Psychology Chapter 2: Psychological Methods

Outline of Chapter Case Study: Learning from a Flawed Experiment Section 1: Conducting Research Section 2: Surveys, Samples, and Populations Section 3: Using Observation for Research Section 4: Experimental and Ethical Issues Experiment: Applying What You’ve Learned Case Study: Learning from a Flawed Experiment

The _________________ shows that research methods must be sound if the results of a study

are to be reliable.

The Hawthorne Effect

• The Hawthorne effect is the tendency of _________________ to change their behavior

as a result of their _________________ of being observed.

• It was named for a _________________ study.

Flaws in the Hawthorne Study

• Was not a _________________

• Did not have a _________________

• Sample size was _________________

• Results of the study may have been _________________

Section 1 at a Glance

Conducting Research

• Scientific research consists of _________________: forming a research question,

forming a hypothesis, _________________, analyzing the results, and drawing

conclusions.

• After the five steps are completed, _________________ to replicate the results and

often _________________ based on those results.

Main Idea

• The steps that scientists follow in conducting research are ________________ to

reaching _________________. Psychologists follow similar steps in

_________________.

The Steps of Scientific Research

• Psychologists tend to use the same _________________ when conducting research. The

procedure consists of _________________.

Forming a Research Question

• The first step is forming a _________________.

• Research questions are _________________ on behavior rather than constructs that

cannot be seen or _________________.

Forming a Hypothesis

• Psychologists next form a _________________ about the answer to the research

question.

• A hypothesis is an _________________.

• The accuracy of a hypothesis can be _________________.

Testing the Hypothesis

• The next step is _________________.

• A hypothesis _________________ to be correct until it has been scientifically tested and

proved to be right.

• _________________ are not considered.

• Psychologists rely on _________________.

• Psychologists use a _________________ methods to test a hypothesis.

Analyzing the Results

• Psychologists analyze the results after they have tested the hypothesis.

• What do their findings mean?

• The more information psychologists collect, the more complex a task it is to analyze it.

• Psychologists often _________________ and _________________ in the data.

Drawing Conclusions

• Psychologists _________________ about their research question and their hypothesis.

• When observations do not support a hypothesis, they often must _________________

or beliefs from which the hypothesis was derived.

• This means psychologists must _________________ and adjust or modify their

hypotheses if their findings make it necessary to do so.

Further Steps in Scientific Research

Replication

• For the findings of a study to be confirmed, the study must be _________________,

which means it must be repeated and _________________ as before.

• Some scientists repeat a study under _________________ than in the original study.

• Sometimes the study is repeated with a _________________ of participants.

• If the study involves people, participants can vary in _________________, social and

economic background, and location.

New Questions

• Research findings usually lead to _________________.

• New questions are tested using the _________________.

• _________________ ___________are used to test hypotheses.

• These methods include the survey method, ______________________, and the

experimental method.

Section 2 at a Glance

Surveys, Samples, and Populations

• Scientists use the survey method by __________________________ or by distributing

___________________.

• Scientists must ___________________which groups of people they wish to study.

Main Idea

• One way to gather information is by ___________________. Psychologists use this

method to study people’s ___________________.

The Survey Method

• Psychologists usually use a ___________________ to gather information about people

by asking them directly.

• A survey is a ___________________people are asked to answer about a particular

subject.

• Psychologists conduct surveys by asking people to ___________________

questionnaires or by ___________________orally.

• The ______________ of interviews and questionnaires may not be

___________________.

• People may ___________________about their attitudes or behavior.

• People may ___________________for privacy reasons.

• People may say ___________________the interviewers want to hear.

Populations and Samples

• To ___________________an outcome, psychologists study a group that represents the

___________________.

• A target population is the ___________________they want to study or describe.

• The target population includes ___________________who are relevant to the survey.

• Because it would be ___________________to interview or question every member of a

target population, researchers ___________________.

• A sample is ___________________the target population.

Selecting Samples

• Psychologists ___________________scientifically to ensure that the samples accurately

represent the populations they are supposed to represent.

• A sample should be as ___________________to the target population.

• One way that scientists obtain an accurate sample is to use a ___________________, in

which individuals are ___________________from the target population.

