Research Methods in Psychology Chapter 1

Weight of the Evidence

-A conclusion drawn from reviewing scientific literature and considering the proportion of studies that is consistent with a theory -Scientists evaluate theories based on the weight of the evidence, the collection of studies, including replications, of the same theory

Falsifiability

-A feature of a scientific theory, in which it is possible to collect data that will prove the theory wrong -A theory should lead to a hypotheses that, when tested, could fail to support the theory, falsifiability. -Good theories are Falsifiable

Scientific Journals

-A monthly or quarterly periodical containing peer-reviewed articles on a specific academic discipline or subdiscipline, written for a scholarly audience. -Unlike popular newsstand magazines, the articles in a scientific journal are peer-reviewed. -The journal editor sends the paper to three or four experts on the subject. -The experts tell the editor about the work's virtues and flaws and the editor, considering these reviews, decides whether the paper deserves to be published in the journal.

Preregistered

-Hypotheses are preregistered -After the study is designed but before collecting any data, the researcher states publicly what the study's outcome is expected to be.

Daniel's teacher tells him that his theory about dating is not strong because it is not falsifiable. What does she mean by this? A) Daniel's theory has already been put forth by another psychologist B) Daniel's theory cannot be disproven C) Daniel's theory is too complicated D) Daniel's theory has already been tested, and the evidence did not support the theory

B) Daniel's theory cannot be disproven

Merton's Scientific Norms

1) Universalism 2) Communality 3) Disinterestedness 4)Organized Skepticism

The Theory-Data Cycle

-Scientists collect data to test, change, or update their theories 1) Theory 2) Research Questions 3) Research Design 4) Hypothesis 5) Preregistration 6) Data

Examples of NOT Empirical Approaches

1) He could watch several movies about sleep deprivation and make a strong, logical argument about the effects of sleep deprivation on short-term memory based on the films 2) He could ask his psychology professor for her opinion on the effects of sleep deprivation on short-term memory 3) He could consider his own experiences with sleep and memory

Succeeding as a Producer

1) Need to know why scientists randomly assign people to groups 2) How to measure attitudes accurately 3) How to interpret results from a graph 4) Develop job-related skills such as how to organize and analyze data or how to measure behavior accurately

Examples of Empirical Evidence

1) Questionnaire 2) Stopwatch 3) Thermometer

Contact Comfort Theory

Babies are attached to their mothers because of the comfort of their warm, fuzzy fur

Cupboard Theory of Mother-Infant Attachment

-A mother is valuable to a baby mammal because she is a source of food -The baby animal gets hungry, gets food from the mother by nursing, and experiences a pleasant feeling (reduced hunger). -Over time, the sight of the mother acquires positive value because she is the "cupboard" from which food comes. -EX: If you've ever assumed your dog loves you only because you feed it, your beliefs are consistent with the cupboard theory.

Self-Correcting

-A process in which scientists make their research available for peer review, replication, and critique, with the goal of identifying and correcting errors in the research. -By being open to falsification and skeptically testing every assumption, science can become self-correcting. -It discovers its own mistaken theories and corrects them

Data

-A set of observations representing the values of some variable, collected from one or more research studies. -EX: Harlow's data were the amount of time the baby monkeys stayed on each mother

Hypothesis

-A statement of the specific result the researcher expects to observe from a particular study, if the theory is accurate. -Also called prediction. -EX: Harlow's hypothesis stated that the babies would spend more time on the cozy mother than on the wire mother

Theory

-A statement or set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another. -EX: Harlow's theory was that contact comfort, not food, was the primary basis for a baby's attachment to its mother.

