Research Notes

questions:

1. What Are You Trying To Prove? Research begins in your head. It starts with your ideas (constructs). A theory is a collection of ideas. Theories determine the questions you ask, how they are asked, and who is studied. A good theory has CUSSIT.

2. What’s It Like In Practice? In order to test a theory, you convert it into a model. Models differ from theories in their nature, their scope and their use. To convert a theory to a model requires operational definitions. Research (and statistics) can be described as being either descriptive or inferential. Inferential studies have a clear hypothesis.

3. Who Is Predicting Whom? In general, we believe that most variables are continuous, though they sometimes appear to be discrete. A dependent variable depends on the performance of the subjects. It is an outcome, and is usually a continuous variable. An independent variable is independent of the subjects’ control. It is something the researcher selects, manipulates or induces, and is a discrete variable. Predictors and criteria can be either continuous or discrete.

4. Who Are You Going To Study? Studies can measure an entire population or a sample. Samples can be selected in a variety of ways, including random selection, stratification, and random sampling.

5. What Do The Numbers Mean? Variables do not always use numbers in the same way. A high number on the back of a marathon runner doesn’t necessarily mean that person will run faster than one with a small number. Numbers can be nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio.

There are 10 things we are going to look at:

Despite some differences, these two courses cover the same general information, and institutions typically offer one or the other. If both are offered, Methods usually focuses on the theory, and Experimental focus on actually conducting studies.

Psychology is about equally divided into clinical and experimental activities. The clinical side is the practical application of psychological theory to real life problems. In contrast, the experimental side tries to discover principles and processes, whether they are applicable in a clinical setting or not.

Although its name suggests a specific technique (experiments), experimental psych uses a wide variety of designs and approaches. It is best thought of as being any and all kinds of research.

questions:

4. Who Are You Going To Study? Studies can measure an entire population or a sample. Samples can be selected in a variety of ways, including random selection, stratification, and random sampling.

What is research?

At its core, research is the search for causality. It is applying the rules of systematic observation to people watching. We want to know if A causes B. Sometimes we can manipulate or change the value of A and see what happens to B. But it is not always that simple.

The process of research is often described as a circle with four parts: theory, model, variable and definition. The premise is that research is a linear process, You start with a group of ideas (theory) and convert them into a cluster of observable variable (model). The model specifies the variables (what to manipulate and what to measure). The data from the study helps define the problem better, which leads back to the theory.

This cyclic definition of the research process can turn the other way. And you can begin anywhere on the wheel you want. Variables can lead to models and also to more questions to define. And defining the problem can lead to theory development and to the selection of variables.

The round model is a good explanation of how research works in theory. In practice, psychology is much more theory-driven. The process is more like a funnel than a ball. Theories drive everything. Your theory determines your model components, which variables to measure, and what you are trying to prove. Theory also determines which statistics to use and how to interpret them.

Your theory is the basis of all your deductive reasoning. But you can ignore theory completely if you want restrict yourself to inductive reasoning. If you don’t have a theory, or don’t like them, you can simply collect data until a pattern emerges. Skinner took this atheoretical approach to research because he wanted to find universal principles that weren’t limited to a particular theory.

Experimental psychology uses many approaches to research. Although it is primarily deductive, it also uses inductive reasoning too. The methodology includes laboratory experiments, naturalistic observation, and correlational studies. The topics include attention, memory, perception, personality, therapy, education, development, and neurological processes.

The tools and approaches used by psychology to investigate complex issues.

