Welcome back!

Any lingering questions from last class?

1
Let’s test out TopHat
• Tophat.com
• Join code: 508861

2
Chapter 2: The Measure
of the Mind
Research Methods
Pg. 33-66

3
In this chapter we will…
• Understand psychology as a science
• Describe various methods used to conduct research in psychology and
strengths and weaknesses of each one
• Understand the conclusions that can be drawn from a study based on its
methodology

4
The Plan

How do psychologists
What is science?
conduct research?

How do we draw How can we conduct

conclusions from data? ethical research?

5
What is science?
• A method of learning about reality through systematic __________
and _____________
• A work in progress

Objective Systematic Evidence-based

Conclusions are Using samples that are Reliant
based on _____, not representative of on observable, repeatable
emotions or biases the __________ ________

6
 Subjective vs. Objective

• Subjective = reflect a _________ point of view, can ignore evidence

• Objective = measurable, verifiable, relies on _______
• Examples:
• Objective: I have two dogs
• Subjective: Cats are better than dogs

7
Confirmation bias

• The tendency to notice and remember instances

that _______ your beliefs more than instances that
contradict them

8
Critical thinking

• The ability to think clearly, ___________, and independently

• Is a skill you can build by asking yourself:
• What am I being asked to believe or accept?
• What evidence supports this position?
• Are there other ways that this evidence could be interpreted?
• What other evidence would I need to evaluate these alternatives?
• What are the most reasonable conclusions?

9
 • A study found “a general relationship between
eating healthy, following healthy dietary practices,
Critical thinking exercise, and mental well-being.” Also “found that
for unhealthy dietary patterns, the level of mental
practice distress was higher in women than men, which
confirmed that women are more susceptible to
unhealthy eating than men.”
• What am I being asked to believe or accept?
• What evidence supports this position?
• Are there other ways that this evidence could be
interpreted?
• What other evidence would I need to evaluate
these alternatives?
• What are the most reasonable conclusions?

10
 *GE S1

The Scientific Method

Develop a Generate a Draw Communicate

Collect data
theory hypothesis conclusions results

11
 *GE S1

The Scientific Method

• ________: a set of facts and relationship between facts that can

explain and predict related phenomena
• Formulated based on _________ research & observation
• Example: theory of evolution

12
The Scientific Method

• Hypothesis: an educated prediction or proposed ___________ for

a situation
• Usually takes the form “If A happens, then B will be the result.”
• Based on prior evidence and logical possibilities
• Can never definitively prove

13
Theory vs hypothesis
• Theory: an explanation for a natural phenomenon that is widely
accepted among the scientific community and supported by data
• Confirmed by many tests and experiments
• Ex: Theory of relativity
• Hypothesis: a proposed explanation for an observable phenomenon
• An educated guess about the relationship between variables.
• A fresh, unchallenged idea that a scientist proposes prior to conducting
research

14
Evaluating and Communicating Science

• Collect data necessary to evaluate hypothesis

• Write it up and submit it to peer review: the process of having other
experts examine research prior to its _________
• Replication: repeating an experiment in an attempt to produce the
____ results

15
Meta-analysis and publication bias

• Meta-analysis: a statistical analysis of many previous experiments on a

_______ topic
• Combining information from many studies to provide a clearer picture of
the topic
• Publication bias: the possibility that published studies are not
representative of all work done on a particular phenomenon
• _____ drawer problem

16
The Plan

How do psychologists
What is science?
conduct research?

How do we draw How can we conduct

conclusions from data? ethical research?

17
 Population vs. Sample

• Population: entire group from

which a sample is taken
• Sample: a _______ of a
population being studied
• Want samples that are
___________ of the population

18
Population vs. Sample

Sample Population
Our PSYCH 1100 section All PSYCH 1100 students
at OSU
Ohio State’s Student Section All fans attending the
OSU football game
Middle school kids who All kids who play video
play video games in PA & SC games in the United States

19
Population Sample

20
 *GE S1

Overview of research methods

• Descriptive: a good starting place for a new research question

• Correlational: see how two variables relate to each other
• Experimental: to test hypotheses and determine causes of behavior

21
Descriptive methods
• Research methods designed for making careful, systematic
_____________
❑ Case studies
❑ Naturalistic observations
❑ Surveys

22
Case studies
• Provide an in-depth analysis of the behavior of
____ person or a _______ number of people
• Advantages
• Well-suited to learn about unusual situations
• Can help test a hypothesis
• Disadvantages
• Hard to generalize, can’t establish ________
• Examples: Phineas Gage, behavior after a
traumatic event

23
Naturalistic observation

• An in-depth study of a phenomenon in its _______ setting

• Advantages:
• Larger groups = stronger ability to apply results to general population
• Observe natural, everyday circumstances
• Disadvantages:
• Can’t establish causality, logistical or ethical issues can arise
• Examples: Charles Darwin

24
Surveys
• Participants are asked the same
questions (about _______ and behavior)
• Self-report measure
• Advantages:
• Can gather a good deal of information
quickly at relatively little expense
• Disadvantage: social desirability
• Can be used in other types of research

25
What type of design?
• We want to measure opinions of a new
movie.
• We want to see how dogs behave at a dog
park.
• We want to learn more about what it’s like to
be Brutus Buckeye.

