Research Methods

1. Research Methods

2. “The trigger mechanism for creative thinking is the disposition to be curious, to wonder, to inquire.” (Ruggiero 1988)

3. Studying Human BehaviorThinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology • Essential Guidelines • Ask Questions • Define Your Terms • Examine the Evidence • Bruno Bettelheim concluded that autistic children were the result of rejecting cold “refrigerator mothers” • Conclusions based on insufficient data but went unchallenged because he was an eminent psychologist! • Analyze Assumptions and Biases • Principle of Falsifiability • Theory must make predictions specific enough to disconfirm • Avoid Emotional Reasoning • “The intensity of the conviction that a hypothesis is true has no bearing on whether it is true or not.” (Medawar 1979) • Don’t Oversimplify • Crime committed by paroled convict, we should abolish parole. • Consider Other Interpretations • Tolerate Uncertainty

4. Research Methods • Study in Demark (2007) • Would young people’s attitudes towards health influence their behavior? • What would researchers need to do to carry out this type of study effectively? • Participants • Method for collecting data • Method for analyzing data

5. Aim, Procedure, Findings • Aim • Purpose of the study • Which behavior or mental processes will be studied • Target population • Group whose behavior you are studying • Ex.: Studying whether bilingual students are better able to recall items on a list than monolingual students. • Procedure • After identifying aim • Step-by-step process to carry out the study • Always written in a way that makes it possible for others to understand how the data was collected • Findings • How the researcher interpreted the data that was collected • Flaws? • Bias? • If other research can confirm, study more credible! • FINDINGS SAY SOMETHING ONLY ABOUT TARGET GROUP AND MAY NOT BE RELEVANT TO OTHER CULTURES (CULTURAL BIAS)

6. ExampleWhat to look for in research… • The Pygmalion Effect (Rosenthal and Jacobson 1968) • Professor Robert Rosenthal, of Harvard University in the USA, and Leonore Jacobson, a principal of elementary school in San Francisco, carried out an interesting field experiment to determine whether teachers’ expectations of students’ performance actually had any effect on how well the students learned throughout the year. In other words, when teachers expect students to excel or fail, is that what is going to happen? To begin their study, Rosenthal and Jacobs gave 18 classes of students (from kindergarten to sixth grade) an intelligence test so that the researchers could see if there was a development during the year in which they carried out the study. Then they chose 20% of the students at random and told the teachers that these children showed “unusual potential for intellectual growth”, and that they could be expected to “bloom” during the year. However, because they were randomly selected, there was no relationship whatsoever between the score they achieved on the test and this claim made by the psychologists. At the end of the school year, the students were retested. Those labeled as intelligent showed significantly greater increase in test scores than the other children who were not singled out for the teacher’s attention. The researchers explained by the “self-fulfilling prophecy” – that is, the teachers’ expectations influenced the performance of the students.

7. ExampleWhat to look for in research.. • Apply your knowledge • 1. State the aim, procedure, and findings of the study undertaken by Rosenthal and Jacobson. • 2. Do you think the teachers were informed about the aim of the study? Comment on this.

8. People involved in a study • Participants , Sample • Ex.: Adolescents who live with one parent; women who have given birth to twins; people who have moved from one country to another

9. Sampling • Obtain a sample that is representative of the target population. (Representative sample) • Ex.: If the researcher is interested in teenage drinking habits, the population would be teenagers. • Size matters • Small groups are more open to distortions than large ones. • Opportunity Sampling (Convenience Sampling) • Sample of whoever happens to be there and agrees to participate • Ex.: Setting up a table at a supermarket and offering free food or drinks to participate • Problematic? • What type of people shop at the supermarket? • Is there a gender imbalance? • Can lead to biased results

10. Sampling Bias • Sears (1986) • Found that over 2/3 of research performed at universities exclusively used students as participants. • Can these findings be generalized to the larger population? • Students have a strong need for peer approval • They were pre-selected for competence in cognitive skills • They are more egocentric than adults

11. Psych Humor • Roses are redViolets are blueI have MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder)And so do I • How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, but the bulb will have to be ready to change.

12. More Sampling • Self-selected sample • Volunteers • Advantage? • Easy to obtain • Highly motivated • Problems? • Rarely reflect the general population • Why? • Difficult to make generalizations • Snowball sampling • Participants recruit other participants from among friends • Used where it may be difficult to access research participants • Ex.: Target population is drug users • Ex.: Students who do volunteer work in the community

13. Participant Variability • The extent to which the participants may share a common set of traits that can bias the outcome of the study. • Who would volunteer for an advertised study about attitudes towards homosexuality? • Who would volunteer for a study about how to improve spatial reasoning? • Or anxiety about mathematics?