Scientific-Unscientific
- Revealing the hoax
Barnum Effect
- Acceptance phenomenon
  - General tendency to accept any feedback (particularly positive)
- Subjective validation
  - When two unrelated or random events are perceived to be related because a belief, expectation, or hypothesis
- General characterizations
  - could apply to almost anyone
  - attributed to an individual
  - perceived to be true
- Ross Stagner (1947)
  - Had personnel managers to take a personality test
  - Provided generalized feedback with no relation to test answers
  - Based on horoscopes, graphological analyses, etc.
  - More than half rated assessment as accurate,
  - Almost no one said it as wrong
- Bertram Forer (1948)
  - Diagnostic Interest Blank
  - 39 of his psychology students
  - brief personality vignette
  - One week later
    - asked each to rate it on how well it applied
  - each student received the same sketch
- Forer Effect Statements
  - You have a great need for other people to like and admire you.
  - You have a tendency to be critical of yourself.
  - You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage.
  - While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them.
  - Your sexual adjustment has presented problems for you.
  - Disciplined and self-controlled outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside.
  - At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing.
  - You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations.
  - You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept others’ statements without satisfactory proof.
  - You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others.
  - At times you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, reserved.
  - Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic.
  - Security is one of your major goals in life.
  - Average accuracy rating 4.30 (five point scale)
- Forer attributed effect to gullibility
Paul Meehl (1956)
- “Wanted—A good cookbook.”
- pseudo-psychological tests
- named it after showman P.T. Barnum
Self-Serving Bias
- Rated positive traits as applicable
- Disagreed with negative traits
Content is important
- Emphasis on ratio of positive to negative traits
- Accept if
  - Statements are vague
    - Read into it; make personal to them
  - Statements are qualified
    - ”At times…”
- Believe if:
  - analysis applies only to him or her
  - analysis has mainly positive traits
Presenter is important
- Trust presenter
  - believes in authority of presenter
- Accept negative statements if:
  - Presenter is high-status professional
  - Authoritarian or neurotic personalities
  - Have a greater than usual need for approval
Related beliefs
- Horoscopes
- Paranormal
Personalization
- Relevance of astrological sign information
Silverman (1971)
- 12 personality sketches
- Not particularly likely to pick own the horoscope for their own sign (if sign not given)
Snyder & Shenkel
- No personal info
- Birth month
- Exact date (highest rating)
Belief in the paranormal
- If believe in the accuracy of horoscopes, greater tendency to believe vague generality descriptions
Exude an air of confidence
- Make use of statistical abstracts, polls, and surveys (what various subclasses of our society believe, do, want, worry about)
- Employ a gimmick (crystal ball, tarot cards, or palm reading)
- Alert to clues (details: clothing, jewelry, mannerisms and speech)
Generalization
- Works with organizations too
Cross-cultural effect
- Rogers & Soule (2009) compared Westerners to Chinese
How personality profiles are presented
- more personalized (contain name)
Used by magicians & psychics during cold readings
- TV personalities who diagnose a guest’s psychological problems in a few minutes
- Cold reading forms the basis for much of the belief in paranormal powers
- Win customers with flattery
Keep your money in your pocket
- Faith healers
- Therapists
- Psychics
- Talk to the dead
We generate hypotheses
- Barnum Effect (making mental connections)
- Automatically generate hypotheses
- This causes that
- Sum comes up, it gets warm
Theories are abstraction
- Test out ideas
- Representation of reality
  - maps
FIVE THINGS
1. Theories, Models & Hypotheses
- Armchair theories
- Theories are composed of constructs
- Models are composed of variables
- Models
  - Model bridge
  - Intelligence
  - Global warming
    - Global warming models, not fit North Atlantic
- Why research?
- Theoretical vs atheoretical
- Basic vs applied research
- Who research?
- Animal Research
  - Animal Mind: Washburn, Margaret
    - Her book widely used as textbook
    - No anthropomorphism
    - Thought is in body movements
  - Our objections to animal research depends on animal
    - Panda bears are loved by everyone
    - Rats: no so much loved
  - Procedures
    - Animal maze
    - Reaction time
  - Fritsch & Hitzig: motor cortex
  - Flourens: ablation to disprove phrenology
- Human research
  - Introspection
  - Self-report
  - Reaction time
  - Observation
  - Anecdotal evidence
  - Naturalistic observation
  - Case study
- Simulations
  - Virtual reality
  - Dissecting dummies
  - Artificial human organs
  - Computer modeling
- How research
  - Assumptions
  - Operational definition
  - Hypotheses
    - Testable hypothesis
    - Null hypothesis
2. Odds & probabilities
- Dodge ball
- Odds Ratio 100s Decimals
- 1:1 1:2 50/100 .5
- 3:1 1:4 25/100 .25
- 5:1 1:6 60/100 .167
- 51:1 1:52 ~2/100 .019
- Probabilities 1 6 deck
- How many 10+ 16 96
- How many aces 4 24
- 1 die 1 out of 6
- 2 dice 1 out of 36
- Blackjack
  - Probabilities 1 6 deck
  - How many 10+ 16 96
  - How many aces 4 24
- 1 die 1 out of 6
- 2 dice 1 out of 36
- Deal or No Deal
  - Tend to use emotion, not follow logic
  - Framing
    - Chance of winning
  - Change of losing
- Cognitive Bias
  - “Always trust your emotions”
  - Tribal loyalty
  - Overconfidence bias
  - Optimism bias
  - More I want it, more it will happen
  - Backfire effect
    - More contrary evidence, stronger view
  - Conjunction fallacy
    - Specific conditions more likely than general
  - Framing effect
    - Chance of winning stated
  - Neglect of probability
- Decision Errors
  - Type I error: seeing things that aren’t there
  - Type II error: not seeing things that are there
  - Don’t want chance on your side
  - No difference until so great it is significant
3. Descriptive Statistics
- Mound vs rows & columns
- Chance: statement of faith
- Normal Curve
  - Theoretical ideal
- Central Tendency
  - Mean
  - Median
  - Mode
- Distribution Shape
  - Normal
    - Symmetrical
    - Unimodal
  - Not Normal
    - Multimodal
    - Skewed
      - positive
      - negative
- Histogram

