Pysch study guide - Summary Psychological Research Methods PDF

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PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH METHODS MIDTERM 1 STUDY GUIDE Lecture: Intro (Dennett and Chap. 1) What makes psychology different from other disciplines that are interested in human behavior? Give examples to illustrate these differences. - Psychology focuses on the individual instead of aggregate level analyses o Not as much about trends ands patterns o Less statistics based with a whole population, more based on personalized problem-solving for individual issues and needs o Individualized science – everyone has different problems and can’t lump together § Not studying worker satisfaction by yearly output but by individual surveys - Studies the mechanism and function of mental states and processes, which are unobservable o Unlike other disciples, focus on states of anxiety, fear, and depression, not trends in the market or even a broken arm. o Studying the mind and what goes on in there, even though we can’t see it - Unique methods by which we explore human behavior o Many different procedures, but common process o Surveys and naturalistic observation, all to get into the heads of our subjects and get some answers Describe some of the methodological challenges Dennett encountered in moving from thought experiments to real experiments. What advantages does an empirical rather than armchair approach afford? - Reading, writing, and discussing are armchair work – Dennett’s suggestions weren’t necessarily capable of doing real work until he had field experience and saw firsthand the difficulties that researchers face - Proposals that make sense in idealized situations are often hopeless in the real world – weather, camera film, and distractions can be issues - When you try to design a real (not thought) experiment, you often notice to your initial dismay that any result you get is open to multiple interpretations – no short cuts - Challenges: native language barrier (no luxury of words), not distracting the monkeys/becoming part of the environment), no practice runs or room for technical issues, keep track of census (not able to observe directly but need to watch and record relationships every day) Lectures Phil of Science: Historical and in Practice (Gezelter, Proctor & Capaldi) Describe 4 ways of knowing and how or whether they are used in science. - Authority – parents, government, news sources (telling us headlines and facts) - Intuition – gut feelings (knowing kiki vs bouba) - Rationalism – used in science, knowledge derived from reason and logic o Solving a mathematical equation

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Empiricism – used in science, knowledge from experience and experimentation (not innate) o Saying the sky is blue after observing this and experiencing it with your senses

Describe the method Bacon proposes for accumulating knowledge, explain how it differed from the dominant method practiced until then, and identify problems with it given Hume. Explain why we cannot “prove” a theory according to Hume. - Bacon was the originator of the scientific method (observation of nature with no previous assumptions, inductive inference of general theories from data, collection of additional data to verify and refine the theory) o Deduction of new knowledge from premises (rationalism) o One theory leads to stagnation - Rejected Aristotle – one ultimate authority led to stagnation o Reconstruct sciences and human knowledge based on a proper foundation o Key to science: objective observation of nature: empiricism - Induction: infer general conclusions - Hume (empiricist) objects to Bacon, says you can’t make inductions because you can’t make assumption until you know everything and you can’t know everything. o Can only know what we can directly experience through our senses (cannot know things that haven’t happened yet – can’t make inductive inferences) § Evidence can never verify a theory o Impossible to remove the impact of human perspective on the scientific process (starting assumptions exist) o We can assume there are universal laws and we can know them, we can assume that our knowledge can only be based on direct experience, and there is no valid inference from observed cases to unobserved cases (some cases go outside the realm) o By induction, all swans are white o No matter how many white swans you encounter, you can’t infer all swans are white (unobserved things) Explain Popper’s solution to these problems. How does he propose science should be conducted? What are the consequences for how we build scientific knowledge? How does this affect the kinds of questions science addresses? (normative vs descriptive) How does this protect against confirmation bias? Provide example. - Hypotheses must therefore be falsifiable (inherently disprovable) before becoming accepted as a scientific hypothesis or theory o Essential demarcation between science and non-science - Unlike Bacon, he says science seeks to disapprove, not prove - Every time we refute a false theory, we narrow down the accurate answers o Each time we try and fail, we confidently retain the theory o Refine theory with boundary conditions, new constructs - Science is the process of weeding out false theories, of disproving - Where empiricism seeks verification, Popper urges for falsification o It eliminates normative questions and focuses on the relevant descriptive questions that underlie them

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Normative (should we legalize drugs?) -> Descriptive (how does the illegality of drugs affect society?) This protects against confirmation bias because humans have a tendency to seek confirmatory evidence. o This works directly against that tendency and works by falsifying A theory can be accepted if falsifiable and supported with evidence All swans are white. o This can be falsified by the simple observation of one non-white swan o Verification is impractical – cannot verify all swans are white o Can attempt to falsify – if one black swan is found, clearly all are not white

