General Psychology Chapter One

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General PsychologyChapter One

• Introduction to Psychology

Agenda Attendance Lecture Experiment
Activity Lecture Extra Credit Assignment
Knowledge is the ability to make everyone around
you feel smarter.
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How do psychologists do research?

• Scientific Method
• ID research question or problem
• Hypothesize about research problem
• Design study
• Collect and analyze data
• Draw conclusions
• Publish or communicate findings

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What kind of research methods?

• Descriptive method
• Naturalistic observation
• Laboratory observation
• Case study
• Surveys/Questionnaires/Interviews

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• Experimental Method
• Make a hypothesis about how one variable may
  influence another variable
• Choose one variable that the researcher controls
  or changes (Independent variable)
• Measure the other variable to see its response
  (Dependent variable)
• One group of subjects receives the IV
  (Experimental group)
• One group of subjects does not get the IV
  (control group) or gets a placebo (non-active
  variable made to resemble the IV)
• Groups are randomly assigned

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• The experimental method can show causation
• IV DV
• Research must protect the participants
  rightslegal, informed consent, debrief, do no
  harm, minimize discomfort

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• When a variable cannot be controlled or changed,
  you cannot show causation
• Instead, the correlational method is used
• Correlation shows if and how much two variables
  are related but it can NOT show causation
• For example, there is a correlation between ice
  cream sales and number of rapes, but obviously
  one does not cause the other
• Correlations range from -1.0 to 1.0
• See page 17 for review chart

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Correlations can be positive
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Correlations can be negative
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Correlations may show no relationship
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Design an Experiment

• Pick an idea of interest and explain how you
  would conduct an experiment (if you are stuck for
  an idea, think of an old saying like Too many
  cooks spoil the broth)
• What is your research question? What is your
  hypothesis?
• ID the Independent Variable (IV the one the
  researcher changes between groups)
• ID the Dependent Variable (DV the one the
  researcher measures)
• How will the Experimental and Control Groups
  differ? Any placebos?

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Sample study

• Look up here?

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The old woman was sweeping the broken glass from
the kitchen floor.
The old woman was sweeping the broken glass from
the kitchen floor.
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• What was the woman sweeping with?

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History and Current trends and theories

• See page 31 for review chart

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Outside Extra Credit Assignment

• Pick a crowded place (such as the mall food
  court, a restaurant, store, game, work, etc.) and
  spend at least 15 minutes observing others who
  are there.
• Take notes on what you observe.
• What research ideas did it spark for you?
• Write 2-3 sentences on doing this assignment.
• Bring your notes for discussion and to turn in
  for extra credit next class period?