Unit 1 Approaches PPT.pptx

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Intuition

• _{Instinctive, heart-felt}

awareness; feeling that comes from one’s gut

• _{Although sometimes}

correct, people often overestimate their gut

feelings based on situations when they were correct

• _{Hindsight bias and}

judgmental overconfidence

Scientific Attitude

• _{Curiosity – a passion to}

explore and understand

without misleading or being misled

• _{Skepticism – asking “what}

do you mean?” and “how do you know?”

• _{Humility – awareness of our}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Critical Thinking

• _{Also called “smart thinking”} • _{Examines assumptions}

• _{Discerns hidden values} • _{Evaluates evidence}

• _{Assesses conclusions}

• _{Weighs anecdotes vs actual}

scientific evidence

Scientific Method

• _{Theory – an explanation}

using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.

• _{Hypothesis – a testable}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Theory Example

• _{At the heart of depression}

lies low self-esteem.

Hypothesis Example

• _{People who report poorer}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Methods to Refine our Theories • _{Descriptive – describe}

behaviors using case studies, surveys, or

naturalistic observations

• _{Correlational – associate}

different factors

• _{Experimental – manipulate}

factors to discover their effects

Descriptive Methods

• _{Case Study – examines one}

individual in depth in hopes of revealing things true of us all.

• _{Individual cases may}

mislead us if the individual being studied is atypical

• _{“What’s true of all of us can}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

• _{Survey – technique for}

ascertaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a

representative, random sample of the group.

Descriptive Methods • _{Survey (continued)}

– Subtle changes in wording may dramatically effect

survey results (not allowing, forbidding, censoring)

– the best basis for generalizing is from a random,

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

• _{Naturalistic Observation –}

observing and recording behavior in naturally

occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.

– Does not explain behavior, it describes behavior.

Correlation

• _{Correlation is a measure of}

the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other.

• _{Correlation coefficient is a}

statistical index of the

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Correlation

• _{Scatterplots are a graphed}

cluster of dots, each of

which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship between the two variables.

Correlation

• _{The amount of scatter}

suggests the strength of the correlation (little scatter

indicates high correlation).

• _{Correlation coefficient tells}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Correlation Examples

• _{Positive: aptitude test}

scores and school success (as one moves up, the other tends to move up)

• _{Negative: tooth decay and}

brushing frequency (as one moves up, the other moves down)

Correlation Numbers

• _{Strong Positive = closest to}

+1

• _{Strong Negative = closest to}

-1

• _{Weak or No = closest to}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Correlation and Causation • _{Even the strongest}

correlation between two variables does NOT prove causation (that one variable causes the other)

• _{Many times a third factor is}

involved (ex: length of marriage correlates with hair loss; third factor is aging)

Correlation and Causation • _{Correlation indicates the}

possibility of a cause-effect relationship, but it does not prove causation.

• _{Correlational studies often}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Illusory Correlations • _{The perception of a}

relationship where none exists.

• _{Help to explain many}

superstitious beliefs.

• _{When we notice random}

coincidences, we may forget that they are random and instead see them as

correlated.

Sample Size and Extraordinary • _{“With a large enough}

sample, any outrageous thing is likely to happen.”

• _{An event that happens to}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Experimentation

• _{Experiment – a research}

method in which an

investigator manipulates one or more factors

(independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variable).

Experimentation

• _{By random assignment of}

participants, the

experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.

• _{Unlike correlational studies,}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Experimentation

• _{Blind – uninformed about}

what treatment, if any, they are receiving.

• _{Pseudotreatment – a placebo}

(perhaps a pill with no drug in it)

• _{Double-blind study – neither}

the participants nor the

research assistants collecting data know who received the actual drug.

Experimentation • _{Placebo effect –}

experimental results caused by expectations alone.

• _{Experimental group – the}

group exposed to the treatment

• _{Control group – the group}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Experimentation

• _{Independent Variable (I.V.) –}

the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being

studied.

• _{Dependent Variable(D.V.) –}

the outcome factor; the

variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

Experimentation

• _{Experiments aim to}

manipulate an I.V., measure the D.V., and control all

other variables.

• _{Experiments have a least} two different groups: an experimental group and a control or comparison group • _{Random assignments makes}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Statistical Reasoning

• _{As a critical thinker, we}

should doubt big, round, undocumented numbers or statistics.

• _{Ask for proof or}

documentation of who collected those numbers.

Describing Data

• _{Pay close attention to the}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Measures of Central Tendency • _{Mode – the most frequently}

occurring score or scores

• _{Mean – the arithmetic}

average (most common)

• _{Median – the midpoint; the}

50th_{percentile of scores}

Measures of Central Tendency • _{Using the mean, a few}

extreme scores can give a very distorted result

• _{“When Bill Gates enters a}

restaurant, the average

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Measures of Variation

• _{Range – the gap between}

the lowest and highest scores; the less the

variation, the more closely we can predict a future result.

Measures of Variation • _{Standard Deviation – a}

computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score.

• _{Standard Deviation gauges}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Measures of Variation

• _{Normal Curve – also called a}

normal distribution or a

“Bell Curve”, it describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean, and fewer and fewer scores near the extremes.

• _{More scores usually give a}

more perfect curve.

Generalizing from a Sample

• _{Representative samples are} better than biased samples. • _{Less-variable observations}

are more reliable than those that are more variable.

• _{More cases are better than} fewer.

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Making Inferences

• _{Statistical significance – a}

statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance.

• _{Example: the less variability}

in women’s and in men’s aggression scores, the more confidence we have that observed gender

differences are reliable.

• _{When sample averages are}

reliable and the difference between them is relatively large, we say the difference has statistical significance.

• _{The observed variation is}

probably NOT due to

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Experimentation

• _{A laboratory experiment}

lets psychologists re-create psychological forces under controlled conditions.

• _{An experiments purpose is}

to test theoretical principles that help explain everyday behaviors.

Experimentation

• _{Principles derived in a}

laboratory typically DO generalize to the everyday world.

• _{Psychologists are looking for}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Universal Human Family • _{Dyslexia is same brain}

malfunction whether one speaks Italian, French, or British.

• _{Across cultures loneliness is}

magnified by shyness, low self-esteem, and being unmarried.

Gender Differences • _{Women carry on}

conversations more readily to build relationships.

• _{Men talk more to give}

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Using Animals as Subjects • _{Human physiology}

resembles that of many other animals.

• _{Culture helps determine}

whether testing on animals is morally acceptable.

Using Animals as Subjects • _{Testing on animals has led}

to a vaccine for rabies, effective methods for training children with mental disorders, an

understanding of aging, and relieving fears and

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UNIT 1: APPROACHES

Using Humans as Subjects

• _{Ethical principles urge} investigators to:

• _{1. obtain informed consent} from participants

• _{2. protect participants from} harm and discomfort

• _{3. treat information about} individual confidentially • _{4. fully explain research to}

participant afterward

Is Psychology Value Free?

• _{Psychology is definitely NOT}

value free.

• _{Values affect what we study,}