Research Methods Ch. 2

Ways that Intuition is Biased

-Humans are not natural scientific thinkers. -We might be aware of our potential to be biased, but we may be too busy, or not motivated enough, to correct and control for these biases. -Five examples of biased reasoning 1) Being swayed by a good story 2) Being persuaded by that comes easily to mind 3) Failing to think about what we cannot see 4) Focusing on the evidence we like best 5) Biased about being biased

Open Access

A peer-reviewed academic journal that anyone, even the general public, can read without paying for access.

Meta-Analysis

A way of mathematically averaging the effect sizes of all the studies that have tested the same variables to see what conclusion that whole body of evidence supports.

Research suggests that the time a student spends studying for an exam is positively related to the grade that student receives on the exam. However, last week, you took an exam without studying and got an A on the exam. What should you conclude about the relationship between study time and exam scores? A) Although your experience with one exam is an exception, the research findings explain a certain proportion of the many possible cases. B) You should ignore the research and base your conclusions on your own experience. C) You should conclude that the research findings were probably wrong. D) Because your experience was different than the research, you should conclude that there is no relationship between study time and exam scores.

A) Although your experience with one exam is an exception, the research findings explain a certain proportion of the many possible cases.

As part of an assignment for his Introduction to Psychology class, Gilbert has to read a journal article, summarize it, and compare it to what is reported in his textbook. Gilbert selects the article "Effects of Severe Daily Events on Mood," Stone and Neale (1984). If Gilbert wanted to repeat the study, which section would he consult to find the details of the study's design? A) Method B) Discussion C) Introduction D) Results

A) Method

Which of the following is considered one of the best, most comprehensive ways to find psychological research articles? A) PsycINFO B) Wikis C) the popular media D) Google

A) PsycINFO

Hilda is studying the effects of a major natural disaster on people living nearby. She finds that many of the victims are depressed and show stress-related symptoms. Why can't Hilda conclude that the natural disaster caused the depression and stress-related symptoms? A) She doesn't have a comparison group. B) She is relying on intuition. C) She hasn't done enough background research. D) She doesn't have a theory.

A) She doesn't have a comparison group.

In research, a confound is A) an alternative explanation for an outcome that comes about because more than one thing changed at the same time. B) the difficulty we experience in thinking of counterexamples to our beliefs. C) an instance when the actual outcome is contrary to the probabilistic prediction. D) when the outcome of a study contradicts the researcher's hypothesis.

A) an alternative explanation for an outcome that comes about because more than one thing changed at the same time.

A(n) _____ by Cartwright-Hatton and his colleagues (2010) summarizes 10 studies on the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as a treatment for anxiety disorders of childhood and adolescence. A) review journal article B) popular media article C) encyclopedia article D) empirical journal article

A) review journal article

Carolyn sometimes taps on the basketball before shooting a free throw. She has noticed the times when she taps and makes the free throw more than she notices the times she makes the free throw without tapping the ball. Carolyn is experiencing which of the following? A) the present/present bias B) confound bias C) the bias blind spot D) cherry-picking

A) the present/present bias

What does it mean to say that research is probabilistic? A) The research predicts all possible results. B) There is a high likelihood that the research is valid. C) You must reject the conclusions if you are able to find a case that is an exception. D) Conclusions are meant to explain a certain proportion of possible cases.

D) Conclusions are meant to explain a certain proportion of possible cases.

Which of the following is NOT a reason why basing one's conclusions on research is superior to basing one's conclusions on personal experience? A) Experience is confounded. B) Research involves systematically and objectively comparing conditions. C) Experience has no comparison group. D) Research definitively proves theories.

D) Research definitively proves theories.

Which of these is NOT a characteristic of an edited book? A) Each chapter within an edited book is written by a different contributor. B) An edited book is a collection of chapters on a common topic. C) Chapters in an edited book typically are summaries of sets of research. D) The peer-review process for edited books is more rigorous than for that of a journal.

D) The peer-review process for edited books is more rigorous than for that of a journal.