Organized Skepticism

-Scientists question everything, including their own theories, widely accepted ideas, and the "ancient wisdom" -Interpretation and Application: Scientists accept almost nothing at face value. Nothing is sacred, they always ask to see the evidence

Disinterestedness

-Scientists should strive to discover the truth, whatever it is; they are not swayed by conviction, idealism, politics, or profit -Interpretation and Application: Scientists should not be personally invested in whether their hypotheses are supported by the data. Scientists do not spin the story; instead, they accept what the data tell them. In addition, a scientists own beliefs, income, or prestige should not bias their interpretation or reporting of results

Research Producers

-Someone who facilitates the research process in order to increase knowledge -Hope to get a job studying brain anatomy -Documenting the behavior of dolphins or monkeys -Administering personality questionnaires -Observing children in a school setting -Analyzing data. -They expect to write up their results and present them at research meetings. -These students dream about working as research scientists or professors.

Research Consumers

-Someone who takes research and applies it their career or daily life -Reading about research so they can apply it to their work, hobbies, relationships, or personal growth

Which of the following jobs most likely involves producer-of-research skills rather than consumer-of-research skills? A) Police Officer B) University Professor C) Physician D) Journalist

B) University Professor

Journalism

News and commentary published or broadcast in the popular media and produced for a general audience.

Scientists Work in a Community

-Scientists are members of a community, and as such, they follow a set of norms, shared expectations about how they should act. -Sociologist Robert Merton identified four norms that scientists attempt to follow

Communality

-Scientific knowledge is created by a community and its findings belong to the community -Interpretation and Application: Scientists should transparently and freely share the results of their work with other scientists and the public

Theory, Hypotheses, and Data

-Depending on whether the data are consistent with the hypotheses based on a theory, the data may either support or challenge the theory -Data that match the theory's hypotheses strengthen the researchers confidence in the theory -Data that does not match the theory's hypotheses, however, those results indicate that the theory needs to be revised or the research design needs to be improved

Scientists are Empiricists

-Empiricism, also referred to as the empirical method or empirical research, involves using evidence from the senses (sight, hearing, touch) or from instruments that assist the senses (thermometers, timers, photographs, weight scales, and questionnaires) as a the basis for conclusions -Empiricists aim to be systematic and rigorous and to make their work independently verifiable by other observers. -Most reliable basis for conclusions

"Mozart Effect"

-Media coverage of this phenomenon provides and example of how journalist might misrepresent science when they write for a popular audience - Researcher Frances Rauscher found that when students heard Mozart music played for 10 minutes, they performed better on a subsequent spatial intelligence test when compared with students who had listened to silence or to a monotone speaking voice -Rauscher said in a radio interview, "What we found was that the students who had listened to the Mozart sonata scored significantly higher on the spatial temporal task." -However, Rauscher added, "It's very important to note that we did not find effects for general intelligence . . . just for this one aspect of intelligence. It's a small gain and it doesn't last very long" -But despite the careful way the scientists described their results, the media that reported on the story exaggerated its importance: The headlines in the papers were less subtle than her findings: "Mozart makes you smart" was the general idea. -But worse, says Rauscher, was that her very modest finding started to be wildly distorted. "Generalizing these results to children is one of the first things that went wrong. Somehow or another the myth started exploding that children that listen to classical music from a young age will do better on the SAT, they'll score better on intelligence tests in general, and so forth."

Theory and Hypotheses

-One theory can lead to large number of hypotheses because a single study is not sufficient to test the entire theory, it is intended to test only part of it -Most researchers test theories with a series of empirical studies, each designed to test a individual hypothesis

Scientists Talk to the World: From Journal to Journalism

-Psychology's scientific journals are read primarily by other scientists and by psychology students, but rarely by the general public. -Journalism, in contrast, is a secondhand report about the research, written by journalists or laypeople. -A journalist might become interested in a psychology study through a press release written by the scientist's university or by hearing scientists talk about their work at a conference. -The journalist turns the research into a news story by summarizing it for a popular audience, giving it an interesting headline and using nontechnical terms. -Science journalism fulfills the communality norm of science by allowing scientists to share potentially valuable work with the general public. -Science journalism is easy to access, and understanding it does not require specialized education. -However, in their effort to tell an engaging, clickable story, journalists might overstate the research or get the details wrong

