Chapter 2:
The Measure of Mind
Psychology Research Methods
Psychological Science
• Scientific theories:
• Sets of facts and relationships between facts
• Based on observation rather than speculation
• Allow the generation of testable hypotheses (proposed
explanation and prediction of experimental results)
• Hypothesis:
• Proposed explanation for a situation including an educated,
informed prediction
• Links concrete, measurable variables based on theory to
specific predictions
• Scientists cannot prove a hypothesis, but can find evidence
that reinforces or disproves that hypothesis
Peer-Reviewed Scientific Publications in Psychology
• Peer review:
• Having other experts examine research
• Helps improve work and avoid mistakes
• Work is scrutinized by other scientists who are experts in the same
area
• Replication:
• Repeating an experiment and producing the same results
• Other scientists independently attempt to reproduce the results of a
study
• If experimental findings can be replicated, they are increasingly likely to
be accepted as being true
• If experimental findings cannot be replicated, the original experiment
will need to be reviewed or corrected
Learning to Use the University Library Database
Descriptive Methods of Research
Descriptive method: Research methods
designed for making careful, systematic
observations
• Case study: In-depth analysis of one
person, or a small number of people
• Naturalistic observation: In-depth study of
a phenomenon in its natural setting
• Survey: Ask large numbers of people about
attitudes and behaviors
Surveys
• Allows for large numbers of people to be asked about
attitudes and behavior
• Great deal of useful information quickly
• Sample: A subset of the population being studied
• Population: The entire group from which a sample is taken
• Good results requires a large sample that are representative
of the population we wish to describe
• Surveys use self-reporting, so results can be influenced by
people’s natural tendency to want to appear socially
appropriate
Correlational Methods
• Correlation: A measure of the direction and strength of the
relationship between two variables. Can be positive or negative
• Variable: A factor that has a range of values, for example, height
and weight
• Measure: A method for describing a variable's quantity
• Correlations compare values of one variable to values of another
variable
• Third variable: A variable that is responsible for a correlation
observed between two other variables of interest
Experimental Methods
Experiment: A research method that tests hypotheses and allows
researchers to make conclusions about causality
• Operationalization or Operational Definition of Variables:
Translating abstract concepts of the independent and dependent
variables into measurable forms
• Independent variable: An experimental variable controlled and
manipulated by the experimenter
• Dependent variable: A measure that demonstrates the effects of an
independent variable; the “result” part of a hypothesis.
• Control group: A group that experiences all experimental
procedures, with the exception of exposure to the independent
variable.
Experimental Methods
• Experimental group: A group of participants who are
exposed to the independent variable
• Random assignment: The procedure in which each
participant has an equal chance of being placed in any
group in an experiment
• Confounding variable: Variables that are irrelevant to the
hypothesis being tested
Experimental Methods
Psychology Research Methods – Some Details…
How Do We Study the Effects of Time?
• Cross-sectional study: Data obtained from people of
differing ages
• Cohort effect: The generational effects of having been
born at a particular point in history
• Longitudinal study: Data obtained from the same
individuals over a long period of time
• Mixed longitudinal study: Combines cross-sectional and
longitudinal approaches over a shorter period of time
• Faster and less expensive
The Importance of Valid and Reliable Measures
• Reliability: The consistency of a measure
o Test-retest, interrater, inter-method,
internal consistency
• Validity: Quality of measure that leads to
correct conclusions. The test measures
what it was designed to measure.
• Good measures are both reliable and valid
Descriptive Statistics (1 of 2)
• Descriptive Statistics: Statistical methods that organize
data into meaningful patterns, such as averages
• Central Tendency: Pattern of distribution of data
• Mean: Numerical average of a set of scores
• Median: The halfway mark in a set of data
• Mode: The most frequently occurring score in the data
set
• Variance: How clustered scores are
• Standard Deviation: A measure of how tightly the data
cluster around the mean
Descriptive Statistics (2 of 2)
• The Normal Curve
• Normal Distribution: A
symmetrical probability
function
Inferential Statistics
• Inferential statistics: Statistical methods that allow the
extension of conclusions to larger populations
• Generalization: To extend conclusions to larger
population outside research sample
• Null hypothesis: A hypothesis stating the default
position has no real difference between two measures
• Statistical significance: A standard for deciding
whether an observed result is likely in the event of a true
null hypothesis
Human Participants
• Informed Consent: Permission
obtained from a research
participant after the risks and
benefits of an experimental
procedure have been thoroughly
explained
• Freedom to quit experiment
without penalty Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Experiment
(1960s)
• Debriefing on purpose of
experiment, follow-up care offered
• Privacy: Participants’ control over
the sharing of their personal
information
Animal Subjects
• Ethical guidelines
• Set clear purpose for the experiment
• Provide excellent care for the animals
• Minimize pain and suffering
Summary – Learning Outcomes
• Distinguish between scientific reasoning and common sense
• Assess the value of case studies, naturalistic observations, and
surveys to describe behavior
• Analyze the key features, strengths, and limitations of
correlational and experimental methods
• Understand reliability and validity
• Differentiate descriptive and inferential statistics
• Describe the ethical guidelines for using human and animal
participants in research
