Topic 0: Intro to Psychology - Issues and Debate
Issues and Debate
1. Applying psychology to everyday life
- Can the research be used to change or improve lives in real life
2. Using children in psychology research
- Is it ethical to ask children to take part in research
- Can children (below 18) give informed consent? Are parents’ consent enough?
3. Using animals in psychology research
- Can animals give informed consent?
- Should they have rights?
4. Individual vs situational explanations
- Individual: behaviour is explained by something within the person (e.g Biological
factor)
- Situational: behaviour is explained by environmental factors (e.g Social pressure,
consequences to action IN THAT MOMENT
5. Nature vs Nurture
- Nature: refers to biological factors that influence who we are (e.g. genetics)
- Nurture: refers to environmental factors that influence who we are (e.g. culture)
,Topics 1: Research Method
1. Type of Research and Main Steps
Seven types of research methods:
- Experiments
- Questionnaires
- Interviews
- Observations
- Correlations
- Case studies
- Longitudinal studies
Main steps in Psychological research
1. Decide your aim
- An aim: something that the researcher wants to investigate or find out.
2. Write a hypothesis
- Hypothesis: An idea which a researcher guesses might be true but not yet been
tested. Prediction about what will be found out
3. Sampling
- Choosing the type of people that will take part in the study and actually getting
them to join.
4. Conduct pilot study
- A small study carried out before the main study to check for any problems
- To analyse the technical and financial risks and to assess the feasibility of the
study. Any plausible confounding variables are found and controlled to ensure it
does not affect the real trial
5. Collect Data
- Data is collected in many ways
- Quantitative: data in numerical format.
- Qualitative: data written in a non-numerical format that often expresses a
quality or opinion.
6. Analyse data
- Researchers analyse the data collected and make sense of it
- Presented in tables and/ or graphs and describes it
, - Test whether their hypotheses were correct. Also help with development of new
psychological theories.
2. Experiments
Experiment: A research method that looks for a causal relationship in which an independent
variable (IV) is manipulated and is expected to cause changes in the dependent variable.
Causal vs Correlation
- Causal: Allow us to claim that the dependent variable changed because of changes made
to the IV.
- Correlation: This means that two variables are linked, but it is not clear whether one
variable directly affects the other.
Hypothesis:
- A testable statement that predicts the difference in dependent variable between levels of
the independent variable (in an experiment) or a relationship between variables (in a
correlational study)
Conditions
1. Experimental condition
- Participants receive some kind of treatment or exposure to the independent
variable
2. Controlled condition
- The independent variable is not there or is not manipulated/ changed
Types of Experiments
Laboratory experiment: the experiment is conducted in an unnatural and controlled
environment. The IV is manipulated.
Field experiment: the experiment takes place in natural settings, and the IV is manipulated.
Natural experiment: the experiment takes place in natural settings and the IV is not directly
manipulated by the researcher. It happens naturally by chance.
Quasi-experiment: the researcher has lots of control over the procedure, but not over the allocation of participants.
, Experimental Design
- How participants are allocated to the conditions of the study.
1. Independent measures design: different groups of participants are used for each level of
the IV.
2. Repeated measures design: each participant takes part in every condition of the study.
3. Matched Pairs Design: participants are matched in pairs according to a characteristic
they have, that is similar.
Issues and Debate
1. Applying psychology to everyday life
- Can the research be used to change or improve lives in real life
2. Using children in psychology research
- Is it ethical to ask children to take part in research
- Can children (below 18) give informed consent? Are parents’ consent enough?
3. Using animals in psychology research
- Can animals give informed consent?
- Should they have rights?
4. Individual vs situational explanations
- Individual: behaviour is explained by something within the person (e.g Biological
factor)
- Situational: behaviour is explained by environmental factors (e.g Social pressure,
consequences to action IN THAT MOMENT
5. Nature vs Nurture
- Nature: refers to biological factors that influence who we are (e.g. genetics)
- Nurture: refers to environmental factors that influence who we are (e.g. culture)
,Topics 1: Research Method
1. Type of Research and Main Steps
Seven types of research methods:
- Experiments
- Questionnaires
- Interviews
- Observations
- Correlations
- Case studies
- Longitudinal studies
Main steps in Psychological research
1. Decide your aim
- An aim: something that the researcher wants to investigate or find out.
2. Write a hypothesis
- Hypothesis: An idea which a researcher guesses might be true but not yet been
tested. Prediction about what will be found out
3. Sampling
- Choosing the type of people that will take part in the study and actually getting
them to join.
4. Conduct pilot study
- A small study carried out before the main study to check for any problems
- To analyse the technical and financial risks and to assess the feasibility of the
study. Any plausible confounding variables are found and controlled to ensure it
does not affect the real trial
5. Collect Data
- Data is collected in many ways
- Quantitative: data in numerical format.
- Qualitative: data written in a non-numerical format that often expresses a
quality or opinion.
6. Analyse data
- Researchers analyse the data collected and make sense of it
- Presented in tables and/ or graphs and describes it
, - Test whether their hypotheses were correct. Also help with development of new
psychological theories.
2. Experiments
Experiment: A research method that looks for a causal relationship in which an independent
variable (IV) is manipulated and is expected to cause changes in the dependent variable.
Causal vs Correlation
- Causal: Allow us to claim that the dependent variable changed because of changes made
to the IV.
- Correlation: This means that two variables are linked, but it is not clear whether one
variable directly affects the other.
Hypothesis:
- A testable statement that predicts the difference in dependent variable between levels of
the independent variable (in an experiment) or a relationship between variables (in a
correlational study)
Conditions
1. Experimental condition
- Participants receive some kind of treatment or exposure to the independent
variable
2. Controlled condition
- The independent variable is not there or is not manipulated/ changed
Types of Experiments
Laboratory experiment: the experiment is conducted in an unnatural and controlled
environment. The IV is manipulated.
Field experiment: the experiment takes place in natural settings, and the IV is manipulated.
Natural experiment: the experiment takes place in natural settings and the IV is not directly
manipulated by the researcher. It happens naturally by chance.
Quasi-experiment: the researcher has lots of control over the procedure, but not over the allocation of participants.
, Experimental Design
- How participants are allocated to the conditions of the study.
1. Independent measures design: different groups of participants are used for each level of
the IV.
2. Repeated measures design: each participant takes part in every condition of the study.
3. Matched Pairs Design: participants are matched in pairs according to a characteristic
they have, that is similar.