Translational Research

-Research that uses knowledge and lessons derived from basic research to develop and test solutions to real world problems (health care, psychotherapy, or other forms of treatment and intervention) -Represents a dynamic bridge from basic to applied research -EX 1: Basic research on the biochemistry of cell membranes might be translated into a new drug for schizophrenia. -EX 2: Basic research on how mindfulness changes peoples patterns of attention might be translated into a study skills intervention

Basic Research

-Research whose goal is to enhance the general body of knowledge, without regard for direct application to practical problems -EX 1: Understand the structure of the visual system -EX 2: The capacity of human memory -EX 3: The motivations of a depressed person -EX 4: The limitations of the infant attachment system

Applied Research

-Research whose goal is to find a solution to a particular real-world problem -Is done with a practical problem in mind and researchers conduct their work in a logical, real world context. -EX 1: If a school districts new method of teaching language arts is working better than the former one. -EX 2: Test the efficiency of a treatment for depression in a sample of trauma survivors -EX 3: Looking for better ways to identify those who are more likely to do well at a particular job

Universalism

-Scientific claims are evaluated according to their merit, independent of the researchers credentials or reputation. -The same preestablished criteria apply to all scientists and all research. -Interpretation and Application: Even a student can do science, you don't need an advanced degree or research position

Peer Review Process

-The peer-review process in the field of psychology is intended to be rigorous. -Peer reviewers are kept anonymous, so even if they know the author of the article professionally or personally, they can feel free to give an honest assessment of the research. -They comment on how important the work is, how it fits with the existing body of knowledge, how competently the research was done, and how convincing the results are. -Ultimately, peer reviewers are supposed to ensure that the articles published in scientific journals contain important, well-done studies. -When the peer-review process works, research with major flaws does not get published. (Some journals reject more than 90% of submissions after peer review.) -The process continues even after a study is published.

Studies DONT Prove Theories

-The word PROVE in not used in science -Researchers never say they have proved their theories because as empiricists, scientists avoid interferences they cannot support with direct observation -Instead of saying "prove", scientists say that a study's data SUPPORT or are CONSISTENT with a theory -A single confirming finding cannot prove a theory as well as single disconfirming finding does not lead researchers to scrap a theory -If a hypothesis is not supported, they might say the data are INCONSISTENT with a theory

Cupboard Theory VS. Contact Comfort Theory Tested

-To test the alternative theories, Harlow had to separate the two influences; food and contact comfort. -The only way he could do so was to create "mothers" of his own. -He built two monkey foster "mothers", the only mothers his lab reared baby monkeys ever had. -One of the mothers was made of bare wire mesh with a bottle of milk built in. This wire mother offered food, but not comfort. -The other was covered with fuzzy terrycloth and was warmed by a lightbulb suspended inside, but she had no milk. This cloth mother offered comfort, but not food. -The baby monkeys spent most of their time on the warm, cozy cloth mother (Contact Comfort Theory), even though she did not provide any food.

Scientists Make Their Work Public

-When scientists want to tell the scientific world about the results of their research, they write a paper and submit it to a scientific journal. In so doing, they practice the communality norm. -Scientists who find flaws in the research (perhaps overlooked by the peer reviewers) can publish letters, commentaries, or competing studies. -Publication thus helps make science self-correcting.

How Scientists Work

1) Act as empiricists in their investigations 2) Test theories through research and, in turn, revise their theories based on resulting data 3) Follow norms in the scientific community that prioritize objectivity and fairness 4) Take an empirical approach to both applied research and basic research 5) Make their work public, they submit their results to journals for review and respond to the work of other scientists 6) Sharing findings of psychological research with the popular media, who may or may not get the story right

Examples of NOT Empirical Evidence

1) Expert opinion 2) Common sense 3) Convincing argument

Examples of Empirical Approaches

1) He could conduct a study looking at whether number of hours of sleep is associated with memory function 2) He could design and implement a study that measures short-term memory function following different amounts of sleep

Benefits of Being a Good Consumer

1) You should always seek empirical evidence to test the efficiency of our interventions EX 1: Not supported by evidence- Scared Straight, a crime prevention program that targets teenagers who are at risk for becoming involved in the Criminal Justice system. They visit prisons, where selected inmates describe the stark, violent realties of prison life. EX 2: Supported by evidence- Mindfulness, the practice involves attending to the present moment, on purpose with a nonjudgmental frame of mind. In a mindful state, people simply observe and let go of thoughts rather than elaborating on them.