In a developmental psychology class, Trina learned about Baumarind's (1971, 1991) work on parenting styles. She recognized that her parents used an authoritarian style of parenting, as did all her relatives. Because that was the style of parenting she planned to use, she researched the advantages to that style while ignoring any studies that support the use of another parenting style. What is the term for what Trina was doing? A) confirmatory hypothesis testing B) showing a self-serving bias C) creating a good story D) cherry-picking the evidence

D) cherry-picking the evidence

Which of the following is the term used in psychology to describe a person who is an actor playing a specific role as part of an experiment? A) imposter B) accomplice C) stooge D) confederate

D) confederate

Which of the following is NOT an example of faulty thinking that might occur when relying on intuition? A) noticing the instances that occur when we expect them to B) focusing on the instances that come to mind quickly C) coming to a conclusion just because it "makes sense" D) testing your hunches through systematic, empirical observations

D) testing your hunches through systematic, empirical observations

After two students from his school commit suicide, Marcelino thinks that the most likely cause of death in teenagers is suicide. What type of bias is affecting his thinking? A) cherry-picking evidence B) the present/present bias C) confirmatory hypothesis testing D) the availability heuristic

D) the availability heuristic

The idea that things that easily come to mind tend to guide our thinking is known as which of the following? A) the confirmation bias B) representativeness heuristic C) the present/present bias D) the availability heuristic

D) the availability heuristic

Pavlina believes that people in red cars are much more likely to speed than people in cars of other colors. She is probably the victim of what tendency? A) the bias blind spot B) cherry-picking evidence C) the availability heuristic D) the present/present bias

D) the present/present bias

Availability Heuristic: Being persuaded by that comes easily to mind

-A bias in intuition, in which people incorrectly estimate the frequency of something, relying predominantly on instances that easily come to mind rather than using all possible evidence in evaluating a conclusion. -Things that pop up easily in our mind tend to guide our thinking. -When events or memories are vivid, recent, or memorable, they come to mind more easily, leading us to overestimate how often things happen. -Might lead us to wrongly estimate the number of something or how often something happens. -Our attention can be inordinately drawn to certain instances, leading to overestimation.

"Predatory" Journals

-Their names sound legitimate -EX: The Journal of Science or Psychiatry and Mental Disorders -They publish almost any submission they receive, even fatally flawed studies -They exist to make money by charging fees to scientists who want to publish their work.

Present/Present Bias: Failing to think about what we cannot see

-A bias in intuition, in which people incorrectly estimate the relationship between an event and its outcome, focusing on times the event and outcome are present, while failing to consider evidence that is absent and harder to notice. -Tendency to rely only on evidence that is present and ignore evidence that is absent when evaluating the support for a conclusion -EX: Managing anger- the present/present bias means we will easily notice the times we did express frustration at the gym, at the dog, or in an email and subsequently felt better. -We notice the times when both the treatment (venting) and the desired outcome (feeling better) are present but are less likely to notice the times when we didn't express our anger and just felt better anyway. -The treatment was absent but the outcome was still present. -When thinking intuitively, we tend to focus only on experiences that fall in the present/present cell.

Being swayed by a good story

-A bias in our thinking, accepting a conclusion just because it makes sense or feels natural. -We tend to believe good stories, even ones that are false. -Sometimes a good story will turn out to be accurate, but it's important to be aware of the limitations of intuition.

PsycINFO

-A comprehensive tool for sorting through the vast amount of psychological research. -Searches only sources in psychology. -Advantages: 1) It can show you all the articles written by a single author ("Brad Bushman") or by a keyword ("autism"). 2) It tells you whether each source was peer-reviewed. 3) The tool "Cited by" links to other articles that have cited each target article 4) The tool "References" links to the other articles each target article used. -If you've found a great article for your project, the "Cited by" and "References" lists help for finding more papers just like it. -One disadvantage is that your college or university library must subscribe; the general public cannot use it. -One challenge for students is translating curiosity into the correct search terms.

Comparison Group

-A group in an experiment whose levels on the IV differs from those of the treatment group in some intended and meaningful way -Enables us to compare what would happen both with and without the thing we are interested in

Disinformation "fake news"

-A news story, info, photo, or video deliberately created and shared known to be false or misleading. -Those who spread it include hate groups who have cloaked false, racist stories in websites disguised to look real -They include false foreign social media accounts aimed at suppressing African American votes in the USA -It has made others act drastically -EX: In 2016, after reading unfounded conspiracy stories, a man fired a rifle into a pizza restaurant he read was a sex-trafficking site.

