SYCHOLO
GY
AP
Methods
UNIT 1 LESSON 3
IN THIS SECTION...
01 Why we need the scientific method
02 Key terms
03 Identify research methods
Common sense is not so common
Myth or Fact?
Bulls get angry at the colour red.
We only use 10% of our brains.
You need 8 glasses of water a day to be
healthy.
We only have 5 senses.
Flipping a coin is always 50/50.
Common sense is not so common
Myths!
Bulls are colorblind.
We don’t know the brain enough!
We don’t all need to drink that much water.
We have more than 33 senses, maybe more.
(balance, heat/cold, of self, etc.)
It is more like 49/51.
Common sense is
not so common
Some thinks that psychology explains things that
we already think we know. "It's common sense!"
Contrary to that belief, scientific research
overturn many popular beliefs that people think
of as common sense.
Critical thinking is an important skill to have so
we do not fall victim to thinking traps/fallacies.
We will identify 3 of them: hindsight bias,
overconfidence, and perceiving patterns in
random events.
Hindsight Bias
"I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon"
Study example:
Two groups given two statements:
1) Psychologists found that separation weakens
romantic attraction,
2) Psychologists found that separation strengthens
romantic attraction.
The groups always found an explanation for why it
might be true: 1) out of sight out of mind, 2) absence
makes the heart grow fonder.
We might be good at explaining what happened,
but the goal of scientific research in psychology
is to determine what will happen.
Overconfidence
If I give you three 5-letter words that are
scrambled, how quickly can you figure it out?
WREAT
ROHTE
LVDIA
Overconfidence
If I give you three 5-letter words that are scrambled,
how quickly can you figure it out?
WATER
OTHER
VALID
This is a kind of cognitive bias. Reality is often
different from what our brains believe. Without
scientific evidence, any conclusion we come to
may be questionable.
"Computers in the future may weight no more
than 1.5 tons" - Mechanic from the 1940s
Perceiving order in
random events
Actual random events don't look random. Things
occur more often than people expect them to.
Example: You are playing a game and you are on a
“winning” streak or “losing” streak
This makes us susceptible to overestimation.
The Scientific Method
DIFFERENT RESEARCH METHODS
We will cover 7 research methods and discover their strengths
and weaknesses:
experimental
correlational
survey
naturalistic observations
case studies
longitudinal
cross-sectional
There are 2 types of research,
Applied research deals with practical applications and real-world
usage, such as finding a cause or solution of a mental illness.
Basic research is conducted for things of interest, not immediate
usage.
The Scientific Method
DIFFERENT RESEARCH METHODS
PRACTICE: Identify applied vs. basic research:
How do children acquire new memories?
How to improve student motivation in the classroom?
What are the symptoms of ADHD in girls?
Why do panic attacks happen?
What are the treatment options for anxiety?
The Scientific Method
DIFFERENT RESEARCH METHODS
What roles do theories and hypotheses play in
psychological research? Are they different? If so define
them.
The Scientific Method
TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Simply put, a hypothesis put to the test and concludes true to
the test becomes a theory.
Hypotheses are predictions (testable questions), they come from a
good (testable) theory and express relationships between
variables.
Note: You may never prove a hypothesis. The goal of research is to
gather enough data to support/debunk the hypothesis!
Theories explains behaviours/events by offering ideas that
organize observations.
The Scientific Method
TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Operational definitions translate the hypothesis into carefully
phrased, specific statements of testable procedure that is both
measurable and observable, while making it easy for others to
replicate the study using the same definitions.
Example: human intelligence measured by SAT score, romantic
attraction measured by pupil dilation
PRACTICE: Give me an operational definition for:
- teacher employee job satisfaction at Clifford
- popular t-shirt colour sold at Uniqlo
- how nutritious a dog food is
Research Method
3 TYPES
Experimental
Aims to establish cause and effect by manipulating variables.
Descriptive
Aims to describe behaviour, using methods such as case
studies, surveys or naturalistic observations.
Correlational
Aims to make connections between variables, correlation ≠
causation.
Research Methods should be...
RELIABLE AND VALID
Reliability
A reliable test has measures that can be replicated, or
repeated over and over again with consistency in results.
Validity
A valid research measures what the researcher had
purposefully set out to measure.
A good research must have both.
Research Method
CASE STUDIES
Study of one specific individual, or a small group of individuals that has
something in common.
Goals:
reveal some sort of universal principal
examine a very rare circumstance that may be unethical to recreate
for study otherwise
Shortcomings:
Data is not representative of the general population.
Research Method
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
Observing and recording behaviour in the natural environment without
intervention or manipulation of any factors.
Goals:
Data gathered can describe realistic behaviour (not explain it), this
includes animal studies
Reveal information and details
Shortcomings:
There are no control methods, so it’s difficult to see if what factors are at
play which can influence behaviour
Research Method
SURVEY
A descriptive technique to obtain self-reported information from a group.
Goals:
Gather data easily from a larger group of people
The reported attitudes and behaviours can be used to find trends
Shortcomings:
The wording of the survey can be very delicate (words influence
response)
Sampling bias/Difficult to obtain a representative sample (because
you can’t never survey everyone)
Research Method
EXPERIMENTAL
Divided into laboratory and field experiments.
Lab experiments are done in a highly controlled environment, which is
also its advantage. This is the most accurate way to define causal
relationships.
Field experiments are conducted in the world, which is more realistic;
however, since there are uncontrolled variables, a confounding variable
can affect both the independent and dependent variable.
Research Method
CORRELATIONAL
Demonstrates a relations between two variables exists without
establishing causation.
This method is mainly used when the experiment method is not
applicable, so that only a degree of association may be studied.
Note:
Causation DOES NOT EQUAL TO correlation! Which of the following
demonstrates causation, and which is correlation?
Eating candy will cause cavities.
Using a public computer in the library will cause you to catch a cold.
Research Method
LONGITUDINAL & CROSS-SECTIONAL
Longitudinal Studies: observe the same subject(s) over a length of time.
Great for finding trends and patterns, not very cost or time efficient.
Cross-sectional Studies: observe different samples of a large population
at one point in time. Affordable and can collect a large amount of data at
once. but cannot establish any causal relationships. Results may also be
subjected to researcher bias.
CHECKING YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Identify what method each description of a research falls under.
1. A group of white rats are used to test the efficacy of a new anti-depressant
medication.
2. Researchers study a young Irish woman who went through a horrific car
accident and can now speak Japanese.
3. A researcher begins interviewing a Chinese immigrant child in the USA who
has Down Syndrome to study his language development starting at age 5, until
he turns 18.
4. A study on whether girls gets called more often by the teacher in a classroom
than boys.
5. Students at CIS are asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their opinion on
the new advisory class.