Methods of Psychological

Research

What is Psychology?
Psychology is the study of behavior
and mental processes
Includes the study of both humans
and animals

The Fields of Psychology

Developmental Psychology
Physiological Psychology
Experimental Psychology
Personality Psychology
Clinical and Counseling Psychology
Social Psychology
Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Developmental Psychology
Study of physical and mental growth
from birth to old age
Subfields
Child psychology
Adolescent psychology
Life-span psychology

Physiological Psychology
Investigates the biological basis of
human behavior
Neurotransmitters
Effects of drugs on the nervous system
Development of the nervous system
Gender differences in brain structure
and function

Experimental Psychology
Perform experiments on basic
psychological processes
Learning
Memory
Sensation and perception
Cognition
Motivation
Emotion

Personality Psychology
Study of how people differ from one
another on traits such as
Anxiety
Sociability
Self-esteem
Need for achievement
Aggressiveness

Clinical and Counseling

Psychology
Clinical psychologists are concerned
with diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders
Counseling psychologists deal with
normal problems, such as stress
caused by career change or marital
problems

Social Psychology
Study of how people influence one
another
First impressions
Interpersonal attraction
Attitude formation
Prejudice
Behavior in a group

Industrial and Organizational

Psychology
Study of psychological principles in
industry and business
Examples
Selecting and training personnel
Productivity improvement
Working conditions
Impact of automation on workers

Enduring Issues in
Psychology
PersonSituation
Is behavior caused by factors inside the person
or outside?

Nature-Nurture
Is a person the product of genetics (nature) or
simply the sum of their experiences (nurture)?

StabilityChange
Are behavior patterns learned in childhood
permanent or do people change over time?

Enduring Issues in
Psychology
Diversity-Universality
How are people similar to others and
how are they unique?

MindBody
What is the relationship between the
mind and the body?

Psychology As Science
Psychologists use the scientific
method
Steps to the scientific method
Collect data
Generate a theory to explain the data
Produce a testable hypothesis
Systematically test the hypothesis

Requirements of Psychological
Research
Objective Observation
Control
Duplication and Verification

Research Methods in
Psychology
Naturalistic Observation -

Systematic

Observation

Case Studies - Detailed description and

analysis

Surveys - Questionnaires or interviews

Correlation Research - Naturally occurring
relationship

Experimental Research - Cause and effect

Multi Method Research Combination of all methods

Research Methods in
Psychology
Naturalistic Observation
Systematic observation in natural
setting
The main drawback is observer bias

Research Methods in
Psychology
Case Studies
Detailed description and analysis
Observer bias is a problem
Unable to make generalizations past
person being studied

Research Methods in
Psychology
Surveys
Questionnaires or interviews, such as
polls prior to an election
Questions must be constructed carefully
so as to not elicit obvious or general
answers

Research Methods in
Psychology
Correlation Research
Research technique based on the
naturally occurring relationship between
two or more variables
Often used to make predictions, such as
the relation between IQ scores and
school success

Research Methods in
Psychology
Experimental Research
The only research method that can be
used to determine cause and effect
Often called the experimental method

Components of an
Experiment
Participants or subjects
Independent variable (IV)
Cause (what you are studying)
This is the variable that is manipulated by the
experimenter

Dependent variable (DV)

Effect (result of experiment)
This is the variable that is measured by the
experimenter

Components of an
Experiment
Experimental group
Receives treatment

Control group
Does not receive treatment, but is the
same in every other way

Research Methods in
Psychology
Multi method Research
Studies often combine several methods

The Importance of Sampling

in Research
Sample
Small representative subset of a larger
population

Random sample
Every subject had equal chance of being
selected

Representative sample
Characteristics of participants correspond to
larger population

Ethics in Research on
Humans
Participants must be informed of
nature of research
Informed consent should be
documented
Risks and limits on confidentiality
must be explained

Ethics in Research on
Humans
Dishonesty cannot be used about
aspects of research that would affect
participant's willingness to
participate.
Dishonesty about the goals of
research used only when absolutely
necessary.

Limitations of Psychological
Research

All behavior cannot be studied

Observing behavior can change it
The Hawthorne effect
Artificial Settings
College students as subjects