What complicates falsification of a theory via hypothesis-testing? If we find evidence that appears to disconfirm our hypothesis, why might it be premature to claim we have refuted the theory? Provide examples. - Falsification isn’t enough to kill a theory o There are other excuses as to why a theory may be incorrect o Can’t throw out a theory right away – need to simply adjust o There can be constraints that weren’t thought of § For example, if hypothesis is: since being an only child leads to selfish behavior, these children will not share their toys on playdates. and evidence disconfirms this, maybe we should look at only wealthy families with one child. Maybe we should only look at female only children. • Doesn’t mean the hypothesis is wrong – just needs to be adjusted o Doob & Gross: well-established finding that frustration leads to aggression § hypothesis – this effect may be moderated by the social status of the target § evidence showed no difference with expensive and non expensive cars (Henly and Obama example) § entire hypothesis is not disconfirmed, only some auxiliary hypotheses § disconfirmation proves there was a bad theory or bad auxiliary hypotheses - Doesn’t always happen – humans like to provide supportive evidence Proctor & Capaldi argue for “naturalism” in scientific methodology. Explain the basic idea behind this approach and how it differs from the standard doctrine of scientific methodology. Lectures: Formulating Theories and Hypotheses (Chap. 1 &7, Rozin) Define a theory and a hypothesis and explain the relationship between them. Give a succinct example of a theory and derive a hypothesis from it. - Theory – an explanation for a phenomenon, a general set of propositions about the causal relation between two or more constructs o Must be falsifiable o Has been extensively tested and generally accepted o “Boys are more aggressive than girls” is NOT a theory o “Frustration causes aggression” is a theory o Theories are not testable because they are abstract

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Hypothesis: a specific, concrete, testable, and falsifiable prediction, a speculative guess that has yet to be tested o Example: being stopped at a green light is frustrating and leads to aggressive behavior Theories arise from repeated observation and testing and incorporate tested hypotheses that are widely accepted o Hypothesis is a prediction that should be observed if a particular theory is accurate o If-then relationship, “if laws of gravity are correct, then an apple should fall from the tree to the ground when.” o Hypotheses can be derived from theories

We discussed 3 goals of scientific research. Explain what is meant by each goal, how they are inter-related, and when and why researchers would pursue one over the other. Be able to give an example of each: description (of a phenomenon), prediction, explanation - Description – what is the phenomenon? o Document that the phenomenon and describe its elements o Example: naturalistic observation – unobtrusive, prevent reactivity to watch how kids behave on the playground o Establish generalizations and create operational definitions o Usually done first to give researchers an idea of the data set § Good to go out initially to get a scope of the behaviors § Need preconceptions to inform constructs § Must choose subject and times in advance (subject and time sampling) - Prediction – when will the phenomenon occur? What are the antecedent conditions? o Example: exclusion and exercise may lead to aggressive behavior o Description provides a basis for prediction § Predictions are then made in the form of hypotheses o Gives the ability to change or control behavior for experiments o Example: correlation - Explanation – identify cause of phenomenon and covariation of events o What causes the phenomenon? § What is the psychological process? § Under what conditions? § For what individuals? o What function does it serve? § Antecedents and consequents o Theory – violent video game playing causes aggression is too specific and not psychological. Need to measure what’s in their minds by their behavior. § Better theory: aggressive behavior results from social learning (and then violent video games can be one type of social learning) § Must be general and explain mental processes/behavior on a psych level o Example: experiment - Description and prediction are theory-building

Describe how the following methods are used in theory development: literature search vs exploratory methods for understanding the phenomenon, describe 4 ways to conduct exploratory research and give examples of how they are used - Use what’s already out there in literature search/research field o Narrow down your question and find out more specific questions and answers o Borrow someone else’s and derive from there - If there is nothing addressing your question, exploratory research– going out and finding something new to determine the best logistical method o Describe phenomenon, collect data and document phenomenon, and explain the phenomenon - 4 ways to conduct exploratory research: data collection methods to describe o naturalistic observation – descriptive research method, very Baconian § going into the field and observing subjects in their natural environment § no intervention as behavior occurs naturally § example: going to playground and observing behavior and aggression o participant observation – descriptive research method § researcher engages in the same activities as the observed people (infiltration), becomes a part of the group § may become too immersed to record data objectively § example: infiltrating a cult to understand their psychological motives o case study – in depth investigation where researchers closely examine data within a specific context § select a small group to study and explore real life events and their relationships to analyze the contemporary phenomenon in real life § example: studying docile and vulnerable children to investigate typical development • use typical children when studying language development bc u don’t want a wiz § case study of a kid who has been observed to have aggressive behavior (like a bully) • motivation, feelings • usually an extreme o interviews – when participants respond orally to an interviewer § better for illiterate people, cognitively impaired people, and children § example: talking to parents, teachers, and informants, and the kids who have been expelled for fighting § step 2 after interviewing bully • how does it feel for everyone else – other perspective What is Rozin’s concern with the predominant, hypothesis-testing model of science as it applies to psychology? What effects does he think this has on the field and what should psychologists be focused on? - Aim is to understand the relevant events and processes o Many possible methods but very methodologically narrow o Experiments seem to transcend time, location, culture, race, religion, and social class

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o Almost all are in laboratories or are questionnaires, but are called experiments Urges for a greater consideration for identification and description of phenomena and invariances as opposed to modeling, hypothesis testing, experiments, and sophisticated statistical approaches o Relied too much on the current approach in the past o Need to recognize the importance of context and understand the meaning and significance for target phenomenon o Need to advance science and the field of psychology § Criterion should be “how much does it increase our understanding?” Data right now is mostly from Americans ages 17-20, less than 10-15% of Earth’s population (English-speaking world areas) o Need to open our eyes

