Chapter 1 & 2: Experiments and Methodologies

scientific study of the mind, brain and behavior

• Hermann von Helmholtz was one of the first to collect empirical data associated with the nervous system and behavior. Example of this empirical data was “reaction time”. • Scientific study of psychology should focus on structuralism, or breaking down of elements that constitute the mind; “anatomy of the mind”. • William James believed that the scientific study of psychology should focus on functionalism, or how the mind enables people to adapt to their environments. This incorporates behaviors.

• Decide on a research topic that will help determine your hypothesis (scientific prediction); • Conduct a thorough search of published peer reviewed articles to see what is known, or unknown, about your research topic; • Once you see what is unknown about your research topic, formulate a hypothesis, or a statement of your scientific prediction; • Design a methodology to procedurally test/assess the hypothesis you have formulated; • Before implementing the designed methodology, obtain institutional approval (ethical purposes); • Once institutional approval is obtained, implement the methodology: collect data and consistently analyze the data consistently interpret and write up the data consistently present the data; • Publish your original research in a peer reviewed journal

Systematically questioning and evaluating information using well supported evidence.

The arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, and culture.

A fundamental psychological issue: Are mind and body separate and distinct, or is the mind simply the physical brain’s subjective experience? Descartes used his theory of dualism to try and combat this problen by saying the mind influences the body but not vice verse, but then that raises the question of how does one quantify the mind and the engery it exerts to create thisninfluence

A method developed by Sigmund Freud that attempts to bring the contents of the unconscious into conscious awareness so that conflicts can be revealed.

based on the idea that the human brain will attempt to simplify and organize complex images or designs that consist of many elements, by subconsciously arranging the parts into an organized system that creates a whole, rather than just a series of disparate elements

Occam’s razor stats that when trying to decide which is the more feasible of two co petting theories to explain a phenomenon, the simpler of the two theories is more likely to be correct This is helpful when deciding what is the cause of observations and devising theories to explain said phenomena

participant observation: where the research is involved in whatever they are observing and interacts with the participants naturalistic observation: where the researcher is not involved with the participants and tries to be as removed an observer as possible to see how the participant would react if not being studied

experiment, case study, observational study, self reporting

Any research that involves observing, recording data and behavior in order to describe said behavior. examples include observational studies and case studies. The limitation of this is the possibility of reactivity and observer bias.

Where the researchers expectations knowingly or unknowingly influence the way they act towards their participants/subject, which can in turn affect the outcome of the data. In this case, the experimenters expectations becomes a confounding variable.

Where the researchers expectations knowingly or unknowingly influence the way they act towards their participants/subject, which can in turn affect the outcome of the data. In this case, the experimenters expectations becomes a confounding variable.

When the researchers expectation skews the way they percieve the phenomena they observe

Investigates how variables are related to each other without trying to influence any of thesevariables. - is seen in 3 broad categories: positive correlation, negative correlation and no correlation

Positive correlation is when the two variables move in the same directrion at the same time and negative is when they move in opposite directions in a way positive correlation is ipsa-correlational while negative is contra-correlational

Directionality is the trying to accertain which variable is influencing which; whether its variab,e X affecting variabe Y or the inverse

related to the drirectionalitry problem and considers the possiblity of a an unknown thrid variable that contributes to variable X and variable Y’s apparent correlation

Operationalization is a crucial part of research because it defines perhaps immeasurable variables in a way that can be measured, at least by proxy.This allows your research to be well understood as youve clearly defined what is being measured and the methodology to do so, and it allows for replicability

Between groups is two different groups receiving only one contrasting condition each while repeated measures is the same groups recieving both conditions at different times

anything that can unintentionally affect the DV

an assurance that your study is actually measuring what it says it measures; ie your operationalized definition is a valid proxy for your variable

External validity is how generalizable your finding are to the real world while internal validity is the assurance that your results arent the product of multiple confounds, like bias or statistical error–ie does this study show true causality?