14. Avoiding Bias • Random Sampling • Every member of the target population has an equal chance of being selected. • A study to find out how anxiety affects test performance—you could put all the names of the students into a hat, then draw out 30 names. • Considered one of the most effective techniques • If the sample is large enough, it will likely contain the characteristics of the population • Makes it easier to generalize findings

15. Avoiding Bias • Random sample not always successful • A study is conducted in a school with a diverse student body, and one particular group was overrepresented in the randomly chosen sample, the findings might not be representative. • Stratified Sample • Takes into account diversity of a target population • Draw random samples from each subpopulation within the target population • Ex.: School has 20% Indian students, then for a sample of 30 students the researcher would randomly select 6 students from the Indian population.

16. Ms. Neely thinks it’s funny… • There are three guys going through an exit interview at a mental hospital. The doctor says he can release them if they can answer the simple mathematical problem: What is 8 times 5?The first patient says, "139."The second one says, "Wednesday."The third says, "What a stupid question. It's obvious: The answer is 40."The doctor is delighted. He gives the guy his release. As the man is leaving, the doctor asks how he came up with the correct answer so quickly."It was easy, Doc. I just divided Wednesday into 139."

17. Work with a partner… • You want to make a study of people’s motivation to engage in exercise. You decide to go to the local fitness centre and conduct some interviews. Discuss the following: • If you use an opportunity sample at a local fitness centre, which group of people would be overrepresented? Which group would be underrepresented? • Explain how you would conduct a self-selected sample and a stratified sample. • Would you get a more representative sample if you advertised for participants in your school? Explain.

18. Ethics andInstitutional Review Boards(IRB) • Research IRBs • History? • Responsibilities? • Other countries?

19. Ethics • 1999 Columbia University • Aim: To determine how restaurants would respond to customer complaints. • 240 restaurants in New York received a letter that was supposedly written by a Columbia professor who became ill after celebrating his wedding anniversary at the restaurant • “[I suffered from] extended nausea, diarrhoea, and abdominal cramps—all which point to one thing: food poisoning. Our special romantic evening became reduced to my wife watching me curl up in a fetal position on the tiled floor of our bathroom between rounds of throwing up….Although it is not my intent to file any reports, I want you, Mr. (he named each restaurant owner here) to understand what I went through in anticipation that you will respond accordingly.”

20. Outcome • Eventually, one of the restaurants determined that the letter did not match up with its internal paperwork. The owner wrote his own letter to the dean of the business school, Meyer Feldberg. • "On Thursday, we messengered letters of apology to all 240 restaurants. We’ve already had one-on-one conversations with 60 of the businesses." • SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK • COUNTY OF NEW YORK • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -X • CHEZ JOSEPHINE, et. al., • Index No. 101362/02 • Plaintiffs, P.C. No. 17890 • -against- • COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, COLUMBIA • UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL and • FRANCIS FLYNN, • Defendants.

21. Ethics • Why does this study not meet ethical guidelines? • Hours lost checking records for reservations or credit card stubs • Food stocks were controlled • Kitchen workers were questioned • Stress for restaurants

22. Psych Humor • 1-800-PSYCH • Hello, Welcome to the Psychiatric Hotline. If you are obsessive-compulsive, please press 1 repeatedly. If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2. If you have multiple personalities, please press 3, 4, 5 and 6. If you are paranoid-delusional, we know who you are and what you want. Just stay on the line so we can trace the call. If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a little voice will tell you which number to press.If you are depressed, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer.

23. Useful Research Phrases and what they Really Mean • "It has long been known" . . .[I didn't look up the original reference.] • "A definite trend is evident" . . .[These data are practically meaningless.] • "Of great theoretical and practical importance" . . .[Interesting to me.] • "While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions" . . .[An unsuccessful experiment but I still have to get it published.] • "Three of the samples were chosen for detailed study" . . .[The results of the others didn't make any sense.] • "Typical results are shown" . . .[The best results are shown.] • "A careful analysis of obtainable data" . . .[Three pages of notes were obliterated when I knocked over a glass of beer.] • "These results will be shown in a subsequent report" . . .[I might get around to this sometime if I'm pushed.] • "The most reliable results are those obtained by Jones" . . .[He was my graduate assistant.] • "It is believed that" . . .[I think] • "It is generally believed that" . . .[A couple of other guys think so, too.] • "It is clear that much additional work will be required before a complete understanding occurs" . . .[I don't understand it.] • "Correct within an order of magnitude" . . .[Wrong] • "It is hoped that this study will stimulate further investigations in this field" . . .[This is a lousy paper, but so are all the others on this miserable topic.] • "Thanks are due to Joe Blotz for assistance with the experiment and to George Frink for valuable assistance" . . .[Blotz did the work and Frink explained to me what it meant.]

