Research Methods in Psychology

Experiments

Can You Follow Directions?

• Complete the worksheet “Can you follow directions?”

• When you are finished, please sit quietly

• Experiments are the epitome of psychological research. They are the most important research method to the field of psychology.

• It will help you understand experiments in science and help you discover new things about human behavior.

How does this connect?

Following Directions

• What did we learn about human behavior?• We want to be considered the best!• Being told to follow directions causes you to

immediately follow them, no matter what. This might be especially true for a school setting.

Followed Directions Did not follow directions

Results/Data

Discussion

• What might cause someone to follow directions incorrectly?

• Does it make sense to follow every direction blindly?

Experimentation• How did I operationally define my variables?

YELLING NAME, FOLLOWING UNNECESSARY DIRECTIONS

SITTING QUIETLY

ABILITY TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS

Operational Definitions

Describing a variable using specific, measurable traits. How does listening to Beyoncé songs affect mood?– Listening to Beyoncé songs: ALL THE SINGLE LADIES 1

time through with headphones in a room by yourself. – Mood: RATING OF HAPPINESS ON A 10 POINT SCALE

• How does reading affect intelligence?– –

• Experiment: a research method used to determine cause and effect between variables

• Independent Variable: the variable you manipulate

TRICKY DIRECTIONS

IV

• If the directions were read carefully, only steps #1 and #2 would have been followed.

• Dependent Variable: the outcome of the independent variable (what is being measured in the study?)

ABILITY TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS

DV

How many of you followed directions perfectly?

• Confounding Variables– One or more variables not under the control of

the experimenter that can change the outcome of the results.

EX: If some of you were not able to read the directions, or simply did not care to do the bellringer.

Research Settings

• Laboratory Experiment– a setting designed for research– provides uniform conditions for all subjects– Eliminiates confounding variables– may seem artificial

Research Settings• Field research– behavior observed in real-world setting– measures may be more representative of reality– poor control over conditions

Collect the data:Field Experimentation: Gender Conformity

Data-Collection Methods

• Self-report procedures in which people rate or describe their own behavior or mental state– questionnaires – rating scales • on a scale from 1 to 7 rate your opinion of …

– judgements about perceptions• on a scale from 1 to 100 how hot is ...

Data-Collection Methods

• Observational methods in which researchers directly observe and record behavior rather than relying on subject descriptions– naturalistic observation - researcher records

behavior as it occurs naturally– tests - researcher presents stimuli or problems

and records responses

Examples

• Writing with colored pencils effects academic performance in high school

• Eating breakfast improves performance on FCAT

• People with unusual names are less successful

Variables

Independent Variables CAUSE Dependent Variables

CAUSE

EFFECT

Dependent Variable

Low Light

Normal Light

Growth

DV=Growth

IV=Light

More light CAUSES increased GROWTH in plants

Mother’s Milk vs. Cows Milk• Correlational research has found a positive

correlation between mother’s milk and intelligence– But does this mean that smarter mothers (who

more often breast feed) have smarter babies?– Or does it mean that nutrients in mother’s milk

contribute to brain development?

Experimentation

• Mother’s milk CAUSES babies to be smarter at age 8– HOW DO YOU THINK THE RESEARCHERS

OPERATIONALLY DEFINE SMARTER?

Mother’s Milk

Cow’s Milk

IQ

?

?

How does doing yoga cause you to lose weight?

THINK

• If I have some people do YOGA and some people GO ON A DIET, will I be able to determine that YOGA CAUSED people to lose weight? – What if both groups gain 5 lbs because of aging?

YOGA

DIET

WIEGHT

THINK

• I can tell yoga CAUSES people to lose weight by comparing the people that do yoga to people that don’t.

YOGA

NO YOGA

WIEGHT

Experimental and Control Group

• Experimental Group: group you DO SOMETHING to

• Control Group: group you DON’T do something to– This helps us determine cause and effect

Yoga

No Yoga

Weight

Control

Experimental

Practice

• Do sex education programs reduce teen pregnancies?– INDEPENDENT/DEPENDENT VARIABLE?– EXPERIMENTAL/CONTROL? – CONFOUNDING VARIABLES?

Sex Education

No Sex Education

Teen Pregnancy

Practice

• How does smoking marijuana effect your memory?– INDEPENDENT/DEPENDENT VARIABLE?– EXPERIMENTAL/CONTROL? – CONFOUNDING VARIABLES?

Smoking

No Smoking

MEMORY

Independent Practice – draw the three boxes in your notes

• Does beating a dog make it aggressive?

IV? DV? Experimental Group? Control Group? Confounding variables?

Independent Practice – draw the three boxes in your notes

• Does eating hot Cheetos make you burp more during the day?

IV? DV? Experimental Group? Control Group? Confounding variables?

Exit Ticket

DRAW THE BOXES. LABEL VARIABLES AND GROUPS. If there is a potential confounding variable, label it.

• Does eating breakfast improve performance on ACT testing?

• Are people with unusual names are less successful?

• Does drinking alcohol reduce reaction time?

Exit Ticket

• Create a table that displays the strengths and weaknesses of field and laboratory experiments.