Paywalled

-A peer-reviewed academic journal that the general public must pay to access -Only people who are members of subscribing institutions can access the content.

Confounds

-A potential alternative explanation for a research finding -A threat to internal validity -Occurs when you think one thing caused an outcome but in fact other things changed, too, so you are confused about what the cause really was. -EX: You might think online brain-training exercises are making your grades improve, but because you are also taking different classes and have gained experience as a student, you can't determine which of these factors caused the improvement

Empirical Journal Articles

-A scholarly article that reports for the first time the results of a empirical research study. -Contain details about the study's method, statistical tests used, and results of the study.

Review Journal Articles

-An article summarizes and integrate all the studies that have been published in one research area. -Sometimes uses a quantitative technique called meta-analysis, which combines the results of many studies and gives a number that summarizes the magnitude, or the effect size.

THE RESEARCH VERSUS YOUR EXPERIENCE

-Beliefs based on personal experience may not be accurate because they do not involve a comparison group and personal experience is often confounded. -In daily life, many things are going on at once, and it is impossible to know which factor is responsible for a particular outcome. -In contrast, researchers can closely control for confounding factors. -Research has an advantage over experience because researchers design studies that include appropriate comparison groups. -Conclusions based on research are probabilistic. -Research findings cannot predict or explain all cases all the time; instead, they aim to predict or explain a high proportion of cases. -Individual exceptions to research findings do not nullify the results.

Abstract

-Concise summary of the article. -Briefly describes the study's hypotheses, method, and major results. -When you are collecting articles for a project, the abstracts can help you quickly decide whether each article describes the kind of research you are looking for, or whether you should move on to the next article.

Basing conclusions on personal experience is problematic because

-Daily life usually doesn't include comparison experiences -Even if a change has occurred, we often can't be sure what caused it. -In everyday life, too much is going on at once. -EX: When you noticed a difference in your well-being after buying a salt lamp, maybe you were also getting regular massages or practicing yoga. Which one caused your positive mood?

Results

-Describes the quantitative and qualitative results of the study, including the statistical tests the authors used to analyze the data. -Provides tables and figures that summarize results.

Probablistic

-Describing the empirical method, stating that science is intended to explain a certain proportion (but not necessarily all) of the possible cases. -The conclusions of research are meant to explain a certain proportion (preferably a high proportion) of the possible cases. -In practice, this means scientific conclusions are based on patterns that emerge only when researchers set up comparison groups and test many people.

Method

-Explains in detail how the researchers conducted their study. -Contains subsections such as Participants, Materials, Procedure, and Apparatus. -An ideal section gives enough detail that if you wanted to repeat the study, you could do so without having to ask the authors any questions.

THE RESEARCH VERSUS YOUR INTUITION

-Intuition is a flawed source of info because it is affected by biases in thinking. -People accept an explanation that makes sense intuitively, even if it is not true. -People overestimate how often something happens if they consider only readily available thoughts, those that come to mind most easily. -People find it easier to notice what is present than what is absent. -When people forget to look at the info that would falsify their belief, they may see relationships that aren't there. -Intuition is also subject to confirmation bias. -We seek out evidence that confirms our initial ideas and fail to seek out evidence that can disconfirm them. -We all seem to have a bias blind spot and believe we are less biased than everyone else. -Scientific researchers are aware of their potential for biased reasoning, so they create special situations in which they can systematically observe behavior. -They create comparison groups, consider all the data, and allow the data to change their beliefs.

COMPONENTS OF AN EMPIRICAL JOURNAL ARTICLE

-Most empirical journal articles are written in a standard format, as recommended by the Publication Manual of the APA -They include: 1) Abstract 2) Introduction, 3) Method 4) Results 5) Discussion, 6) References.

Books & Edited Books

-One way to get an overview of a body of research is to read a scholarly book or an edited book. -Compared with scholars in other disciplines, such as art history or English, psychologists do not write many full-length scientific books for an audience of other psychologists; It is more common to contribute a chapter to an edited book. -An edited book is a collection of chapters on a common topic, each chapter of which is written by a different contributor. -EX: Edited book "The Handbook of Emotion Regulation" contains more than 30 chapters, all written by different researchers.