• Another type of sample is a ___________________, which consists of subgroups in the

population that are ___________________.

• A large random sample is likely to be ___________________even if researchers take no

steps to ensure that it is.

• A ___________________by itself does not necessarily guarantee that a sample

___________________ a target population.

Generalizing Results

• Sometimes researchers ___________________that represents an entire population.

• In such cases, researchers are cautious about ___________________.

• Researchers ___________________ learn about the ___________________ of all

people by studying only one group of people.

• Researchers cannot learn about ___________________in general if they limit their

observations to ______________________________________or to people who live in

one part of the country or to people from one ___________________.

Volunteer Bias

• When ___________________, psychologists are aware that bias may occur on the part

of the respondents.

• Bias is a ___________________ to a certain point of view despite what the facts

suggest.

• Psychologists also are aware of ___________________. People who volunteer to

participate in studies may have a ___________________from people who do not

volunteer.

• Volunteers are usually ________________________________personal information.

• They may have ___________________to participate.

• Volunteers probably ___________________the target population.

Cultural Diversity and Psychology

Diversity in Research

• Most psychologists today ___________________ the need to allow for the

___________________of members of society in their research. This has not always been

the case. For example, ________ have been included as research study participants

___________________than women. This led psychologists to ___________________

their findings ___________________.

• Many research participants were ___________________from white men.

• Studies that have included a ___________________ have shown that heart disease

___________________ than it affects men and that ___________________are more

likely to get heart disease than whites.

• More diversified research on ___________________ has revealed that men and children

are victims as well as ___________________ .

• Recent research with members of ___________________ has shed light on topics of

concern to the ___________________.

Section 3 at a Glance

Using Observation for Research

• There are a ___________________ methods of observation besides the survey method:

the testing method, the ___________________, the longitudinal and

___________________, the naturalistic-observation method, and the

___________________.

• Correlation describes relationships but ___________________cause and effect. In

analyzing the results of observations, ______________________________________.

Main Idea

• Psychologists use ___________________of observation in conducting their research.

Then they use ___________________and ___________________.

Methods of Observation

• In addition to the survey method of observation, other methods of observation include

___________________, ___________________, ___________________,

___________________, ___________________, and ___________________methods.

The Testing Method

• Psychologists use several kinds of psychological tests, including:

• ___________________ tests

• ___________________ tests

• ___________________ tests

The Case-Study Method

• A case study is an ___________________of an _________________________________.

• Psychologists use what they learn in a case study to _____________________________

that apply to the larger population.

The Longitudinal Method

• In the longitudinal method, researchers ___________________ of participants and then

observe those participants ___________________, often years or

___________________.

• Psychologists use this method to observe ___________________over time.

The Cross-Sectional Method

• In the cross-sectional method, instead of ______________________________________

over a number of years, researches ___________________ that includes people of

___________________.

• This allows researchers to ___________________ of participants in different age

groups.

The Naturalistic-Observation Method

• When psychologists ___________________ as they learn language naturally, such as

while they interact with other children, they are using ___________________.

• In naturalistic observation, psychologists ___________________ with the individuals

they are observing.

The Laboratory-Observation Method

• When psychologists observe behavior ___________________rather than in the field,

they are conducting laboratory observation.

• A laboratory is ___________________that provides the opportunity for observation and

experimentation.

• The ___________________ and the maze are both examples of laboratories.

Analyzing the Observations

• One method psychologists use to analyze and interpret their observations is

___________________. Correlation is a measure of ___________________ is related to

another. The ___________________ the correlation between two things, the

___________________ the two things are related.

Positive and Negative Correlation

• ___________________ correlation occurs when an ___________________ in one thing

is accompanied by an ___________________in the other.

• ___________________ correlation occurs when a ___________________ in one thing is

accompanied by a ___________________ in the other.

Limits of Correlation

• Correlation ___________________, but it does not ___________________.

• Just because two things are related ___________________ mean that one causes the

other.

Current Research in Psychology

Environmental Psychology

• Environmental psychology is a ___________________that focuses on the interaction

between ______________________________________.

• It draws on anthropology, geography, urban design, and architecture. Researchers in

this field observe people in ___________________. By using this method, they can

make recommendations about ______________________________________.

