Chapter 2 Research

Methods

Psychology is Empirical
Formal, systematic, observed

Goals:
Measurement & description
Understanding & prediction
Application & control

Theory

Steps in Research

Curiosity
Literature Review
tentative
explanation
Translate tentative explanation into
testable hypothesis (operationalize)
Choose a research method
Collect data
Analyze data
Report findings*
Conduct more research

Advantages of Scientific
Approach

Clarity and Precision

Intolerance to error
Research methods

Scholarly Article

Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References

Experimental Research
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable

Experimental vs. Control Groups

Extraneous vs. Confounding variable

Within vs. Between Subjects Design

Advantages/Disadvantages

Descriptive Research
Methods

Correlational Studies
Observational Study
Case Study
Surveys
Assessment (Testing)

Correlation

Independent variable (IV)

Dependent variable (DV)
Experimental/control group
Random assignment/random
sampling
Positive, negative variables
Does not mean its CAUSAL

Statistics

Descriptive Stats more or less

summarize data
Mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation

Inferential Stats allow research to

find cause and effect, explain
behavior

Looks at statistical significance

Replication
Placebo effect
Self-report data

Experimenter Bias
Double Blind Procedure
Deception

Ethics

American Psychological Association

5 General Principles
Principle A: Beneficence &
nonmaleficence
Principle B: Fidelity & responsibility
Principle C: Integrity
Principle D: Justice
Principle E: Respect for peoples rights
& dignity

Ethics continued

Ethical Standards

Human Relations
Privacy
Advertising & other public statements
Recordkeeping & fees
Education & training
Research & publication
Assessments
Therapy

Ethical Dilemmas

Case 1: Marla Norma was a cancer patient for

many years, and during that period she
occasionally consulted Michael Tact, Ph.D., about
her fears and concerns related to the illness.
During a surgical procedure, Marla was left
comatose and was being kept alive on life support
equipment, although there was little chance of
any recovery. Members of her family planned to
seek court authorization to discontinue
mechanical life-support equipment and wondered
whether any of Dr. Tacts records or conversations
with Marla might provide some guidance to them
and the court about her wishes.

Ethical Dilemmas

Case 2: Misty Resistant, the girlfriend of

Lester Lovesick, Psy.D., rejected Dr.
Lovesicks proposal of marriage because
she could not yet commit to a
relationship. Ms. Resistant was badly
hurt in a previous marriage, and
Lovesick was convinced that, if she
worked out her issues, her attitude
toward remarriage would change. He
convinced her to take a battery of test
and to put aside an hour every other
day for formal counseling with him.

Ethical Dilemmas

Case 3: Nadia Nerk is an unemployed real

estate agent who has opened a storefront
service known as Shrink Finders. Clients pay
Nerk a fee and are offered access to a ser of
videotaped interviews with psychotherapists,
recorded in their offices. Clients may look
through as many tapes as they wish and will
then be given the names and addresses of any
therapists whose tapes impress them. The
therapists have paid Nerk $100 for making the
tape and an additional $10 per session for each
client visit based on a referral from her service.

Ethical Dilemmas

Case 4: Dr. Thelma Splatter, designed an aversive

treatment program to deal with severely retarded
residents of a state school, who were toileting in
public on the grounds of the school or in corridors. The
program involved an operant reward system, as well
as a spray of ice water in the face, administered from
a small squirting bottle. Some of the attendants were
inadequately trained in the rationale and application
of the technique. One evening, an attendant caught a
male resident of the school smearing feces and
pushed the mans face into a toilet bowl, while
flushing it several times. He reported that he did not
have the spray bottle with him.