How To Do Psychology: Methods Pt. 2
P S YC H 1101 P ROF. DAVID P IZ AR RO DAY 3
For course information please visit: www.cornellpsych.net
G RE E TI N G S , D O H A !
Recap • •
Day 1- Introduced psychology as science and broad topics in the field! Day 2- The importance of the scientific method for acquiring knowledge about how the mind works (continuing today)
Experimentation •
Gold standard of science, because it can determine causality (correlation is not causation).!
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Control group vs. experimental group!
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Manipulate something (the independent variable)!
Random assignment (each person has an equal likelihood of being assigned to either group)!
Measure the outcome (the dependent variable)
Middlemist, Knowles, & Matter (1977)
“Personal space invasions in the lavatory: suggestive evidence for ar ousal.�!
The Experiment •
General-ish principle that yields a prediction: The mere presence of others causes physiological arousal (it is a stressor)!
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Specific prediction: Because social stressors are known to inhibit relaxation of the muscles involved in urination, the presence of others should delay the onset of urination.!
• Experiment: Participants visiting three-urinal bathroom randomly assigned to one of three conditions!
• confederate stood immediately adjacent to participant! • confederate stood one urinal away from participant! • participant alone
TH E Y D ON’T PAY M E E N OUG H F OR TH IS J OB
Results Alone
One Urinal “Buffer”
Directly Adjacent
9 8.4
6.75 6.2
4.5
4.8
2.25
0 Onset of Urination (in Seconds)
Limits To Experimentation •
Not everything can be manipulated through random assignment.!
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convenience! ethical considerations!
Even if possible, experiments can contain confounds! Experimentation relies on constrained, controlled environment. !
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limits the breadth of conclusions that can be made, because the real world is much more complex
Applying The Scientific Method: Does Watching Violent Media Make Kids Violent? •
General principle: human beings learn behavior through observation and mimicry. !
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Specific prediction: watching violent television will make people more violent.! Observe, measure, manipulate the world and see if there is evidence for this claim.
“Operational Definition” Of Violence •
A specific, quantifiable description of the thing that you’re studying.!
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e.g., “Intelligence” is often operationally defined as “score on a standard IQ test.”!
Operational definition of “Violence” in media!
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murders, shootings, stabbings, punches thrown? ! real or animated?! threats or other verbal aggression? !
Operational definition of “Violence” in kids !
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number of fights in school?! teacher/parent/peer ratings of violence?! length of shocks delivered to another person in an experimental lab?
Possible Methods •
Observation!
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record which shows kids watch unobtrusively! observe their behavior in the playground!
Self-report/peer-report!
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ask kids what shows they watch on TV! ask them how many fights they’ve been in ! ask their friends, teachers or parents the same thing!
Experiment!
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show one group of kids a violent tv show, and another group a non-violent “control” show! have them play with other kids right after and observe their behavior! …or have them write a story and have researchers who are blind to condition code them for violent words
The Importance Of Paying Attention “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'� IS AAC ASIM OV
*A science can only be as good as the methods it uses
Getting To Specifics •
Getting our hands dirty--specific methods and techniques for learning about the mind. !
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Various example of methods across various areas of psychology!
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Creativity of researchers! Increased availability of methods! Tools borrowed from other disciplines
How Do Psychologists Select A Method? •
What psychological phenomenon are they interested in studying?!
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Big questions--e.g., how much is innate vs. learned?! More specific questions--e.g., does emotional arousal improve memory? !
What level of analysis is being used to explain the phenomenon?
Which Level Of Analysis? E V O L U TIO N
BIOL OGY
C U LTU R E
IND IVID UAL D E VE LOP M E NT
IND IVID UAL D IFFE R E NC E S/ P E R SON AL IT Y
SIT UAT I ON/SOC I AL CONT E X T