TopHat Join Code: 508861

26
Correlational Methods

• Correlation = a measure of the _________ and _________ of the

relationship between two variables
• Variable = a factor that has a _____ of values (which can change)
• ________ = a method for describing a variable’s quantity (how much)

27
Descriptive statistics: Scatterplot

• Allows you to visualize

the relationship
between two variables

28
Types of correlations

Move in _____ direction Move in _______ directions No relationship

Ex. Height & shoe size Ex. Outside temperature & Ex. Shoe size & exam score
heating bills
29
Correlation coefficient

• r = correlation coefficient
• r ranges from -1 to 1
• Direction of relationship is positive or negative
• Strength/magnitude
• Closer to 1 or -1 = stronger relationship
• Closer to 0 = weaker relationship

30
Correlation
coefficients

31
But remember…

• Correlation ≠ causation
• The two variables being measured can influence _________ simultaneously
• Or there could be a third variable: a variable responsible for a correlation
observed between two other variables of interest
• Example: sunglasses sold and ice cream sold are positively correlated – related
to __________
• It helps to have further research in addition to correlation

32
 Spurious
correlation

https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations 33
 Spurious
correlation

https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations 34
Summary of correlational methods

• Advantages
• Easy to collect data (surveys)​
• Can study variables we have no control over (e.g., parents’
personalities, religious or political beliefs, etc.)​

• Limitations
• Can’t establish causal relationships​

35
Experimental Methods

• Experiment: a research method that tests hypotheses and allows

researchers to make conclusions about _________
• Researcher manipulates an independent variable and observes
changes in the dependent variable
• __________ variable (predictor; cause): an experimental variable
controlled and manipulated by the experimenter
• _________ variable (outcome; effect): a measure that demonstrates the
effects of an independent variable (depends on the IV)

36
Independent or dependent?

• I want to see if having coffee at night keeps me awake later. Coffee is the
______ variable.
• I want to know if running is helping me lose weight. My weight is the
______ variable.

37
 Designing an experiment

• How you define and measure

variables is important
• Operationalization: defining
variables in ways that allow them to
be _______
• Transforming abstract variables
into measurable form

38
39
 • Control group: experiences all experimental
Designing an procedures ______ for exposure to the
independent variable
experiment • Experimental group: _______ to the independent
variable

40
Designing an experiment

• _______ assignment: procedure in which each participant has an

equal chance of being placed in any group in an experiment
• Why is this important?
• Confounding variables: variables that are irrelevant to the
hypothesis being tested but can _____ a researcher’s conclusions
• Reflect individual differences
• Participant and situational confounds

41
 Controlling an experiment

• ________: an inactive substance or treatment that cannot be

distinguished from a real, active substance or treatment
• Example of placebo effect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbaKze622Kg&ab_channel=theo
neosegood

42
 Controlling an experiment

• Double-blind procedure: a research design that

controls for placebo effects in which neither the
participant nor the ___________ knows whether
the participant was given an active
substance/treatment or placebo
• Controls for both participant and researcher
expectations or biases

43
 Design your own experiment!
• Do increased confidence levels lead to better performance on exams?

• Hypothesis:
• Independent and dependent variables:
• Operationalization of variables:
• Population and sample:
• Control and experimental groups:
• Possible confounds:
44
Studying the effects of time

• Three study designs that help assess behaviors over time:

• Cross-sectional
• Longitudinal
• Mixed longitudinal

45
 Cross-sectional design
• Cross-sectional study: An experimental design in which
data are obtained _____________ from people of
differing ages
• Be aware of ______ effects: generational effects of
having been born at a particular point in history

46
 Longitudinal design

• Longitudinal study: an experimental

design in which data are obtained
from the ____ individuals at intervals
over a _____ period of time

47
Mixed Longitudinal Design

• A method that ________ the cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by

observing a cross-section of participants over a shorter period (~_ years)
than is used typically in longitudinal studies

48
Mixed longitudinal study

49
An analogy
• Cross-sectional

50
An analogy
• Longitudinal

51
An analogy
• Mixed Longitudinal

52
The Plan

How do psychologists
What is science?
conduct research?

How do we draw How can we conduct

conclusions from data? ethical research?

53
Reliability and Validity

• Reliability: the consistency of a measure

• Reliability = reproduce or _______
• Validity: a quality of the measure that leads to correct
conclusions; the _______
• Does it evaluate the concept that it was designed to?