Lectures: Operationalization and Measurement (Chap. 3 & 4) Define operationalization and explain conceptually what makes it so challenging. --what are psychological constructs --and how you might operationalize them (behavioral, physiological, and self-report measure). - Operationalization – moving from unobservable concept to observable manifestation o Deciding what operations we will undertake to measure a concept o Must be reliable and valid - Challenges: o Many psychological concepts seem fuzzy – what do we mean by intelligence, for example? o For most concepts, there are a ton of operationalizations. How do we choose? § Define intelligence and pick a measure § All measures are not created equal (reliability and validity) - Psychological constructs – ex. Gravity, rage, and intelligence, unobservable concepts that we can operationalize with measures o Behavioral (observed) – grimace, bared teeth, raised fist&voice, physical violence o Physiological – increased heart rate and BP and respiration, dilated pupils o Self-report – ratings of anger, ratings of positivity vs negativity, content of openended questions Explain what reliability is and why it is so important. How does it relate to measurement error, true score, and observed score? (textbook) What are some factors affecting measurement error? examples to illustrate (textbook) Describe 3 methods for assessing reliability (conceptually, not statistically), give examples - Reliability – measure than gives consistent results under same conditions using repetitive measures (scale that shows same weight every 5 mins) o Need to have it in order to know if a particular measurement technique provides us with scores that reflect what we want to measure o Test-retest reliability – consistency of participants’ responses on a measure over time (only assess if attribute being measured would not be expected to change) § Give students the same certification test for a mentorship program repeatedly over time to make sure test is reliable

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o Inter-rater reliability – consistency among two or more researchers wyho observe and record participants’ behavior § If researchers are rating healthy meals on a scale of 1-5, they should have at least a 0.7 correlation o Inter-item reliability – relevant measures consisting of more than one item § Personality inventories require many ratings on mood-related items that tap into the same construct – summed up to obtain a single score Measurement error = observed score – true score o True score – score if measure was perfect and without error o All measures have some measurement error – result of factors that distort the observed score § Transient states of participant (mood, health, fatigue) § Stable attributes (motivation differences, misunderstandings, distortions) § Situational factors – researcher attitude, temperature, light, noise § Characteristics of measure – ambiguous questions, long tests § Mistakes in recording responses o Measurement error undermines the reliability of a researcher’s error § Reliability is an inverse function of measurement error

Explain what validity is and why it is so important. --Why is it harder to assess than reliability? -Describe the kinds of validity and give examples of each: face, construct (convergent, discriminant), criterion (predictive and concurrent) --Describe some problems with face validity. Exemplify these problems. - Validity – actually assesses what it is purported to measure - Measures can be reliable but not valid (broken watch) - Face validity – extent to which a measuring technique appears valid on the face of it o Subjective judgement of researcher – “seems ok” o Problems: measures lacking face validity are valid § Sometimes researchers disguise purposes to not bias responses § Of limited use § MMPI – lacks face validity but is highly valid actually - Construct – measurement of hypothetical constructs (not directly observed but inferred on the basis of empirical evidence) o Is our measure related to things it ought to be related to? § If yes, convergent validity • Test empathy with sad photos with dogs using GSR § Discriminant validity – a measure should not correlate with measures it should not correlate with • If no relationship - Criterion – does our measure distinguish among participants on a behavioral criterion? o Predictive validity – time elapsed between administering measure to be validated and measure of the behavioral criterion is longer (a measure’s ability to distinguish between relevant criterion in the future) § SAT – college admissions officers want to know if high school seniors will have good academic performance in college 1-4 years later

o Concurrent validity – two measures are administered at roughly the same time (scores on the measure are related to behaviors that they should be related to right now – no time elapsed) Contrast reliability and validity and how they affect our ability to evaluate our hypothesis. - Need both to operationalize our measures properly Lectures: Measuring our Constructs (Chap. 4, Trull 2014) Be able to identify the dependent variables in a study and the constructs they operationalize. Describe 4 categories of dependent measures and give examples of each behavioral observation, self-report, physiological, and archival (lecture, text) - Behavioral – direct observation like naturalistic observation and participant observation o Example: observing flirting at a bar with actions like touching hair, eye contact, voice pitch, seating distance, touchiness, etc. - Self-report – participants can respond orally or by writing down responses with interviews, questionnaires, surveys, etc o Example: anonymous survey on who voted in the past election - Physiological – mostly not under conscious control, but often cumbersome and don’t map onto psychological states/processes in a one-to-one manner o Hypotheses often not obvious o Example: heart rate, eye-blink startle reflex, pupil dilation, blood and saliva assays for people who have just been through a car accident - Archival – researchers pull data collected before their study from censuses, court records, news, health records, government documents, etc. to study social and psychological phenomena in the past and changes over time or an event that must be studied after it has occurred o Usually measurement is contemporaneous (occurs at the time research is conducted), but sometimes data is pulled from the past o Example: cannot study school shootings, riots, mass murders, etc. at the time they occur because we don’t know who to study in advance § Afterwards, we can use data to conduct studies § Exampl...