PSYA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2.2: Phineas Gage, Naturalistic Observation, Confounding
Document Summary
Joordens: psychology research always begin with a research question, make a prediction (hypothesis), and create a research design (set of methods that allows a hypothesis to be tested, research design influence how investigators: Variables: property of an object/organism/event that can take on different values, could be measured and analyzed. Operational definitions: details that define the variables for the purposes of a specific study. Data: collected observations about the variables of interest, descriptive research, case studies: in-depth report about the details of a specific case. Generally reserved for individuals who have a very uncommon characteristics or have lived through a very unusual experience. Ex: phineas gage (iron rod through eye and head, tearing through brain, and survived) Important scientific contributions or just interesting stories: naturalistic observation: unobtrusively observe and record behavior as it occurs in the subject"s natural environment. Researchers must pay specific attention to specific variables and use operational definitions.
