research?! trying to figure it all out. why do we need psychological research? don’t we already...
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RESEARCH?!
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WHY DO WE NEED PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH?• Don’t we already know how the
mind works?• Human’s all behave the same,
why are we wasting time on such an easy subject?
• All we need to do is follow common sense.
• Etc., etc. etc.
HINDSIGHT BIAS
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.
CONFIRMATION BIAS
People look for evidence that confirms their beliefs and ignore evidence that dispute their beliefs.
OVERCONFIDENCEWhen asked factual questions we tend
to be more confident than correct.How long would it take you to
unscramble 3 anagrams?WREAT=ETRYN=GRABE=
WATERENTRYBARGE
ELVIS = LIVESOCHSA = CHAOSVEOSL = SOLVE
SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL
Hindsight Bias and overconfidence often lead us to overestimate out intuition. But scientific inquiry can help us sift reality from illusion
WHERE TO START? • Start by asking a question…• Collect information • Certain decisions and conclusions
are made
DEVELOPING A SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE
Being skeptical but not cynical, open but not
gullible
QUESTIONS???
• Does it work?• What do you mean?• How does it work?
Curiosity, Skepticism and Humility
DEPCO• Describe a phenomena• Explain how it happens• Predict what might cause it• Conduct a Controlled
experiment to test your prediction
SCIENTIFIC METHODTheory- explains integrated set of
principles that organize observations and predict behaviors and events
Hypothesis- testable predictions
test and reject or revise theory direct the research
Operational definitions- describe concepts with precise procedures or measures
SCIENTIFIC METHOD CONTINUED
The experiment MUST be able to be replicated (repeated)
Why is this important?
SAMPLES Could be one of the following …
Representative Sample – Shows the entire population a researcher is studying
Non-representative Sample - Will have a skewed population to look at
Random Sample- Allows for each individual to have an equal chance of being represented
Stratified sample – Are subgroups in the population and are represented proportionately in the sample
Naturalistic Observation
Case Studies
Surveys
Longitudinal Studies
Cross- Sectional Studies
Correlations and Explanations
Experiments
METHODS OF RESEARCH
Observing people and animals natural behavior. This research doesn’t explain behavior it but describes it
#1 Rule – Don’t disturb the people or animals while you are studying them.
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
Fun Fact: Humans laugh 30 times more often in social situations than in solitary situation. Have you noticed how often you seldom laugh when alone?We use 17 muscles when laughing!
Is an intensive study of a person or specific groups
Powerful research tool
Sigmund Freud’s Theory of Personality Development
CASE STUDIES
Individual case studies can suggest different ideas and “issues” to discover
Very practical way to conduct research
Especially on attitudes, beliefs and experiences
May consist of interviews or questionnaires or a combination of the two
Interviews are good because the interview is geared toward the interviewee
Questionnaires are good because everyone asked the exact same question with limited answers
ex. A, B, or C
Before accepting survey findings, think critically. consider the sample…
SURVEYS
Study of the same people at set intervals, over a long period of time (years)
Time-consuming and precarious
Ideal way to study the consistencies and inconsistencies of a person or people
LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
Psychologists organize individuals into groups based on age… then those groups are randomly sampled from
Less expensive than Longitudinal and reduce the time needed for the study
CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES
Correlations- describe how two sets of data relate to each other
Different Types of Correlations
Positive Correlation
Negative Correlation
Describes a relationship between two things… one thing does not cause the other it is just looking at the relationship between the data
CORRELATIONS
CAUSATIONS• What actually caused the result?
•Association proves causation? NO•No matter how strong the relationship, it does not prove anything
Control the situation and decrease the possibility that unnoticed, outside variables will influence the results of the experiment
Hypothesis- Educated guess
Variable- Any factor that is capable of change
Experimental Group- The group that an independent variable is applied to
Control Group – Treated the same way just no independent variable
EXPERIMENTS
Ethics-
The methods of conduct or standard for proper and responsible behavior…
ETHICAL ISSUES
WHY DO WE STUDY ANIMALS?• Humans are not like animals we are animals.
• Hunan nervous system is incredibly complex, many animals have easier nervous systems
• APA has strict animal care guidelines:• Laboratory animals are to be provided with humane care and healthful conditions during their stay in any facilities of the institution.
• Is animal testing moral?•What if a few dogs had to be tested on in order to find the rabies vaccine?
If you are more interested in reading about the APA guidelines visit their website: http://www.apa.org/science/leadership/care/guidelines.aspx
DO WE STUDY HUMANS?
Yes.
The APA has a recommended procedure for human testing.
1)Obtain informed consent of potential participants
2)Protect them from harm and discomfort
3)Treat information about individual participants confidentially
4)Fully debrief people: explain the research afterward
NOW THAT YOU KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT RESEARCH LETS LOOK AT WHO DOES THE RESEARCH
PSYCHOLOGISTS
People who have been trained to observe, analyze and evaluate behavior.
You have to have a masters or a doctorate to really do anything professionally with the a psychology degree
DIFFERENT FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Clinical Psychologists
Counseling Psychologists
Development Psychologists
Educational Psychologists
Community Psychologist
Industrial / organizational psychologists
Experimental psychologists
Just to name a few…
CLINICAL One of the most popular subfields
Help mostly with personal issues
Mainly work in private offices, mental hospitals, prisons and clinics
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGISTS Usually help people adjust to the
challenges of life
Educated in human development, clinical psychology and education
Large majority have a specialty in personality, social, or developmental psych
Mostly work in schools or industrial firms
DEVELOPMENTAL
Study physical, emotional, cognitive and social changes,
Study children, the elderly and the process of dying
EDUCATIONAL
Topics related to teaching children and young adults intelligence, memory, problem solving, and motivation
Specialist will evaluate teaching methods and devise tests and instructional devices
COMMUNITY
Usually work in mental health or social welfare agency operated by the state
May help, design, run, or evaluate a mental health clinic
INDUSTRIAL/ ORGANIZATIONAL Employed by business firms and
government agencies
Industrial- helps develop better ways to increase production, improve working conditions, place applicants for jobs, train people and reduce accidents
Organizational - study the behavior of people in organizations such as business firms
EXPERIMENTAL Perform research to understand
how humans operate physically and psychologically
Do everything with some form of a test
Provide information and research used in all psychology
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