Basing conclusions on systematic data collection

-Simple but tremendous advantage of providing a comparison group. -Only a systematic comparison can show you whether your well-being improves when you use a salt lamp (compared with when you do not) or whether your anger goes away when you play a violent online game (compared with doing nothing).

EX: A Review Journal Article by Alina Nazareth and her colleagues

-Summarized 266 studies on human sex differences in navigation skills. -They computed the average effect size across all 266 studies. -Meta-analysis is valued by psychologists because it weighs each study proportionately and does not allow cherry-picking particular studies. -Before being published in a journal, both empirical articles and review articles must be peer-reviewed -Both types are considered the most prestigious forms of publication, in part because of this peer review process.

Introduction

-The first section of regular text, and the first paragraphs explain the topic of the study. -The middle paragraphs lay out the background for the research. -The final paragraph states the specific research questions, goals, or hypotheses for the current study.

Google Scholar

-The free tool works like the regular Google search engine, except the search results will all be in the form of empirical journal articles and scholarly books. -By visiting the user profile for a particular scientist, you can see all of that research team's publications. -One disadvantage is that it doesn't let you limit your search terms to specific fields (such as the abstract or title). -It doesn't categorize the articles it finds. -EX: As peer-reviewed or not, whereas PsycINFO does. -Contains articles from all scholarly disciplines, it may take more time for you to sort through the results.

Discussion

-The opening paragraph of this section summarizes the study's research question and methods and indicates how well the results of the study supported the hypotheses. -Next, the authors usually discuss the study's importance: A) Perhaps their hypothesis was new B) The method they used was a creative and unusual way to test a familiar hypothesis C) The participants were unlike others who had been studied before. -The authors may discuss alternative explanations for their data and pose interesting questions raised by the research.

Bias Blind Spot: Biased about being biased

-The tendency for people to think that compared to others, they themselves are less likely to engage in biased reasoning. -The belief that we are unlikely to fall prey to the other biases -EX: "I'm the objective one here" and "you are the biased one." -It makes us trust our faulty reasoning even more and makes it difficult for us to initiate the scientific theory-data cycle.

Confirmation Bias: Focusing on the evidence we like best

-The tendency to consider only the evidence that supports a hypothesis, asking only questions that will lead to the expected answer. -The tendency to look only at info that agrees with what we want to believe. - We "cherry-pick" the info we take in, seeking and accepting only the evidence that supports what we already think.

Popular Articles (Journalism)

1) EX Sources: New York Times, Vox, CNN, Time, Scientific American, Wall Street Journal 2) Purpose: Summarizes research that may be of interest to the general public 3) Authors: Journalists, often unnamed 4) Audience: The general public 5) Language: Can be understood by most people 6) Sources: Typically do not include footnotes or a list of sources, they may mention the original researchers and include links to their published journal articles

Scholarly Articles (Journals)

1) EX Sources: Psychological Science, Child Development, Journal of Experimental Psychology 2) Purpose: Report the results of research after it has been peer-reviewed; Discuss ongoing research in detail 3) Authors: Scholars, always named, and identified by the institution they work at 4) Audience: Scholars and researchers within a specific field of study 5) Language: Highly specialized and/or technical, and includes professional jargon not easily understood by the general public 6) Sources: Always include sources and full Reference list

2 Types of Journal Articles

1) Empirical Journal Articles 2) Review Articles

Psychological scientists publish their research in three kinds of sources

1) Most often, research results are published as articles in scholarly journals. 2) Psychologists may describe their research in single chapters within edited books 3) Some researchers write full-length scholarly books.

Motives of Disinformation

1) Propaganda 2) Passion 3) Politics motivate 4) Profit -Disinformation can drive votes and enhance political support. -Provocation motivates people who want to "punk" others into emotional reactions. -Profit motivates false scientific claims about salt lamps, herbal supplements, or crystals to accompany a shopping website. -Also the chance that it's parody sites that create false stories only to make us laugh.

2 Legitimate Scientific Sources to Conduct Searches

1) PsycINFO 2) Google Scholar

3 Examples of Review Article Arguments

1) Using cell phones impairs driving, even when phones are hands-free. 2) While speed reading is possible, it comes at the cost of comprehension of the text. 3) "Prolonged exposure therapy" is effective for treating most people who suffer from PTSD, though many therapists do not yet use this therapy with their clients.