4. Dispersion
- Examples
  - Everyone has the same score: vertical line
  - Most people have the same score: narrow distribution
  - Normal curve: symmetrical with shoulders
  - Most people have a different score: broad distribution
  - Everyone has a different score: horizontal line
- range (high score minus low score
- Standard deviation (use a formula)
  - 3 steps of equal size (same distance) gives 3 different amounts (percentages): 34, 14 and 2%
  - Plus or minus 1 stdev = 68%
  - Plus or minus 2 stdev = 96%
  - Plus or minus 1.96 stdev = 95%
- Percentage area under curve
- Percentile cumulative percentage
- Alpha level (area at extreme ends of curve)
- Significantly different
  - Unlikely to be due to chance
  - Almost significant (no such thing)
- Studies
  - 1 DV description
  - 2 DV correlation
  - 1 IV, 1 DV experiment
  - 2+, 1 DV factorial
- Correlational
  - Compare 2 things, same people
  - Pair of observations
    - Height & age
    - Schiz & age
    - Head bumps & abilities
- Shows relationship, not causation
  - Even a perfect correlation doesn’t show causation
  - 3 options
    - A can cause B
    - B can cause A
    - C can cause A & B

Experiment
- Differs from correlation by:
  - Random selection
  - Random assignment
- Types of variables
  - IV
  - DV
  - Extraneous Not studying
  - Confounded influences both IV & DV
  - Things to consider
    - Replication
    - Population
    - Sample
    - Sample size
    - Cross-sectional vs longitudinal

There are five things we are going to look at:

Theories & Constructs
Models & Variables
Selection & Assignment
Blind & Double-Blind
Verification & Replication
Scientific Method
Literature Review
Data Collection
- Documentation
- Observation
  - Naturalistic Observation
  - Ethnography
  - Structured Observation
  - Case Study
  - Cohort Effect
- Self-Reports
- Questionnaire
- Interview
- Correlation
- Experiment
  - Independent Variable
  - Dependent Variable
  - Random Variable
  - Random Assignment
Decision Error
4 Goals
Levels of Measurement
Chance & Not Chance
Experimental Designs
- Cross-sectional
- Longitudinal
- Repeated Measures
- Split-Plot
Scientific Method
Sampling
- Random Sample
- Under-Representation
- Stratification
Qualitative vs Quantitative Studies
Chance & Probability
Measuring Change
Statistics

Notes

What’s in a name?
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Physiological psych
- Biological psych
- Psychobiology

Behavior people of neuroscience
The brain people of psychology
Study of behavior & experience
How produced physically
Where did it come from
How develops
Combine biology & psychology
Neuroscience but with
- Less chemistry
- Less anatomy

