuro-

transmitters, survival, reflexes,

sensation

The outer level, Environment:

social Influences, culture,

education, relationshipsIn the middle,

Psychology: thoughts, emotions,

moods, choices, behaviors, traits,

motivations, knowledge, perceptions

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The three levels as influences on some psychological phenomenon

Example: DepressionExample: IntelligenceExample: Enjoying SoccerExample: Shyness

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Cognitive perspective

Social-cultural

Behavioral genetics

Neuroscience

Psychodynamic

Behaviorist

Evolutionary

There are many perspectives for

describing psychological phenomena: From different angles, you ask different questions:

How reliable is memory? How can we improve our thinking?

Could our behavior, skills, and attitudes be “downloads” from our culture?

Could our behavior, skills, and attitudes be genetically programmed instincts?What role do our bodies and brains play in emotions? How is pain inhibited? Can we trust our senses?

Do inner childhood conflicts still plague me and affect my behavior?How are our problematic behaviors reinforced? How do our fears become conditioned? What can we do to change these fears and behaviors?Why are humans prone to panic, anger, and making irrational judgments?

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Different perspectives on a single issue: Six Blind Men and an Elephant

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Let’s play: “What’s my perspective?”

“Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a

problem in the orbital cortex.”

“No, it’s a sign of unresolved

childhood issues.” “No, OCD is

an inherited

condition.”

“Compulsions start as habits and are rewarded by the

anxiety relief they bring.”

“OCD comes from our

natural instinct to control our

environment.”

“OCD thinking and behavior is a reaction to our fast-paced, out-

of-control lifestyles.”

“No, OCD is a matter of mental habits and

errors that can be corrected.”

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Psychology’s Subfields

AppliedClinical Psychology

Counseling Psychology

Educational Psychology

Industrial-Organizational

Community Psychology

Clinical Psychology

Basic researchBiological

Developmental

Cognitive

Personality

Social

Positive Psychology

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Psychology’s Subfields Research Examples

Type of researchBiological

Developmental

Cognitive

Personality

Social

Positive Psychology

Study how the stages of cognitive and emotional development vary in autism

Explore the structural problems in the brain that may be part of autism

Clarify the difficulties autistic children have with understanding sarcasmDecide whether traits like neuroticism need to be measured differently in autismFind how autistic children can learn social skills as procedures if not by intuitionExplore what motivates people and contributes to life satisfaction

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AppliedClinical Psychology

Counseling Psychology

Educational Psychology

Industrial-Organizational

Community Psychology

Clinical Psychology

Psychology’s SubfieldsApplied

Help someone achieve career goals despite family conflict and self-doubt

Use exposure therapy to decrease phobic reactions in a traumatized client

Evaluate aptitudes and achievement to plan for a student with learning problemsFigure out how a factory can improve coordination of tasks, roles, and personalitiesHelp coordinate a city’s efforts to understand and prevent elder abuseUse exposure therapy to decrease phobic reactions in a traumatized client

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Psychology in context with other professions

Psychiatrists are physicians, M.D.s or

D.O.s. They can prescribe medication.

In addition to psychologists,

professionals in social work, counseling, and marriage and family

therapy may be trained to do psychotherapy.

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The Need for Psychological Science: Overview

Typical errors in hindsight, overconfidence, and coincidence

The scientific attitude and critical thinking The scientific method: theories and hypotheses Gathering psychological data: description,

correlation, and experimentation/causation Describing data: significant differences Issues in psychology: laboratory vs. life, culture

and gender, values and ethics

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When our natural thinking style fails:

Hindsight bias:“I knew it all

along.”

Overconfidence error:

“I am sure I am correct.”

The coincidence error, ormistakenly perceiving

order in random events: “The dice must be fixed

because you rolled three sixes in a row.”

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Hindsight bias is like a crystal ball that we use to predict…

the past.

I knew this would happen…

You were accepted into this

college/university

Classic example: after watching a

competition (sports, cooking), if you don’t

make a prediction ahead of time, you

might make a “postdiction”: “I

figured that team/person would

win because…”

When you see most results of

psychological research, you might

say, “that was obvious…”

Hindsight Bias

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These sayings all seem to make

sense, in hindsight, after we read them.

