Download Psychology notes Week 1 and more Summaries Personality Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!
Lecture 1 notes
Advantages of Research methods Promote critical thinking Unpacking content and allowing you to look further into that content Psychological behaviour Behaviour (outward, exterior expression. For example, a smile) Mental Process (inward, internal expression. For example, thoughts) Theory-Ideas about a particular topic Hypothesis- Science theory that cannot be shown(Can only be proven by analysis data) Functions of a theory Organise and explain specific facts Describe behaviour Generate new knowledge by focusing on behaviour Inferential- Checking to see if there a difference in the data due to a chance
Types of research
Quantitative research (Involves numbers and statics methods. Involves a more logical way of thinking) Qualitative research (Involves words and a more in-depth viewpoint of thinking)
Goals of Quantitative Research
Description Observing the behaviour and describe the behaviour (E.g., “what is happening”) Explanation Understand why certain things are happening (E.g., “Why is this happening”) Identify causer What causes the undesirable behaviour (E.g., “How can it be changed”) Prediction What will happen in the future (E.g., “When will it happen again”)
Why we should care about myths
Because it can cause harm towards other (E.g., people might believe it’s okay to do something bad for their wellbeing because someone said a professional said they should do it) For example A parent hitting their child. The parent might think that hitting the child is right and the child will learn their lesson.
Scientific Method steps
- Defining a research question Like the goals of description in psychology (What is happening?)
- Forming a hypothesis Making an educated guess about your observation and put it into a forming statement that describe most of the research. E.G., Children listens to their parents the more the parent speak to them rather than hit them. Confirmation Bias- The researcher will force his way to look for his results. E.G., the researcher will say most women wear pink but then that researcher only looks for women that follows his hypothesis by only observing the women that wear pink.
- Testing the Hypothesis Different kind of methods result in different kind ways in testing the hypothesis. Hypothesis is when you usually predict the outcome of your study. Main objection is to understand the behaviour and collecting and analysis the data you collected
- Drawing up your conclusions About the investigations success or failure Relate to the goal of predication if your hypothesis is supported by your data
- Reporting your results Share exactly what, why and how you did it, which provides means for replication. You need to come up with a conclusion about your research and let other researchers know what you found while doing your investigation.
Disadvantages
Limited control over research and participants Cannot establish causes and effects Observer may affect behaviour of participants Researcher may establish the results in his own way resulting in Observer effect- People or animals that know they are being watched will not behave normally to prevent this the observer needs to be hidden from the participants. Participants observation- When researchers know what is going on and is watching the participants. Blind observers- People who do not know what the research question is. Surveys Tests that are given to a sample of the population
Advantages
Can obtain a large amount of data in a large group Can obtain private information for participants
Disadvantage’s
Courtesy Bias can occur where the participants doesn’t answer their opinion, they answer what society think is right. Resulting in the process and the information to be inaccurate. Questions may be difficult to understand Correlational studies Comes in degrees Regression- Putting a bunch of things in your model to see which information is correlational Don’t know which is the dependant variable and don’t know the independent variable(DO NOT OWN A INDEPENDENT VARAIBLE OR DEPENDANT VARIBLE) *Only have an outcome (Outcome) and predicter variable (Predict) Usually uses what already is happening Examine how strong the two variables interact with each other. (Can change. E.G., temperature) are (Statically) Can be related but can NOT SAY that one of they caused each other. Some variables can be manipulated or changed (E.G., gender cannot be changed while height can be changed) Correlation- Measure the relationships between two or more variables Correlation coefficients
Used to indicate the direction (Positive or negative) and strength (varies from -1 to +1) of the relationships between the two variables. Put the participants information’s (Usually 2 facts only) into a mathematical number to produce a number.
Advantages
Can examine issue that can be only
practical and ethical method to do in an
experiment
Allows prediction
Allows real life association that cannot be studied in the lab
Disadvantages
Could be a third variable we don’t know about. (M0.
oney can be the third variable)
Cannot establish the causes and the effects.
Establishing Causality (NB!! NEED TO STUDY) Experimental Studies mainly have there’s Temporal Precedence- Experimenter manipulates a variable so they can decide which variable comes first (Need to establish weather A came before B so that we don’t have complication and so we can know which direction) (Correctional studies only have this causality) E.G. My matric results need to come before my university results Covariation between two variable- determine whether a change in one variable is associated to another variable. (Correctional needs to exist) Elimination of other possible explanation- control extraneous factor that make influence the outcome of the experiment. Experimental studies When variables are being manipulated and influence by other variables measured. Have independent and dependant variables.
Good experiment consists of
- Random Assignment
- A good sample sizes
- Careful planning so the confound variable is removed from the experiment
- Reliable and validity variables
Lecture 5 Notes
Variables
Variables are something that change Independent variable- Can be controlled and manipulated by the experimenter Independent variable cause changes to the dependant variable Confounding Variable- A factor other than the indedepent variable that might produce a effecy on the experiment Operational definition- steps the experimenter must use to control or measure the variable in the research (Describing the variable). Steps in order the researcher use to measure a specific variable. Being able to measure and replicate things. Different things have different things. Important to define the key idea. Tell you specifically what the variable is and specifically describe that variable. Dependant variable- Depends on the independent variable Measurement Scales
Reliable and validity
Reliable- is when the test come back as the same result. (Have low risk errors) Validity- The measurement is the measurement you wanted A test cannot be valid unless it is reliable. (Needs to be reliable in order for it to be vaild)
Lecture 6 Note
Confounding variable
Confounding Variable
Two variables that affects each other and you cannot determine which variable effect which.
Types of cofounding variables
Experimenter Hazard and controlling for effect
Demand Characteristics (Participants centre)
How the participants think what the experiment is about by picking up cues from the hypothesis or how they supposed to behave. Either wanting to be good participant’s (By wanting to live up to the researcher’s standards) or wanting to cause malicious actions to mess with the results
Controlling the Demand Characteristics
Manipulation check- Ask about what they think the true purpose of the study is Double blind study- The participants and the person measuring the dependant variable don’t know what they be assigned with or anything about the research. Standard instructions- Print out instructions (E.G. A checklist and a scripted)
Experimenter Expectancy Effects (Researcher centre)
Bia introduced by the researcher Researcher might have certain exception on the participants. Resulting in the researcher to give hints to the participants (through subconscious and conscious)
Controlling the Experimenter Expectancy Effects
Trained experimenters that have a consistent behaviour Automate instruction (Instruction based on a computer) (E.G voiceover gives instructions) Standard instruction (Instruction based on a researcher) Double blind or single blind study
Placebo Effects
Receiving benefits and enduring the burdens Informed consents Knowledge Research should be presented where all the information is available Understand the nature of the experiment Volition Must provide constant Participants must have a choice(Can always be allowed to leave the study) Children also have a choose to back down even if parents agree the child can still say no Competence Well-reasoned decision and give consent meaningfully Constant forms should consist of:
- Overview
- What’s going to happen
- Benefits and risk
- How participant data is protected
- Question and further information
- Signature Line Why does researcher use animals
- Animals have a longer live span
- Easier to control
- Easier to study long term effects
- Some human questions can be difficult to answer Common Ethical issues Fraud Allocation of credits Sharing of materials and data
