Psychology 01/25/10

Bring Blue Scantron Sheet Wednesday

I. Correlation
1. Correlation Coefficient
A) Numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables
B) Positive
a) As scores on variable A increase, scores on variable B increase
b) As scores on variable A decrease, scores on variable B decrease
C) Negative
a) As scores on variable A increases, scores on variable B decrease
b) And vice-versa
D) r = +.37 → r is correlation coefficient, + means positive, number indicates strength, 1 is
perfect, 0 is none
E) Number = Slope
F) Usually, general patterns appear, but nothing near 1 is usually shown
G) Correlation is not Causation, being related does not mean that things cause each other
H) Low self-esteem could cause depression, depression could cause low self-esteem, or a
third variable, such as distressing events or biological dispositions could cause both
I) A could cause B, B could cause A, or C could cause A and B, we aren't sure
2. Experiment
A) Research method in which researcher manipulates a variable (independent) under
carefully controlled conditions and observes changes in a 2nd variable (dependent)
B) Two critical features
a) Manipulation of independent variable
b) Random assignment to conditions
C) Independent variable (IV)
a) Condition or event that researcher varies in order to see its impact on something else
b) Variable that is controlled or manipulated
c) Things that we are interested in the effect of, effect of x on y, x is independent
D) Dependent variable (DV)
a) The variable that is thought to be affected by the independent variable
b) Variable that is measured
c) Effect of x on y, y is dependent
E) Researchers want to study the effect of caffeine on memory. Participants learn a list of
words after consuming a drink with caffeine or one without, IV caffeine, DV memory
F) Experimental and Control Conditions and groups
a) Participants who receive special treatment regarding the IV, the caffeine drinkers, are
the Experimental condition
b) Participants who do not, the placebo, the non-caffeine drinkers, are the Control
condition, used to compare to the effect of the IV
c) These groups should be mostly identical except for the IV
i. I.Q.?
ii. Regular caffeine intake?
iii. Random assignment generally neutralizes most of these factors
d) Extraneous variables
i. Variables other than the IV that seem likely to influence the DV
ii. Can't control for all variables so concentrate on those likely to affect the DV
 Psychology 01/25/10
Bring Blue Scantron Sheet Wednesday

e) Confounding Variables
i. Occurs when two variables are linked together in a way that makes determining
cause of effect difficult
ii. Ways to counteract
1. Placebos
2. Careful methods
f) Placebo
i. Inactive treatment administered instead of a substance to see if it triggers the
effects believed to characterize the active agent
ii. Issues, ethics need to be considered
iii. So you have to be a really good therapist to be a really bad therapist?
iv. Double-blind procedure
1. Neither participant nor researcher know whether participant has received
treatment or placebo
2. Like other placebo forms, difficult in therapy studies
G) Advantages and Disadvantages
a) Can draw cause and effect conclusions
b) Control leads to artificial situations
c) Some questions can't be studied with experiments