Out of sight, out of mind

S/He who hesitates is lost

No [wo]man is an island

Actions speak louder than words

You’re never too old to learn

Curiosity killed the cat Opposites attract

There’s no place like home

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Look before you leap

Good fences make good neighbors

The pen is mightier than the sword

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence

Seek and ye shall findBirds of a feather flock together

But then why do these other

phrases also seem to make sense?

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Hindsight “Bias”

The mind builds its current wisdom around what we have already been told. We are “biased” in favor of old information.

For example, we may stay in a bad relationship because it has lasted this far and thus was “meant to be.”

Why call it “bias”?

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Overconfidence Error:

Predicting performance We overestimate our

performance, our rate of work, our skills, and our degree of self-control.

Overconfidence Error:

Judging our accuracy

When stating that we “know” something, our level of confidence is usually much higher than our level of accuracy.

Overconfidence is a problem in preparing for tests. Familiarity is not understanding

If you feel confident that you know a concept, try explaining it to someone else.

Test for this: “how long do you think it takes you to…” (e.g. “just finish this one thing I’m doing on the computer before I get to work”)?

How fast can you unscramble words? Guess, then try these:

ERSEGAHEGOUN

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Result of this error:

reacting to coincidence as if it has meaning

Perceiving order in random events:

Example: The coin tosses that “look wrong” if

there are five heads in a

row.

Danger: thinking you can make a prediction from a random series. If there have been five heads in a row, you can not predict that “it’s time for tails” on the next flip

Why this error happens: because we have the wrong idea about what randomness looks like.

If one poker player at a table got pocket aces twice in a row, is the game rigged?

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Making our ideas more accurate bybeing scientific

What did “Amazing Randi” do about the claim of seeing auras? He developed a testable prediction, which would support the theory if it succeeded.

Which it did not.

The aura-readers were unable to locate the aura around Randi’s body without seeing Randi’s body itself, so their claim was not supported.

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Scientific Attitude Part 1: Curiosity

Hypothesis: Curiosity, if not

guided by caution, can lead to the death of felines

and perhaps humans.

Definition: always asking new

questions

“That behavior I’m noticing in that guy… is that common to all people? Or is it more common when under stress? Or only common for males?”

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Scientific Attitude Part 2: Skepticism

Definition: not accepting a ‘fact’ as true without

challenging it; seeing if ‘facts’ can withstand attempts to disprove them

Skepticism, like curiosity, generates questions: “Is there another explanation for the behavior I am seeing? Is there a problem with how I measured it, or how I set up my experiment? Do I need to change my theory to fit the evidence?”

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Scientific Attitude Part 3: Humility

Humility refers to seeking the truth

rather than trying to be right; a scientist needs to be able to

accept being wrong.

“What matters is not my opinion or

yours, but the truth nature

reveals in response to our questioning.” David Myers

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Critical thinking refers to a more careful style of forming and evaluating knowledge than simply using intuition.

Along with the scientific method, critical thinking will help us develop more effective and accurate ways to figure out what makes people do, think, and feel the things they do.

“Think critically” with psychological science… does this mean “criticize”?

Why do I need to work on my thinking? Can’t you just tell me facts about psychology?

• The brain is designed for surviving and reproducing, but it is not the best tool for seeing ‘reality’ clearly.

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Critical thinking: analyzing

information, arguments, and conclusions, to

decide if they make sense, rather than

simply accepting it.

Look for hidden

assumptions and decide if

you agree.Look for

hidden bias, politics,

values, or personal

connections.

Put aside your own

assumptions and biases, and look at

the evidence.

See if there was a flaw in

how the information

was collected.

Consider if there are

other possible

explanations for the facts or results.

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How Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions:The Scientific MethodThe scientific method is the process of testing our ideas about the world by:

Turning our theories into testable predictions.

Gather information related to our predictions.

analyzing whether the data fits with our ideas.