Why the Consumer Role is Important

1) You will need to develop the ability to find, read, and evaluate research with curiosity and a critical eye 2) Taking psychology courses 3) Future career- you will need to know how to interpret research data with a critical eye 4) Clinical psychologists, social workers, and family therapists read research to know which therapies are most effective. Obtaining a license in these helping professions requires know research behind evidence-based treatments; that is therapies that are supported by research 5) Needs to know how to ask the right questions and evaluate a study on the basis of those answers 6) You may encounter a mix of high-quality information and false information on social media

Why the Producer Role is Important

1) Your future coursework in psychology 2) Students who go to graduate school for psychology 3) Have to write papers following the style guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA) before you graduate 4) May be required to do research as part of a course lab section

As a true empiricist, one should: A) Base one's conclusions on direct observations. B) Strive to prove all theories with research. C) Be sure that one's research can be applied in a real-world setting. D) Discuss one's ideas in a public setting, such as on social media.

A) Base one's conclusions on direct observations.

Which of the following is true of the research process? A) Researchers rarely stop at one study; they usually follow up on findings with additional studies B) Only one study is needed to be confident about a research finding C) A single study can debunk a theory if the data are inconsistent D) If a research study's finding are consistent with the theory, that is proof the theory is valid

A) Researchers rarely stop at one study; they usually follow up on findings with additional studies

Franchesca read about Mrazek et al.'s (2013) study in which students scored higher on the GRE after completing a 2-week mindfulness training course. Franchesca is interested in the idea that practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's mind from wondering. She decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students practice either mindfulness or read and then take a test of attention. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students who had practiced mindfulness would perform better on the attention test. She runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Franchesca writes up her experiment and submits it to a journal to be evaluated by fellow scientists for publication. What is this process called? A) The peer-review process B) Journal to journalism C) The theory-data cycle D)Applied research

A) The peer-review process

Franchesca read about Mrazek et al.'s (2013) study in which students scored higher on the GRE after completing a 2-week mindfulness training course. Franchesca is interested in the idea that practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's mind from wondering. She decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students practice either mindfulness or read and then take a test of attention. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students who had practiced mindfulness would perform better on the attention test. She runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Franchesca's process of conducting a study to evaluate whether the effects of practicing mindfulness extend to tests of attention can best be described as which of the following? A) The theory-data cycle B) The peer-review process C) Journal to journalism D) Applied research

A) The theory-data cycle

Which of the following outlines the correct order of steps in the theory-data cycle? A) Theory, research questions, research design, hypothesis, data B) Data, hypothesis, research design, research questions, theory C) Hypothesis, research design, theory, research questions, data D) Research design, research questions, data, theory, hypothesis

A) Theory, research questions, research design, hypothesis, data

Which of the following is an example of basic research? A) A study investigating the effectiveness of a new treatment for depression B) A study investigating whether children of divorced parents are more likely to be divorced themselves C) A study investigating whether a memory-enhancing strategy found to improve recall in the lab also helps third graders learn multiplication D) A study investigating whether children learn more quickly with a new instructional method

B) A study investigating whether children of divorced parents are more likely to be divorced themselves

Why is publication an important part of the research process? A) Because publication enables practitioners to use the research in applied settings B) Because when a study is published, other scientists can verify or challenge it, making science self-correcting C) Because journalists can make the knowledge available to the general public D) Because publication is the first step of the theory-data cycle

B) Because when a study is published, other scientists can verify or challenge it, making science self-correcting

What is one way to avoid being misled by journalism reports on scientific research? A) Use your gut feeling to decide whether what you read in a popular press article is true B) Consult the source of the article (i.e., the original scientific findings) C) Don't believe anything you read in journalism reports (assume the journalist's report is completely wrong) D) Accept that everything you read in a popular press article is true

B) Consult the source of the article (i.e., the original scientific findings)

Psychologists are empiricists

Being an empiricist means basing one's conclusions on systematic observations.