54
55
Reliability and validity
• Validity: Does it measure what it’s supposed to measure?​
• Reliability: How ________ is our measurement?​
• Reliability and validity are not the same​
• Can obtain a reliable measure that is not valid​
• Ex- Weighing yourself daily on a scale that is miscalibrated
• A measure can’t be valid without also being reliable​
• Ex- Weigh yourself on a correctly calibrated scale every 15 minutes for
the next 4 hours

56
Descriptive statistics

• Descriptive statistics: organize data into meaningful patterns and

_________
• Tell us about the sample we collected
• Can describe the central tendency and the ________ of the data

57
Class survey descriptive statistics
N = 68

• 9% psychology majors
Graduation Year
3% 3% • 65% from Ohio
7%

13%

74%

2023 2024 2025 2026 Other

58
Measures of central tendency
• Mean: the numerical average of a set of scores
• _______: the halfway mark in a set of data, with half of the scores
above it and half below
• ____: the most frequently occurring score
• Example: 6,7,1,6,8,9,1,3,5
• Mean = 5.1 (6+7+1+6+8+9+1+3+5 / 9 = 5.1)
• Median = 6 (1, 1, 3, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9)
• Mode = 1 & 6
59
 Variance

• Standard deviation (SD): a measure of how

tightly clustered around the ____ a group of
scores is
• Smaller SD: most scores are near the mean
• Larger SD: scores are _________ from the mean

60
The Normal Curve

• Normal distribution: a symmetrical

probability function
• AKA ____ curve
• Most scores occur near the _____
• Symmetrical -> same # of scores above
and below mean

61
Inferential Statistics

• Inferential statistics: statistical methods that allow experimenters to

extend ________ (or inferences) from samples to larger populations
• How observations from our sample may apply to larger groups of people
• Generalization: extending conclusions to larger populations _______ your
research sample
• Be careful not to overgeneralize – psychology of the _______ sophomore

62
Inferential Statistics

• Null hypothesis: a hypothesis stating the default position that there is

___ real difference between two measures
• We can’t prove a hypothesis is true, but we can show that one is ______
• If you reject the null hypothesis, you can explore the ___________
hypothesis (there might be a relationship/difference)

63
Statistical significance

• How do we know when to reject the null hypothesis ? -> Statistical

significance: A standard for deciding whether an observed result is
because of ______
• Accepted benchmark generally used by psychology and other sciences: ​5
out of 100 odds (5%) that observed result is due to chance​

64
The Plan

How do psychologists
What is science?
conduct research?

How do we draw How can we conduct

conclusions from data? ethical research?

65
Unethical research
• Tuskegee syphilis experiment
• ~400 black men in rural Alabama 1931-1972 who had syphilis were
studied to track the natural progression, but not informed about their
diagnosis. A cure was discovered in 1943, but participants were not
offered treatment

66
Unethical research
• The monster study
• 22 orphans in 1939, some had a stutter and were separated into two
groups: half were told they would outgrow the stutter and they should
not listen to what other people say about it; half were told they had a
stutter and should use their willpower to stop it and not speak unless
they could do it right

67
Ethical research

• Review boards enforce ethical guidelines for federally-funded research

• Institutional review board (IRB): human participants
• Institutional animal care and use committees (IACUC): animal research
• Informed consent: __________ obtained from a research participant
after the risks and benefits of an experimental procedure have been
thoroughly explained
• Have the right to ________ from study at any time

68
Ethical research

• Reasonable incentives are allowed

• Reduce _____/harms
• Deception should be followed by
___________
• Ensure ________ & confidentiality

69
Is it ethical?
• Gina shows up to an REP study that she has signed up for. The experimenter tells
her all about the study and she signs a form indicating that she consents to
participating in her study. Throughout the study, the experimenter asks Gina
some very personal questions and she begins to feel uncomfortable. Halfway
through, she tells the experimenter that she would no longer like to participate
and asks to leave. The experimenter tells her that in order to get REP credit, she
must finish the study.

1.Has the experimenter violated any ethical guidelines?

• If yes, which ones? What should the experimenter have done?
• If no, why not?
2.How should Gina respond in this situation?

70
 Animal research

• Should have a clear purpose, benefit to the health of

humans or _____ animals
• Animals should receive excellent housing, food, and
veterinary care
• Minimize ____ and suffering

71
 Bringing it all together
• Science is a method for learning about reality through systematic observation and
experimentation​. It is a work in progress
• Research is conducted through descriptive, correlational, or experimental methods
• We study the effects of time through cross-sectional, longitudinal, or mixed-
longitudinal studies
• We use descriptive and inferential statistics to draw conclusions from data
• We conduct research ethically by having our research reviewed before we begin by
the IRB or IACUC, providing informed consent, and minimizing risks and maximizing
benefits

72
 Any
questions?

73