If the data doesn’t fit our ideas, then we modify our hypotheses, set up a study or experiment, and try

again to see if the world fits our predictions.

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Scientific Method: Tools and Goals

Some research findings revealed by the scientific method:

The brain can recover from massive early childhood brain damage.

Sleepwalkers are not acting out dreams.

Our brains do not have accurate memories locked inside like video files.

There is no “hidden and unused 90 percent” of our brain.

People often change their opinions to fit their actions.

The basics: Theory Hypothesis Operational

Definitions Replication

Research goals/types: Description Correlation Prediction Causation Experiments

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Theory: the big picture

Example of a theory: “All ADHD symptoms are a reaction to eating sugar.”

A theory, in the language of

science, is a set of principles, built on observations and other verifiable

facts, that explains some phenomenon

and predicts its future behavior.

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Hypotheses: informed predictions

“Testable” means that the hypothesis is stated in a way that we could make observations to find out if it is true.

A hypothesis is a testable prediction

consistent with our theory.

What would be a prediction from the “All ADHD is about sugar” theory?

One hypothesis: “If a kid gets sugar, the kid will act more distracted, impulsive, and hyper.”To test the “All” part of the theory: “ADHD symptoms will continue for some kids even after sugar is removed from the diet.”

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Danger when testing hypotheses:theories can bias our observations

We might select only the data, or the interpretations of the data, that support what we already believe. There are safeguards against this: Hypotheses designed to

disconfirm Operational definitions

Guide for making useful observations: How can we measure

“ADHD symptoms” in the previous example in observable terms? Impulsivity = # of

times/hour calling out without raising hand.

Hyperactivity = # of times/hour out of seat

Inattention = # minutes continuously on task before becoming distracted

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The next/final step in the scientific method:Replication

You could introduce a small change in the study, e.g. trying the ADHD/sugar test on college students instead of elementary students.

Replicating research means trying the methods of a study again, but with different participants or situations, to see if the same results happen.

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Research Process: an example

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Scientific Method: Tools and Goals

The basics: Theory Hypothesis Operational Definitions Replication

Research goals/types: Description Correlation Prediction Causation Experiments

Now that we’ve covered this

We can move on to this

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Research goal and strategy: Description

Strategies for gathering this information: Case Study: observing

and gathering information to compile an in-depth study of one individual

Naturalistic Observation: gathering data about behavior; watching but not intervening

Surveys and Interviews: having other people report on their own attitudes and behavior

Descriptive research is a systematic, objective

observation of people.

The goal is to provide a

clear, accurate picture of people’s

behaviors, thoughts, and

attributes.

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Case StudyExamining one individual in depth Benefit: can be a source

of ideas about human nature in general

Example: cases of brain damage have suggested the function of different parts of the brain (e.g. Phineas Gage seen here)

Danger: overgeneralization from one example; “Joe got better after tapping his foot, so tapping must be the key to health!”

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Observing “natural” behavior means just watching (and taking notes), and not trying to change anything.

This method can be used to study more than one individual, and to find truths that apply to a broader population.

Naturalistic Observation

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The Survey Definition: A method of

gathering information about many people’s thoughts or behaviors through self-report rather than observation.

Keys to getting useful information: Be careful about the

wording of questions Only question randomly

sampled people

Wording effectsthe results you get from a survey can be changed by your word selection.

Example:

Q: Do you have motivation to study hard for this course?

Q: Do you feel a desire to study hard for this course?

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What psychology science mistake was made here?

Hint #1: Harry Truman won.

Hint #2: The Chicago Tribune interviewed people about whom they would vote for.

Hint #3: in 1948.

Hint #4: by phone.

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Random Sampling• If you want to find out

something about men, you can’t interview every single man on earth.

• Sampling saves time. You can find the ratio of colors in this jar by making sure they are well mixed (randomized) and then taking a sample. population sample

Random sampling is a technique for making

sure that every individual in a population has an

equal chance of being in your sample.

“Random” means that your selection of participants is driven only by chance, not by any characteristic.