Seligman (1975, 1991) proposed that animals that cannot escape an aversive outcome don't even try to avoid the aversive experience later, when they can escape it, because they don't perceive themselves as having control ("learned helplessness"). Latecia thinks this concept may apply to people's working conditions. She conducts a study and has 20 research participants work in an office space with some dilapidated supplies (e.g., barely functional pens, crumpled papers). The participants are split into two rooms. In one work room, Latecia offers to replace any of the run-down supplies with newer items. In another work room, Latecia tells the participants that they have to work with what they have. After a few days of working with this setup, both groups' work spaces now include the old supplies as well as new supplies. Latecia predicts that the participants who had to work with the dilapidated supplies for the first few days of the study will continue to use the less-functional supplies on the last day, even when there are new supplies available in the room. Seligman's proposal that animals who cannot escape an aversive outcome don't even try to avoid the aversive experience later, when they can escape it, because they don't perceive themselves as having control would best be described as which of the following? A) A hypothesis B) A law C) A theory D) Data

C) A theory

Which type of research is done with a practical problem in mind? A) Exploratory research B) Basic research C) Applied research D) Translational research

C) Applied research

Psychological scientists base their conclusions on evidence. They collect and use data to develop, support, or challenge a theory. This approach is known as A) Parsimony B) Falsifiability C) Empiricism D) The peer-review process

C) Empiricism

Which of the following is a common way journalists misrepresent science when they write about it for a popular audience? A) Interviewing the researchers who conducted the research B) Recalculating and correcting the published statistics C) Exaggerating the strength of the findings D) Clearly reporting the findings of the study

C) Exaggerating the strength of the findings

"All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best." Which principle does this describe? A) Translational research B) Evidence-based treatment C) Parsimony D) Weight of evidence

C) Parsimony

Which of the following is true of publishing in the field of psychology? A) Studies with obvious flaws are often included in scientific journals B) Findings must be published in the popular press C) Publishing in the psychology involves a peer-review process D) Publishing in scientific journals is not a rigorous process

C) Publishing in the psychology involves a peer-review process

Franchesca read about Mrazek et al.'s (2013) study in which students scored higher on the GRE after completing a 2-week mindfulness training course. Franchesca is interested in the idea that practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's mind from wondering. She decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students practice either mindfulness or read and then take a test of attention. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students who had practiced mindfulness would perform better on the attention test. She runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. The data matched Franchesca's prediction. What conclusion can Franchesca make? A) The theory is true B) The theory is false C) The data support the theory D) The theory has been proven

C) The data support the theory

When the data from a study do not support the theory behind the study's hypothesis, what does that mean for the theory? A) The theory is disproven B) The theory should be made parsimonious C) The theory should be revised D) The theory should be discarded

C) The theory should be revised

An example of a theory that is NOT Falsifiable

Certain people might wear a tinfoil hat, operating under the idea that the hat wards off government mental surveillance. But like most conspiracy theories, this notion of remote government mindreading is not falsifiable. If the government has been shown to read people's minds, the theory is supported. But if there is no physical evidence, that also supports the theory because if the government does engage in such surveillance, it wouldn't leave a detectable trace of its secret operations.

