PSY 215 - Exam 1

Prediction

*guess at outcome of hypotheses.* possible to make once observe regularity of 2 events being systematically related. After observation w/ regularity (2 events systematically related - ex greater attractiveness is associated w/ more lenient sentencing) ... making = possible. Allows to anticipate events, helps us make better decisions, take test designed to measure (RELATE, FOCCUS, PREPARE)

Observation

... of personal/social events can provide ideas for research. Curiosity sparked by .../experiences can lead to questions about all sorts of phenomenon. Type of curiosity drives students to complete first research project.

Psuedoscientific

A "fake" science; seemingly scientific terms/demonstrations used to substantiate claims that have no basis in scientific research, relying on opinions. Claims are untestable and can't be refuted, also rely on imprecise, biased, vague language and evidence is based on anecdotes and testimonials

Applied research

Conducted to address issues in which there are practical problems and potential solutions. Scientific evidence is peer reviewed.

Falsifiability

Data can either support or refute

ACUC (institutional case and use committee)

Go through when conducting animal research, review similarity to IRB (but also look for care of animals) - in addition to what normal people studies include, have to record everything they eat, taken very seriously. Animal rights verse animal welfare, animal welfare - safety of animals. Need for proper housing, feeding, cleanliness, and healthcare. Specify research must avoid cruelty in form of unnecessary pain, institutions also must have Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).Also a Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Animals.

Why research methods are important

Many occupations, every day life, important in policy making, development of effectiveness of programs aimed at achieving goal. Provide us w best answers to questions we ask, can be best way to satisfy native curiosity about individuals/environment/society.

Temoporal precedence

order of events where cause precedes effect. Cause variable = sometimes called IV (cause and effect). Ex. TV viewing -> Aggression (Time). Can't measure at same time.

Science is self correcting

Scientific approach, skepticism, empiricism

Serendipity

Sheer luck

Exempt

anonymous questionnaires, surveys, educational tests, NO RISK, naturalistic observation in public places - no threat to anonymity. Archival research also counts - no informed consent needed. Determined by IRB.

How to avoid plagiarism

Writers must give proper citations for sources...(did I write words? - No = quotes and citation. Yes - did I think of idea? No - provide citation, Yes - no need for citation.

Purpose of debriefing

You have to ... after a study/use of deception to correct "dishonesty" and the end and let participants know what you were actually studying. Important to gain back trust of participants.

PsychINFO

accessed via internet, updated weekly and use ( ) to separate differences. Standard psychology terms (in search box), narrow search = limit fields, AND = both conditions true, OR = expand search, NOT = exclude, "wildcard" = *. Specify terms you want database to use

Description

begin with careful observation. Can be something directly observable (running speed, eye gaze, and loudness of laugh) or less observable (self-reports, perceptions, and attractiveness. Describe ways in which events are systematically related to one another (parents enforce rules on computer use and see effect on kids).

Practical problems

can have immediate implications

Determination of cause

ex research shows child's aggressive behavior may be predicted by how much violence child views on TV. Unless we know exposure to TV violence is cause of behavior we cannot assert that limiting violent TV can reduce aggressive behavior. Can only recommend a strategy if we know certain variable causes another. Questions - to know how to change behavior we need to know cause. Temporal precedence, co-variation of cause and effect and alternative explanations.

Explanation of behavior

explain events that have been described. Scientist seeks to understand why behavior occurs. Ex TV violence and aggression if TV causes aggression we need to explain relationship. (Due to imitation/modeling of violence seen on TV? Or psychological desensitization to violence?) Further research needed to shed light on other explanations of what is observed.

Fraud

fabrication of findings. Most serious in science and journalism (field where reports are assume to be accurate because description of actual events - no independent accounting agencies to check up on).

Justice

fairness and equality (entitle everyone to access benefit from contribution of psychology and equal quality in processes, procedures and services conducted); how are participants selected? Do they represent people who will benefit from study?

Past research

good to be familiar with to start new research. Every study raises q's that can be addressed w more research, which may lead to applying findings to different settings. May shed light on inconsistencies in research results that need to be investigated/look into. What you know about research can be successfully applies to another research area.

Empiricism

idea that knowledge is based on observations - *fundamental characteristic of scientific method*

Skepticism

ideas must be evaluated on basis of careful logic and results from scientific investigations

Respondants

individuals who take part in a research survey

Psychology

is a science - develop theories, conduct research and answer questions about behavior and mental processes. Empirical (gathering data), public, objective, self-correcting, progressive, tentative, parsimonious (simple) and theoretical.

Problems obtaining informed consent

lack of autonomy (minors, psych patients, cognitive impairments...minor agreement form = assent), coercion (embarrassment, fear of punishment, benefits...)

Elimination of alternative explanations

nothing other than casual variable could be responsible for observed effect. No other plausible ... for relationship. TV viewing -> Aggression <- lack of parental supervision. There should be no other plausible alternative explanation for relationship.