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CorrelationGeneral Definition: an observation that two traits or attributes are related to each other (thus, they are “co”-related) Scientific definition: a measure of how closely two factors vary together, or how well you can predict a change in one from observing a change in the other

In a case study: The fewer hours the boy

was allowed to sleep, the more episodes of

aggression he displayed.

A possible result of many descriptive studies:discovering a correlation

In a naturalistic observation: Children in a

classroom who were dressed in heavier clothes were more likely to fall asleep than those wearing

lighter clothes.

In a survey: The greater the number of Facebook friends,

the less time was spent studying.

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Correlation Coefficient• The correlation coefficient is a number representing how closely

and in what way two variables correlate (change together).• The direction of the correlation can be positive (direct relationship;

both variables increase together) or negative (inverse relationship: as one increases, the other decreases).

• The strength of the relationship, how tightly, predictably they vary together, is measured in a number that varies from 0.00 to +/- 1.00.

Close to +1.0

(strong negative correlation)

(no relationship,no correlation)

Guess the Correlation Coefficients

(strong positive correlation)

Height vs. shoe size

Years in school vs. years in jail

Height vs. intelligence

Close to 0.0

Close to -1.0

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If we find a correlation, what conclusions can

we draw from it?

Let’s say we find the following result: there is a positive correlation between two variables, ice cream sales, and rates of violent crime How do we explain this?

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Correlation is not Causation!

“People who floss more regularly have less risk of heart disease.”

“People with bigger feet tend to be taller.”

If this data is from a survey, can we conclude that flossing might prevent heart disease? Or that people with heart-healthy habits also floss regularly?

Does that mean having bigger feet causes height?

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If self-esteem correlates with depression,there are still numerous possible causal links:

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So how do we find out about causation? By experimentation

Testing the theory that ADHD = sugar: removing sugar from the diet of children with ADHD to see if it makes a difference

The depression/self-esteem example: trying interventions that improve self-esteem to see if they cause a reduction in depression

Experimentation: manipulating one factor in a

situation to determine its

effect

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The Control Group• If we manipulate a variable in an experimental group

of people, and then we see an effect, how do we know the change wouldn’t have happened anyway?

• We solve this problem by comparing this group to a control group, a group that is the same in every way except the one variable we are changing.

Example: two groups of children have ADHD, but only one group stops eating refined sugar.

By using random assignment:

randomly selecting some study

participants to be assigned to the

control group or the experimental group.

How do make sure the control group is really identical in every way to the experimental group?

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To clarify two similar-sounding terms…

First you sample, then you sort

(assign)

Random assignment of participants to

control or experimental groups is how you control all

variables except the one you’re manipulating.

Random sampling is how you get a pool of

research participants that represents the

population you’re trying to

learn about.

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Placebo effect

Placebo effect: experimental effects that are caused by expectations about

the intervention

How do we make sure that the experimental group doesn’t experience an effect because they expect to experience it?

How can we make sure both groups expect to get better, but only one gets the real intervention being studied?

Working with the placebo effect:Control groups may be given a placebo – an inactive substance or other fake treatment in place of the experimental treatment. The control group is

ideally “blind” to whether they are getting real or fake treatment.

Many studies are double-blind – neither participants nor research staff knows which participants are in the experimental or control groups.

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The variable we are able to manipulate independently of what the other variables are doing is called the independent variable (IV).

• If we test the ADHD/sugar hypothesis: • Sugar = Cause = Independent Variable• ADHD = Effect = Dependent Variable

The variable we expect to experience a change which depends on the manipulation we’re doing is called the dependent variable (DV).

• Did more hyper kids get to choose to be in the sugar group? Then their preference for sugar would be a confounding variable. (preventing this problem: random assignment).

The other variables that might have an effect on the dependent variable are confounding variables.

Naming the variables

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An experiment is a type of research in which the researcher carefully

manipulates a limited number of factors (IVs) and measures the impact on other factors

(DVs).*in psychology, you would be looking at

the effect of the experimental change (IV) on a behavior or mental process (DV).

Filling in our definition of experimentation

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Correlation vs. causation:the breastfeeding/intelligence question

• Studies have found that children who were breastfed score higher on intelligence tests, on average, than those who were bottle-fed.