Seligman (1975, 1991) proposed that animals that cannot escape an aversive outcome don't even try to avoid the aversive experience later, when they can escape it, because they don't perceive themselves as having control ("learned helplessness"). Latecia thinks this concept may apply to people's working conditions. She conducts a study and has 20 research participants work in an office space with some dilapidated supplies (e.g., barely functional pens, crumpled papers). The participants are split into two rooms. In one work room, Latecia offers to replace any of the run-down supplies with newer items. In another work room, Latecia tells the participants that they have to work with what they have. After a few days of working with this setup, both groups' work spaces now include the old supplies as well as new supplies. Latecia predicts that the participants who had to work with the dilapidated supplies for the first few days of the study will continue to use the less-functional supplies on the last day, even when there are new supplies available in the room. Latecia's prediction that the participants who had to work with the dilapidated supplies for the first few days of the study will continue to use the less-functional supplies on the last day would best be described as which of the following? A) A theory B) A law C) Data D) A hypothesis

D) A hypothesis

Research done specifically to add to our general understanding of psychology is known as A) Applied research B) Quantitative research C) Translational research D) Basic research

D) Basic research

Which of the following research questions best illustrates an example of basic research? A) Has our company's new marketing campaign let to an increase in sales? B) How satisfied are our patients with the sensitivity of the nursing staff? C) Does wearing kinesio-tape reduce joint pain in figure skaters? D) Can 2-month-old human infants tell the difference between four objects and six objects?

D) Can 2-month-old human infants tell the difference between four objects and six objects?

Dimitri is interested in understanding the effects of sleep deprivation on short-term memory. Which of the following is an empirical approach Dimitri could take to answer this question? A) He could watch several movies about sleep deprivation and make a strong, logical argument about the effects of sleep deprivation on short-term memory based on the films B) He could consider his own experiences with sleep and memory C) He could ask his psychology teacher for his opinion on the effects of sleep deprivation on short-term memory D) He could design and execute a study that measures short-term memory function following different amounts of sleep

D) He could design and execute a study that measures short-term memory function following different amounts of sleep

Which of the following is primarily a consumer of research information? A) Biochemist B) Economist C) System analyst D) Marriage and family counselor

D) Marriage and family counselor

Some theories are better than others. What are the features of a good theory? A) Complex, falsifiable, and proven by data B) Intuitive, logical, and not supported by data C) Creative, parsimonious, and proven by data D) Parsimonious, falsifiable, and supported by data

D) Parsimonious, falsifiable, and supported by data

What characteristics sets scientific journals apart from magazines? A) Scientific journals come out periodically, usually once a month B) Scientific journals have multiple contributors C) Scientific journals have editors D) Scientific journals are peer reviewed

D) Scientific journals are peer reviewed

Franchesca read about Mrazek et al.'s (2013) study in which students scored higher on the GRE after completing a 2-week mindfulness training course. Franchesca is interested in the idea that practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's mind from wondering. She decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students practice either mindfulness or read and then take a test of attention. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students who had practiced mindfulness would perform better on the attention test. She runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Which of the following is the data in this study? A) The prediction that "students who practice mindfulness will perform better on the attention task" B) The number of students in the study C) The statement that "practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's mind from wondering" D) The students performance on the attention task

D) The students performance on the attention task

A statement, or set of statements, that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another is a A) Hypothesis B) Set of observations C) Prediction D) Theory

D) Theory

A statement, or set of statements, that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another is a(n) A) Prediction B) Hypothesis C) Empirical Observation D) Theory

D) Theory

Which of the following could be considered a source of empirical evidence? A) An expert opinion B) Common sense C) A logical argument D) Thermometer

D) Thermometer

After reading about Harlow's contact comfort theory, Dr. Borden wonders if these findings would apply to premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. He designs a study to test whether touch and cuddling could speed up weight gain in premature babies. What type of research is Dr. Borden's study? A) Applied Research B) Basic Research C) Predictive Research D) Translational Research

D) Translational Research

Research Producers and Consumers

Share a commitment to empiricism-answering psychological questions with direct, formal observations-and to communicating with others about what they have learned

Replication

The process of conducting a study again to test whether the result is consistent