Deception

occurs when there is active misrepresentation of info about nature of study. Don't want participants to know what's being studied because it could change participant's behavior, have to get IRB approval. Examples - Milgram - lack of informed consent and bias sample = staging purposes/deception.

Two main functions of a theory

organize and explain variety of specific facts/descriptions of behaviors - need to put framework to these that makes world more comprehensible. AND generate new knowledge by focusing thinking so that we notice aspects of behavior - guide observations of world.

Informants

people who help researchers understand dynamics of particular cultural and organizational settings

Informed consent

potential participants in research project should be provided with all info that might influence their active decision of whether or not to participants in a study. Principal E APA ethics code. Research participants should know about purposes of study, risks/benefits or participation, rights to refuse or terminate participation in study. Can freely consent or refuse to participate in research study.

Results

presents findings (3 ways): description in narrative form, described in statistical language, material depicted in table/graph

Plagiarism

refers to misrepresenting another's work as your own. Can take many forms - submitting paper written by someone else, including section/sentence of copied work without quotes and reference, or without properly acknowledging another person's ideas or thoughts. Internet has exacerbated problem. (Word-for-word - copies another's work word for word w/o quotes or citation, paraphrasing - ideas are copied without attribution.)

Scientific approach

rejects notion that one can accept on faith the statements of authority

Beneficence

research should confer benefits and risks must be minimal. Associated application is necessity to conduct risk-benefit analysis. Risk-benefit analysis for participants, risk-benefit for society

Introduction

researcher outlines problem that's investigated, past research, theories relevant to problem are described in detail. Specific expectations of researcher are stated as formal hypothesis. (Investigator introduces research in logical format that shows how past research and theory are connected to current research problem/expected results.)

Autonomy

respect for dignity and worth of all people Rights to individual privacy, confidentiality and self-determination. Informed consent, protection of vulnerable population. Eliminate biases, recognize safeguards may be necessary to protect welfare and vulnerabilities that may impair anonymous decision making. Respect cultural and individual differences.

IRB (institutional review board)

responsible for review of research conducted within institution. Federally regulated, main goal: protect human subjects - risk-benefit ratio, informed consent. Members - scientists, non-scientists, someone not affiliated with institution, community members. Local review agencies composed of at least 5 people: at least one member must be form outside institution.

Discussion

review research from various perspectives. Does research support hypothesis? - if so author should give all possible explanations for results and discuss why one explanation if superior to another. If not supported then author should explain potential reasons why not. Research also may write about how results compare to past research on topic. Section may also include suggestions for possible practical applications and future research.

Minimal risk

risks of harm to participants are no greater than risks encountered in daily life/physical routine or psychological tests. Ex - recording routine physiological data, moderate exercise, research on behavior characteristics...

Method

sub sections = determined by author and dependent on complexity of research. Ex. First subsection is overview of design to prepare reader. Next subsection describes participants, next subsection details procedure other subsections may be needed to describe more detail of certain equipment...

Greater than minimal risk

subject to IRB review, certain safeguards may be required, have to submit application (very specific) if long term = annual review

Abstract

summary of research report, about 120 words. Includes info about hypothesis, procedure and broad pattern of results and little info from Discussion section of paper.

Theories

systematic body of ideas about a particular topic/phenomenon. Ideas form coherent and logically consistent structure that serves two important functions. Grounded on actual data and numerous hypotheses, which can be tested through further research, and can be modified to account for new data - science continuously develops.

Hypothesis

tentative idea/question waiting for evidence to support/refute (specific statement)

Common sense

the things we all believe to be true. (Do opposites attract? - study of attraction...). Testing this can be valuable bc notions don't always turn out to be correct/research may show real-world is more complicated than these ideas. Conducting research to test this idea often forces us to go beyond commonsense theory of behavior.

Basic research

tries to answer fundamental questions about nature of behavior. Studies designed to address theoretical issues concerning things like cognition, emotion, and motivation. Problem w/ those that demand research be definitely relevant to specific social issues is that we can never predict ultimate applications of ...

Informed consent form

typically includes purpose , procedures including time involved (don't need to tell exactly what is being studied), risks and benefits, compensation if any, confidentiality, assurance of voluntary participation and permission to withdraw and contact info for questions. Must be written so participant can understand info (simple straightforward language), NOT first person - conversational language, translated version if appropriate.

Research question

used to identify/describe broad topic that they're investigating and then conduct research to answer research question. A good ... identifies topic of inquiry specifically enough so hypothesis and predictions can be made.

Co-variation of cause and effect

when cause is present, effect occurs, when cause isn't present effect doesn't occur. Variables moving together but not necessarily In same direction. Differences/change = co-variation, significant difference. Ex. TV viewing -> Aggression & Non TV viewing -> No aggression