Chapter 2

Chapter 2

1. The Scientific Approach to Behaviour

   • Measure and Description
     • -Develop measurement techniques that made it possible to describe (ex) behaviour correctly
   • Understanding and Prediction
     • -Scientists believe they have a better understanding of what's going on/events when they can explain reason for
       • A hypothesis is a statement about the relationship between 2 or more variables
         • Variables measure conditions/behaviours that are controlled or observed
   • Application and Control
     • Theory's are systems of interrelated ides used to explain observations
   • Step 5 Report The Findings
     • To report the findings they use a journal -It is a periodical that publishes technical and scholarly material -Usually in a narrowly defined area of inquiry
       • The process of publishing allows experts to critique and analyze their findings and disclose any flaws
   • Step 1 Formulate a Hypothesis
     • Variables must be clearly defined
       • Operational Definition describes the actions or operations that will be used to measure or control a variable
   • Step 2 Select the method and Design the study
     • How to put the hypothesis into Empirical Test; Once a method is chosen, (experiments, case studies, surveys) they must make a detailed plan
       • How many participants, Who (animals or humans), age, gender
   • Step 3 Collect Data
     • Data Collection Techniques Include:
       • Direct observation Questionnaire Interview Psychological Test Physiological Recording Examination of Archival records
   • Step 4 Analyze the data and draw conclusions
     • Observations are usually put into numbers
       • Researchers use statistics to analyze their data and decide whether their hypothesis was supported

2. Experimental Research

   • Independent and Dependent Variables
     • Independent Variable is a condition or event that an experiment varies in order to see its impact on another variable
     • Dependent Variable is thought to be affected by the manipulation of the Independent
     • The dependent measures the subjects behaviours
   • Experimental and Control Groups
     • The Experimental Group consist of the subjects who receive some special treatment in regard to the independent variable
       • The Control Group consists of similar subjects who do not receive special treatment
   • Variations in Designing Experiments
     • Some experiments can be conducted with just one independent and dependent variable
       • Sometimes it has a advantage to use one group of subjects that serve as their own control group
         • It is also possible to manipulate more than 1 independent variable in a experiment
   • Extraneous Variables
     • Extraneous Variables are any variables other than the independent variable that seems likley to influence the dependent variable in a specific study
       • A Cofounding Variable occurs when 2 variables are linked together in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific effects
         • Random assignment of subjects occurs when all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition of the study

3. Mean, Median and Mode

   • The Mean is the average of the scores in distribution
     • The Median is the score that stands exactly in the center of the distribution scores
       • The Mode is the most frequent score in distribution

4. Experimenter Bias

   • Experimenter Bias happens when a researchers expectations about the outcome influence the results obtained
     • One problem with this is sometimes researchers see what they want to see
       • One other problem with this is called the double-blind procedure, it is a research strategy that neither subjects or experimenters know which group is which

5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Correlation Research

   • An advantage to this method is it gives researchers a different way to explore the questions that could not be examined using experimental procedures
     • Descriptive correlation broadens the scope of phenomena that psychologists are able to study
       • One disadvantage is that researchers cannot control events to isolate cause and effect relationships
         • Correlation research cannot demonstrate that two variables are related

6. Placebo

   • A placebo effect is when participants are in an experiment and their expectations are lead on the be on thing even though what they have received was fake.

7. Surveys

   • In a survey, researchers use questionnaires or interviews to gather information about specific aspects of the participants behaviour
     • Surveys are also used in for social issues in the public
       • One major problem with surveys are they depend on self report data

8. Case Studies

   • A Case Study is an in-depth investigation of an individual subject
     • Case Studies work particularly well when working with psychological disorders and neuropsychological issues
       • One main problem with Case Studies is they are very subjective