• Can we conclude that breast feeding CAUSES higher intelligence?

• Not necessarily. There is at least one confounding variable: genes. The intelligence test scores of the mothers might be higher in those who choose breastfeeding.

• So how do we deal with this confounding variable? Hint: experiment.

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Ruling out confounding variables:experiment with random assignment

An actual study in the text: women were randomly selected to be in a group in which breastfeeding was promoted

+6 points

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Comparing Research MethodsResearch Method

Basic Purpose How Conducted

What is Manipulated

Weaknesses

Summary of the types of Research

Descriptive To observe and record behavior

Perform case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations

Nothing No control of variables; single cases may be misleading

Correlational To detect naturally occurring relationships; to assess how well one variable predicts another

Compute statistical association, sometimes among survey responses

Nothing Does not specify cause-effect; one variable predicts another but this does not mean one causes the other

Experimental To explore cause-effect

Manipulate one or more factors; randomly assign some to control group

The independent variable(s)

Sometimes not possible for practical or ethical reasons; results may not generalize to other contexts

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Drawing conclusions from data: are the results useful?After finding a pattern in our data that shows a difference between one group and another, we can ask more questions. Is the difference

reliable: can we use this result to generalize or to predict the future behavior of the broader population?

Is the difference significant: could the result have been caused by random/ chance variation between the groups?

How to achieve reliability: Nonbiased sampling: Make sure the

sample that you studied is a good representation of the population you are trying to learn about.

Consistency: Check that the data (responses, observations) is not too widely varied to show a clear pattern.

Many data points: Don’t try to generalize from just a few cases, instances, or responses.

When have you found statistically significant difference (e.g. between experimental and control groups)? When your data is reliable AND When the difference between the groups

is large (e.g. the data’s distribution curves do not overlap too much).

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Question: How can a result from an experiment, possibly simplified and performed in a laboratory, give us any insight into real life?

FAQ about PsychologyLaboratory vs.

Life

Diversity

Answer: By isolating variables and studying them carefully, we can discover general principles that might apply to all people.

Question: Do the insights from research really apply to all people, or do the factors of culture and gender override these “general” principles of behavior?

Answer: Research can discover human universals AND study how culture and gender influence behavior. However, we must be careful not to generalize too much from studies done with subjects who do not represent the general population.

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Question: Why study animals? Is it possible to protect the safety and dignity of animal research subjects?

FAQ about PsychologyEthics

Ethics

Answer: Sometimes, biologically related creatures are less complex than humans and thus easier to study. In some cases, harm to animals generates important insights to help all creatures. The value of animal research remains extremely controversial.

Question: How do we protect the safety and dignity of human subjects? Answer: People in experiments may experience discomfort; deceiving people sometimes yields insights into human behavior. Human research subjects are supposedly protected by guidelines for non-harmful treatment, confidentiality, informed consent, and debriefing (explaining the purpose of the study).

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Question: How do the values of psychologists affect their work? Is it possible to perform value-free research?

FAQ about PsychologyThe impact of

Values

Answer: Researchers’ values affect their choices of topics, their interpretations, their labels for what they see, and the advice they generate from their results. Value-free research remains an impossible ideal.

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An Application of Psychology:Improving your test performance

Scientific studies show us that:

• The retrieval practice effect/testing effect

Testing yourself boosts retention of material.

• Put it in your own words, make connections

Actively processing material helps master it.

• Spread studying over multiple days

Spaced rehearsal, interspaced with other subjects, is more efficient than cramming.

• If the concept looks familiar… not good enough

People tend to overestimate their mastery.

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Applying this knowledge: Use SQ3R to master a textbook

SurveyScan/Skim what you are about to read, especially chapter outlines and section heads.

Question Ask questions that the text might answer; write guesses.

ReadLook for the answer to your questions, reading a manageable amount at a time.

RehearseRecall what you’ve read in your own words. Test yourself with quizzes.

ReviewLook over text and notes and quickly review the main ideas of the whole chapter.