• The environmental psychology movement can be traced to the work of Roger Barker,

who developed the idea of “___________________.”

• The Graduate Center of the CUNY represents more recent developments in

environmental psychology.

• Environmental psychology has had a ___________________venues where people

___________________, such as stores, malls, stadiums, casinos, and airports.

• Most of the research done in environmental psychology takes place

___________________ rather than ___________________.

Section 4 at a Glance

Experimental and Ethical Issues

• Researchers use experiments to ___________________ about cause and effect. When

conducting experiments, researchers must consider such things as

___________________ and ___________________, ___________________, and the

___________________.

• Psychologists follow ___________________ and standards when working with people or

animals.

Main Idea

• The ___________________ is used by researchers to answer questions about cause and

effect. In addition, psychologists ___________________ the ethical issues involved in

their experiments.

The Experimental Method

• Psychologists use the ___________________ to answer questions about

______________________________________.

Independent and Dependent Variables

• Experiments have ___________________, which are factors that

___________________, or ___________________.

• The ___________________ is the factor that _________________________________.

• The ___________________ is the factor whose value _________________________ to

the ___________________.

Experimental and Control Groups

• Members of an ___________________ receive the treatment; members of a

___________________ do not.

• ___________________ are held ___________________ for both the experimental

group and the control group.

• A controlled experiment ___________________a control group and an experiment

group.

• The Placebo Effect

• A placebo is a substance or treatment that ___________________ apart from a

person’s belief in its effect.

• Feeling better simply because ___________________feel better—and for no other

reason—is an ___________________ the placebo effect.

Single- and Double-Blind Studies

Single-Blind Studies

• A ___________________ keeps participants ___________________ of the treatment

they are receiving.

• Participants ___________________ if they are in the experimental group or the control

group.

• This is one way that researchers can ___________________ of expectations.

Double-Blind Studies

• A ___________________ is one in which ___________________ participants and

researchers are ______________________________________the treatment.

• Double-blind studies help researchers ___________________ of expectations and

remain ___________________.

Central Tendency and Disposition

• A ___________________used to ___________________is to measure the central

tendency.

• The central tendency is a number that ___________________ score of a distribution.

• Finding the ___________________, ___________________, or ___________________

are ways of arriving at the central tendency.

• The mean is the ___________________of a distribution.

• The median is the ___________________.

• The mode is the ___________________score.

• Researchers use ___________________ to document the variability of a score.

• Range is the ___________________the ___________________ score and the

___________________.

• ___________________ is a measure of distance of every score to the mean.

Ethical Issues

• Ethics are standards for ___________________ and ___________________. The

American Psychological Association (APA) has established ___________________ that

psychologists are ___________________to follow.

Research with People

• Ethical standards ___________________of research psychologists may conduct with

people.

• A leading ethical principle is that study participants ___________________.

Confidentiality

• Psychologists ___________________of research participants and clients as

___________________.

• Only in ___________________may psychologists ___________________ confidentiality.

Informed Consent

• The APA generally requires that ___________________ to participate in research

studies provide ___________________.

• Informed consent means that ___________________, or consent, to participate in a

research study only after they ___________________ of the study and have been

___________________ of whether or not to participate.

Deception

• Some psychological experiments, however, ___________________ be run without

deceiving people.

• ___________________experiments and other ___________________cannot be

conducted without keeping participants unaware of the treatment or of the nature of

the study.

• Psychologists follow ___________________ when they must use deception.

Ethics in Using Data

• Psychologists follow ___________________ in how they ___________________,

___________________, and ___________________ their data.

• They ___________________ as possible when conducting a study in order to avoid bias.

• They must be ___________________ their hypothesis in light of contradictory evidence

collected in the research. Doing otherwise would be ___________________ and thus

unethical.

Research With Animals

• Most psychological studies that use animals ___________________ the animals.

• Sometimes psychologists and other scientists conduct research that

___________________ to animals.

• Such studies often ___________________ because they ___________________ out

with people for ethical reasons.

• Psychologists use animals only when there is ___________________ and when they

believe the ______________________________________.

• Only a ___________________of psychological studies involve animals.

• Many people, however, believe that it is ___________________ to harm animals than it

is to harm people.

• The APA ___________________ for how animals used in research

___________________.