24. Ethics • Respect dignity of participants (animal and human) • Ethical guidelines (APA) (apa.org) • “Based in Washington, D.C., the American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. With 150,000 members, APA is the largest association of psychologists worldwide.” • “The mission of the APA is to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives.”

25. Ethics • Informed Consent • Must agree to participate • Deception • Slight deception is ok…or is it?  • Debriefing • True aims and purpose are identified • Any deception must be revealed and justified • Leave without undue stress • Withdrawal from a study • Leave at any time • Confidentiality • Protection from physical and mental harm

26. Psych Associations Worldwide • Visit the psychological association’s website of three different countries. • Find • Aims and Responsibilities • Info about membership • Where it is based • Any other relevant/interesting information

27. Ethics • Animals and Human Participants • Read the article “Should Animal Research in Psychology Be Elminated?” • Yes or No • Prepare an argument with your group to debate. • Take notes on the article you read. • Summarize key points and arguments. • Each person in the group must respond in some way. • Helpful hints • Divide the argument into parts • Establish who will talk about what • Establish your own thoughts that you can share

28. Ethics • Animals and Human Participants Debate • Debriefing • Why might some people distinguish between medical and psychological research regarding justification of animal research? Are there subject matter and philosophy of science differences between the two disciplines? Support your answer. • Do you agree with Frey’s argument that animals cannot be distinguished from humans absolutely (i.e., without some exceptions?) Why or why not? • Do you find Frey’s emphasis on quality of life pertinent to the debate over animal research? What is this quality, and how might it be relevant to committees that approve the use of animals for experimentation?

29. Psych Humor • Patient: Doctor, my wife thinks I'm crazy because I like sausages. Psychiatrist: Nonsense! I like sausages too.Patient: Good, you should come and see my collection. I've got hundreds of them. • ------------- • One out of every four people is suffering from some form of mental illness. Check three friends. If they're OK, then it's you.

30. Validity and Reliability • Validity • Does the research do what it claims to do? • Ecological validity • The study represents what happens in real life. • If an experiment has been carried out in a lab and the participants have done things that they would never do in real life, the experiment is said to lack ecological validity. (Ex.: Remembering nonsense syllables) • What happens in the lab, does not necessarily predict what will happen outside the lab • Cross-cultural validity • Is the research relevant to other cultures? Or is it ethnocentric? • Ex.: US study of children’s behaviors, psychologists developed a checklist of behaviors that were the norm among American children. When the checklist was used with Native American children, the parents did not feel that the behaviors listed were healthy normal behaviors for children in their society.

31. Validity and Reliability • Reliability • Results can be replicated • Used in reference to experimental study • If procedure is standardized, it should give same results

32. Things to consider when looking at empirical studies • Is the study based on a representative sample? • Was the study conducted in a lab or in a natural setting? • Were the participants asked to do things that are far from real life? (ecological validity) • Are the findings supported/questioned by the findings of other studies? • Do the findings have practical relevance? • Ethical considerations

33. Research in Psychology:Experimental Methods • Goal of experiments • Establish a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables • Quantitative in nature • Generates numerical data • Statistically tested for significance to rule out chance

34. Experimental Variables • Variable need to be operationalized • Written so that it is clear what is being measured • Ex.: Studying “noise” vs “no noise”(IV) to measure “number of words recalled”(DV)—operationalize “noise”- high music at volume 35, operationalize “number of words” – from a list of 20….Now we know exactly what the IV is expected to change

35. Apply your knowledge! • Operationalize your variables by considering each of the following descriptions and deciding whether it is an example of aggression or not. When you have finished working through the list with a partner, write a well-worded definition of aggression. • Two men fight over a parking space. • A football player kicks the ball into the goal. • Two girls give a boy the “silent treatment” on the playground • A man kicks the back of his car when it will not start • Three students have a heated debate about whether global warming is happening.