Research Goals
- Generalization – find laws
  - Lots of little observations
- Reduction – find simple explanation
  - Start with general issue (intelligence)
  - Find component
  - Structures
  - Processes
Approaches
- Physiological explanations
  - machinery of the body
- Ontogenetic explanations
  - influence of genes
- Evolutionary explanations
  - Ancestors to present
- Functional explanations
  - Benefit-advantage of behaviors
Mind-Body Problem
- Matter & energy out of nothing?
- Consciousness
- Out of matter & energy
- Mental experience and physical
- Two BIG questions
  - Which part of body?
  - Which methods?
Top 10 approaches to solving it
- 1. Comparative-Evolutionary
  - Aristotle
    - Heart is the center of sensation, intelligence and the cause of behavior
    - Center of vitality
    - Origin of nerves
    - Brain & lungs keep it cool
    - 3 chambers
    - Conclusion based on
      - which part of chicken embryo develops first
  - Continuity of Behavior
    - Same processes in dif. species
  - Nature is conservative; e.g.. nerve impulse, heart
  - Nature can be adventurous
  - Species-Specific Behavior
    - No one does it quite this way, e.g.. language, eye, frontal lobe
  - Comparing
    - All of the animals
    - All vertebrates
    - All mammals
    - All primates
    - All humans
    - Some folk
    - Individual
- 2. Dissection
  - Galen
    - Heart is the right organ
      - Aristotle use wrong method
    - Dissect human hearts (taboo)
    - Intelligent heart
      - Expands & contracts
      - Gets larger when wants to attract
      - Clings to what it captures
    - Heart is important
      - Hard flesh, not easily damaged
      - Best fibers in body
      - Continuous hard work
      - Source of internal heat-energy
    - Soul
      - Liver more important
      - Where humors come from
      - In good humor = balanced
  - Description
    - Inference
      - Heart expands and contracts
    - Inference
      - Intelligence
    - KT: Always trust data; question conclusions
- 3. Correlational
  - Franz Gall (1758-1828)
    - Compared brains & skulls
    - Several species
    - Independent variable = skull size
    - Dependent variable = # shot
    - Musket balls
  - ********
  - Brain size & intell corr.
    - Larger-brain = more complex-varied tasks
    - Average brain weights
      - Human 3-165 1.8% 1/55
      - Dolphin 3-350 .85 1/17
      - Cat 1/100
      - Dog 1/125
      - hippo 1/2800
    - Most mammals are 90% of adult brain size at birth
      - Chimp 54%
      - Bottlenose dolphin 43%
      - Elephants 35%
      - humans 28%
  - *******
  - Gall (con’t)
  - Compared brains & skulls
    - Argued for brain localization
    - Each region of the brain is reserved for its own skill, ability, mental faculty or personality trait
  - Phrenology
    - Founder of “cranioscopy”
    - Skull shape reveals internal skills
    - “Brain is like a muscle” theory
    - Skull gets bigger the more you use it
    - Gets bigger pushes skull outward
    - Examine topography of skull
    - Discover underlying brain areas
***********************************************
What is a correlation
Compare 2 things, same people
Pair of operations
Height & age
Schiz & age
Bumps and abilities
Shows relationships, not causation
A can cause B
B can cause A
C can cause A & B
***********************************************
- 4. Ablation
  - Pierre Flourens (1794-1867)
    - French physiologist
    - brain surgery & anesthesia
    - Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
    - Academy of Sciences of Paris
    - study Franz Gall’s claims
    - asked Flourens to investigate
    - rabbits and pigeons
  - Ablation
    - Destroyed small parts with brain lesions
    - Observed effects: Hop or not hop
    - 1st proof main divisions of brain had different functions
- 5. Developmental
  - Longitudinal
    - Same people over time
    - Life span over years
  - Cross-sectional
    - Dif people (diff. ages)
    - Same time
  - Identifying emotions
    - Changes over time
    - Teens & Adults differ
      - Teens use amygdala
      - Adults use frontal lobe
- 6. Stereotaxic Surgery
  - 3-D frame
  - Orthogonal coordinates
  - Ablation
  - Biopsy
  - Injections
  - Stimulation
  - Implantation
  - Radiation
- 7. Histological Methods
- 8. Recording Brain Activity
  - EEG of brain
- 9. Neuro-Chemical
  - Identify neurotransmitters
  - How receptors work
- 10. Genetics

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