psy290 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Naturalistic Observation, Stopwatch, Blood Pressure
22 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
PSYCHOLOGY 289
CH 2: RESEARCH ENTERPRISE IN PSYCHOLOGY
THEMES 1 & 7:
1. Empirical - Conclusions are based on observation. (testable)
7. Experience is highly subjective - One believes what they want to see.
GOALS OF SCIENTIFIC ENTERPRISE:
1. MEASURE & DESCRIBE - Develop measurement techniques that make it possible to
describe behaviour clearly and precisely.
2. UNDERSTAND & PREDICT - Belief that you understand events when you can
explain the reasons of the occurrence.
3. APPLY & CONTROL - Hope the information collected will have practical value in
helping solve everyday problems. Once understood, control can be exerted.
MD’s UP the AC
SYSTEMATIC SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION:
1. FORMULATE A TESTABLE HYPOTHESIS
2. SELECT THE RESEARCH METHOD & DESIGN THE STUDY
- Experiments, case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation.
3. COLLECT THE DATA
a. Direct Observation - Watch and record behaviour as precisely as possible.
Instruments used may be video/voice recorder, stopwatch, etc.
b. Questionnaire - Written questions to obtain info about attitudes, opinions, etc.
c. Interview - Face to face dialogue to obtain specific information
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find more resources at oneclass.com
d. Psychological Test - Administer a standardized measure to obtain a sample of
behaviour. Usually to assess mental ability or personality traits.
e. Physiological Recording - An instrument used to monitor and record a specific
physiological process. ie. Blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, brain activity…
f. Examination of Archival Records - Analyze existing institutional records. Ie. census,
economic, medical, legal, educational and business records.
4. ANALYZE THE DATA
- Observations are converted to numbers, which constitute raw data.
- Use statistics to analyze their data and decide if it supports hypothesis.
5. REPORT THE FINDINGS
- Write and share concise findings with peers and public.
LOOKING FOR CAUSES: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
- Looking for CAUSE and EFFECT
- INDEPENDENT VARIABLE - Is a condition or event that an experimenter controls or
manipulates. Free to be varied in order to see its impact on another variable.
- DEPENDENT VARIABLE - Is the variable that is thought to be affected by
manipulation of the independent variable.
- EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES - Are any variables other than the independent variable
that seem likely to influence the dependent variable in a specific study.
INDIE AND EDDIES DECISIONS EFFECT DEVONS LIFE
- EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS receive special treatment or a manipulation of what the
CONTROL GROUP receives.
- WITHIN SUBJECTS DESIGN is when participants serve as their own control group
as opposed to BETWEEN SUBJECT DESIGN which uses two or more groups to
serve as experimental and control groups.
- PROS: Experiments are a powerful research method that permits conclusions about
cause and effect relationships.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Themes 1 & 7: empirical - conclusions are based on observation. (testable, experience is highly subjective - one believes what they want to see. Systematic scientific investigation: formulate a testable hypothesis, select the research method & design the study. Experiments, case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation: collect the data, direct observation - watch and record behaviour as precisely as possible. Instruments used may be video/voice recorder, stopwatch, etc: questionnaire - written questions to obtain info about attitudes, opinions, etc. Interview - face to face dialogue to obtain specific information: psychological test - administer a standardized measure to obtain a sample of behaviour. Ie. census, economic, medical, legal, educational and business records: analyze the data. Observations are converted to numbers, which constitute raw data. Use statistics to analyze their data and decide if it supports hypothesis: report the findings. Write and share concise findings with peers and public. Independent variable - is a condition or event that an experimenter controls or manipulates.