36. Experimental Variables..cont. • Experimental Hypothesis • Predicts relationship between IV and DV (what we expect will come out of the manipulation of the independent variable.) • Ex.: Noise will decrease the number of words that an individual is able to recall from a list of words. • IV noise is predicted to have an effect on DV recall • Null hypothesis • States that IV will have no effect on DV, or that any change in the IV will be due to chance • Ex.: Noise has no effect on an individual’s ability to recall a list of words; or any change in the individual’s ability to recall a list of words is due to chance. • We would accept the null hypothesis if the results showed no relationship between noise and recall.

37. Identify IV and DV in each of the following experimental hypotheses. • People are more likely to make a risky decision when they are in a group than when they are alone. • An increase in carbohydrates decreases one’s ability to concentrate. • Children who have watched a film with a model hitting a blow-up doll will exhibit more aggressive acts towards a blow-up doll than children who have not watched the film.

38. Kinds of Experiments • Lab experiment • Strict control of variable, easy to replicate • Limit.: Environment is artificial, part. may react differently than in real life • Ecological validity helps evaluate results • Field experiment • Natural environment, but still manipulate variables • Strong ecological validity • Limit: Cannot control all the variables • Ex.: Piliavan and Rodin (1969)-helping behavior in NY subway; used a confederate who collapsed in front of people in the subway; used man with cane (lame condition) and man with bottle (drunk condition)…90% more likely to help man with cane • Natural experiment • No control over variables • Ex.: Children kept in isolation by their parents, or stroke victims

39. Confounding Variables • Confounding variables • Occurs when any other variable except the IV affects the DV in a systematic way. • 2 examples: • DemandCharacteristics (Participant Bias) • Participants act differently bc/ they know they are in an experiment-may try to guess aim (Example, Hawthorne Works Factory) • Use single-blind control to limit (participants do not know what study is about) • Example: (Milgram’s Experiment)

40. Confounding Variables • Confirmation Bias (Observer Bias/Researcher Bias) • Expectations consciously or unconsciously affect findings • Example: Interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their opinion • Example: Selecting participants that you know will support findings • Double-blind control to limit (participants and experimenter do not know aim of study, or treatment or control group) • Example: Subliminal learning tapes (1991)—Tapes that program the unconscious mind by giving very weak instructions, too quiet to be heard, while a person is resting or sleeping. The researchers gave the tapes to subjects who used them for a month. The tape label indicated the tape was for 1)self-esteem improvement or 2) memory improvement…Half the tapes were deliberately mislabeled. Neither the researchers nor the subjects knew which tapes had the wrong label until after the data was collected. • Results found that subjects claimed improvement…however, the improvements corresponded to the label • If the researchers had not used a double-blind procedure, they might have concluded tapes were effective

41. Psych Humor • One day a guy went to a psychologist for the first time. After telling him his troubles, the man says, "So doc, what's wrong with me?" The doctor replies, "Well, you're crazy." Indignant, the man replies, "I am not, I want another opinion." To which the doctor replies, "OK... You're also ugly."

42. Psych Humor • Case example: Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Toto • Rationale: This group of four individuals and a little dog is being denied in one paragraph since their reports were submitted together; we concluded that none have conditions requiring medical treatment, and that all of them would be considered prime examples of "worried well" individuals who are constantly in search of some kind of magical solution to their problems. • While the little girl who ran away from her Aunty Em's home may have a conduct disorder (after all, she did kill the so-called wicked witch whose assertiveness she found threatening), we would point out that running away from home, singing and dancing, hanging around with peculiar, oddly attired friends with grandiose expectations, and occasionally indulging a fetish for fancy footwear are all normative among adolescents, just as among psychologists attending out-of-town meetings. • ...Finally, we feel that the most cost-effective alternative for the little dog, Toto, is that he be put to sleep.

43. Correlational Studies • Correlation does not mean causation • No IV is manipulated • Shows relationship • Ex.: We could study number of hours a child watches tv and the child’s level of aggression, but not as an experiment…why? • Bidirectional ambiguity: does the tv watching cause aggression or is it aggression that led the child to watch tv? • Positive correlation • Both affected in same way • More examples: • Ice cream consumption and violence • Appliance ownership and safe sex

44. Correlational Studies • Negative correlation • One variable increases, the other decreases • Television and exam scores

45. Qualitative ResearchNon-experimental • Out with the old…and a lack of ecological validity • Triangulation • Combining methods of research (correlational, experimental, survey –quantitative data, interview, case study, cross-sectional study, questionnaire, observation) • Instead of just manipulating hunger (experimental), you could also ask people “how hungry are you on a scale of 1-10”