Confederate

An actor who is directed by the researcher to play a specific role in a research study

As part of an assignment for his Introduction to Psychology class, Gilbert has to read a journal article, summarize it, and compare it with what is reported in his textbook. Gilbert selects the article "Effects of Severe Daily Events on Mood," Stone and Neale (1984). Assuming that the article is written in accordance with APA style guidelines, what is the correct order of sections Gilbert should expect to find in this article? A) Introduction, Discussion, Method, Results, Abstract,References B) Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion,References C) Abstract, Method, Results, Introduction, Discussion, References D) Abstract, Introduction, Results, Method, Discussion, References

B) Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion,References

As part of an assignment for his Introduction to Psychology class, Gilbert has to read a journal article, summarize it, and compare it to what is reported in his textbook. Gilbert selects the article "Effects of Severe Daily Events on Mood," Stone and Neale (1984). If Gilbert wanted to read about the study's contributions and significance, he should look at which section of the article? A) Results B) Discussion C) Method D) Introduction

B) Discussion

Which of the following is NOT a reason why basing one's conclusions on research is superior to basing one's conclusions on intuition? A) Intuition may lead you to a conclusion that fits with what you already believed but is incorrect. B) Intuition always leads you to a conclusion that is incorrect. C) Intuition may lead you to a conclusion that is logical but incorrect. D) Intuition may lead you to a conclusion that comes to mind easily but is incorrect.

B) Intuition always leads you to a conclusion that is incorrect.

Dr. Friedman suspects that women who work outside the home might be frustrated with the balance of responsibilities in their household. She devises a survey to give to married women employed outside the home that includes the question "Does your spouse bother to help you around the house?" What is the problem with Dr. Friedman's approach? A) It is an example of faulty thinking. B) It is an example of asking hypothesis-confirming questions. C) It reflects the present/present bias. D) It is cherry-picking the evidence.

B) It is an example of asking hypothesis-confirming questions.

Which of the following is a quantitative technique used in some review articles that combines the results of many studies and gives a number that summarizes the magnitude of a relationship? A) macro-analytical procedure B) meta-analysis C) empiricism D) analysis of variance

B) meta-analysis

Which of the following is a reason to trust the advice of authorities? A) Authorities base their advice on their own experience and intuition. B) The research cited by authorities may be unreliable. C) Authorities systematically and objectively compare different conditions. D) Authorities cherry-pick the evidence to support their own position.

C) Authorities systematically and objectively compare different conditions.

A school district decides to compare a new math textbook with the textbook that has been used for the past few years. Each of the fourth graders in one school is randomly assigned to be in one of two classes, one in which a teacher continues using the old book and another in which a new teacher uses the new book. The school administrators compare the average scores of the two classes on a mathematics standardized test at the end of the year to determine which book is better. Which of the following is a potential confound in this study? A) There are different children in fourth grade this year than there were last year. B) The standardized test is graded incorrectly. C) The teachers have different amounts of teaching experience. D) Both classes have children who report that they do not like math.

C) The teachers have different amounts of teaching experience.

Even when people are aware that individuals generally think in a biased way, they tend to think that they are unlikely to fall prey to those biases. This kind of bias is called which of the following? A) confirmation bias B) present/present bias C) bias blind spot D) availability heuristic

C) bias blind spot

Which of the following is NOT a format in which psychological scientists typically publish their research? A) review journal articles B) chapters in edited books C) popular magazine articles D) empirical journal articles

C) popular magazine articles

References

Contains a full bibliographic listing of all the sources the authors cited in writing their article, enabling interested readers to locate these studies.

TRUSTING AUTHORITIES ON THE SUBJECT

PROS: 1) An authority with a scientific degree may be better able to accurately understand and interpret scientific evidence. 2) If an authority refers to research evidence in their own area of expertise, their advice might be worthy of attention. CONS: 1) Authorities can base their advice on their own experience or intuition just like us or present only the studies that support their side. 2) The support of their arguments might have been conducted poorly. 3) The research someone cites to support an argument may not accurately and appropriately support that particular argument.

Effect Size

The magnitude, or strength, of a relationship between two or more variables.

Intuition

Using our hunches about what seems "natural," or attempting to think about things "logically."

Variety of Scientific Sources

You can read about research in: 1) Empirical journal articles 2) Review journal articles 3) Edited books 4) Full-length books.