methods and approaches

Annotations:

• how psychological research is done.

1. hypothesis

   Annotations:

   • theory; speculation
2. Experiment

   Annotations:

   • an investigation seeking to understand cause and effect.
   1. case studies

      Annotations:

      • are intensive psychological studies of a single individual.
      • often known as clinical studies.
3. Variable

   Annotations:

   • effect
   • example:  1. an experiment tests whether watching violence on tv causes aggression. tho groups of children are randomly placed infant of a violent/nonviolent tv programs. -->(independent variable b/c it can be manipulated by the experimenter)2. placing a doll in front of the children and observing how they react/treat the doll.-->(dependent variable, the variable that stays constant and is being measured)
   • population; group of interest, to be studied. I__>representative sample is drawn.
   • random sampling: is a way of ensuring maximum representativeness--> the degree to which a sample reflects the diverse characteristics of the population being studied.
   1. dependent

      Annotations:

      • what is measured
   2. independent

      Annotations:

      • manipulated variable.
      • using two groups allows for comparison to be made and causation to be determined.
      1. experiment group

         Annotations:

         • receiving or reacting to the independent variable
      2. control group (placebo)

         Annotations:

         • doesn't receive the independent variable, but should be kept identical in all other respects. it's later on used to compare the experiment group.
4. correlation coefficient

   Annotations:

   • correlation-->shows the strength of relationship among variables. is a statistic that will give us the required information/outcome.
   • pearson correlation: is a descriptive statistic that describes the linear relationship between attributes.
   • correlation does not prove causation-->the reason something happens
   1. positive correlation

      Annotations:

      • as one increases, the other increases as well. 
   2. negative correlation

      Annotations:

      • as one increases, the other decreases.
5. validity
   1. internal val.

      Annotations:

      • is the certainty with which the results of the results of an experiment can be attributed to the manipulation of the independent variable rather than to some other, confounding variable.
   2. external val.

      Annotations:

      • the extent to which the finding of a study can be generalized to other contexts in the "real world".
6. reliability

   Annotations:

   • is whether or not the same results appear if the experiment is repeated under similar conditions.
7. statistics
   1. descriptive

      Annotations:

      • summarizes data. measures of central tendency, that is , they characterize the typical value of is a set of data.
      1. mean

         Annotations:

         • the arithmetic average of s et of number. ex. 22254411-->21(total)/6=3.5
         1. median

            Annotations:

            • the number that falls exactly in the middle of a distribution ex1. 24387-->23478=4 ex2. 558325-->235558=5+5/2=5 -->(get the average)
            1. mode

               Annotations:

               • the most repeated value in the data set. ex. 154787737=7
      2. normal curve
         1. positive skew

            Annotations:

            • there are more exceptionally large values
         2. negative skew

            Annotations:

            • there are more exceptionally small variables.
      3. variability

         Annotations:

         • refers to how  much the numbers differ from each other. 
      4. standard deviation

         Annotations:

         • measures a function of the average dispersion of numbers around the mean and is a commonly used measure of variability.
   2. inferential

      Annotations:

      • are used to determine our level of confidence in claiming that a set of a givens of results would be extremely unlikely to occur if the result was only up to chance.
      1. type I error

         Annotations:

         • refers to the conclusion that a difference exists wen in fact it does not.
      2. type II error

         Annotations:

         • refers to the conclusion that there is no difference when in fact there is.
8. ethics

   Annotations:

   • occasionally, some experiments may include deception. ex. the staley pilgrim experiment-->UNETHICAL.
   1. informed consent

      Annotations:

      • participants only agree to participate in study after they've been told what their participation entails.
   2. debriefing

      Annotations:

      • is what the participants receive after the experiment has been concluded, in which they are told the exact purpose of their participation in the research and of any deception that may have been used in the process of experimentation.
   3. confidentiality
9. subfields in psychology
   1. applied psychology

      Annotations:

      • is psychology that is put directly into practice. ex. when therapist meets client. ex. school psychology
   2. basic psychology

      Annotations:

      • is grounded in research and is often conducted at universities and private labs.