RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY

A Scientific Endeavor

Goals of Psychological Research• Description of social behavior• Establish a relationship between cause & effect

• Develop theories about why people behave the way that they do

• Application

Empirical Research• Empirical

• Knowledge based on direct observation

• Theory• Set of ideas which try to explain what we observe• Goal is to find support OR disprove

• We can never prove!!

The Process of Doing Research

• First, select a topic• Good theory:

• Has predictive power• Is simple & straightforward

• Then, search the literature• Have others tried this• How can your experiment be different

The Process of Doing Research

• Next, formulate hypotheses• Hypothesis: specific statement of expectation

derived from theory

• Variable: can be any event, characteristic, condition, or behavior

The Process of Doing Research

• Then pick your research method• Experiment (Design itDesign it)• Field vs. laboratory (SettingSetting)

• Finally, collect & analyze your

data

Let’s take a closer look . . .at variables

• Dependent variable (outcome variable)• Dependent on the influence of other factor(s)

• Independent variable (predictor variable)• Factor(s) that change the outcome variable• Control group

Research methods

• Types include• 1) Naturalistic observation• 2) Case studies- interviews, questionnaires, and psychological tests.• 3) Surveys

Lab: The Hypothetical Snack Bar

7 Rules of Conducting a Experiment in Psychology• Rule 1) Ask:• Rule 2) Identify:• Rule 3) Choose:• Rule 4) Assign:• Rule 5) Manipulate:• Rule 6) Measure:• Rule 7) Analyze:

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Lab: The Hypothetical Snack Bar

• 1) Ask Question• 2) Do background Research• 3) Construct Hypothesis: Tell which soda will rate the best. Score on a scale of #1-6

• 4) Test Experiment: • Desk Side: Diet Soda• Door Side: Regular Soda• Stop and wait when finished and wait for instructions to switch

Lab: The Hypothetical Snack Bar• 5) Analyze Results and Draw Conclusions

• Graph Class Results

• 6) Hypothesis true or false….why?• 7) Report Results

Analysis Questions1. Was the hypothesis proved or disproved?

2. What variables could of lead to inaccuracies with our results?

3. Did you see any differences between the control group and the experiment group? What are the differences and what lead to these differences?

4. Do you think our results reflect consumer sales for these products? What are other factors that lead differences in sales?

5. What did you learn from this experiment?