Methods and Data 8.30.

2010

1. The Basics
a. Basic sciences
i. Physics
ii. Chemestry
iii. Biology
iv. Psychology
1. Biopsychology
v. Sociology
b. Reductionism
i. Reducing everything
1. Habit,
c. Emergentism
i. Things emerging from basic concepts
d. Para sciences
i.
1. Are not sciences
ii. Astrology
1. Is not a science and there is no evidence
e. Operational definition
i. Describing an event or concept exclusively in terms of procedures
ii. Almost everyone is in the clinical/ community psychology
f. Variables
i. Independent variable
1. The factor that is selected by an experimenter to determine what
effects result
ii. Dependant variable
1. When something is posed, the response is the dependant
iii. Intervening variable
1. Learning is an example
2. Intelligence
2. Experiments and data
a. Definitions
i. Stimulus
ii. Response
1. Easier to definie than a stimulus
b. Types of response measures
c. Laws
i. Definitions
1. SR Law
2. SS Law
 a. Drivers license
i. Time they determine in the test is 15 mins, that doesn’t
predict one’s lifetime of driving
d. Data Collection
i. Naturalistic observation
ii. Case History
1. Done on an individual basis
2. Case Study
iii. Survey
iv. Correlational methods
v. Experimental research
e. Sources of error
i. Demand characteristics
1. Aspect of the experiment that is not being looked for
2. Single blinded study is used to prevent
ii. Experimenter Bias
1. Control problem
a. Is handled by using a double blind study
i. Tester does not know what condition subject is in
3. Numbers for communication
a. Need for statistics
i. Aid for what you are trying to do
ii. Examples of misuse
1. Toothpaste ads
2. There are more accidents in clear weather than in foggy weather
b. Types of statistics
i. Descriptive
1. Central tendency, measure of variation
ii. Inferential
1. Calculate the descriptive statistics
iii. Predictive
c. Important terms
i. Population
1. Group of people, things, events that are alike
ii. Sample
1. Randomized collection to study
iii. Estimate
1. We cannot study the entire population
iv. Parameter
1. Is to population
d. Graphs
i. Importance of labeling axes
 1. Always label x and y axis
e. Basic treatment of data
i. Histogram
f. Differences among graphed data
i. Central tendency
1. Mode – most frequent measure
2. Median – middle score
3. Mean – an average
ii. Variability
1. Measures
a. Range – from the lowest to the highest (top score – bottom
score)
b. Standard deviation
i. Completely determined by the numbers you are
working with
2. Skewness
a. Positive
b. Normal
i. Many human skills
c. Negative
4. Number for Decision
a. Inferential statistics
i. Decisions
ii. Normal distribution
1. Form
b. The Standard Score
i. Increase group differences
ii. Decrease variability
iii. Increase group size
c. Predictive statistics: correlation coefficient
i. Vary in one of three ways
1. Positive
2. No correlation
3. Negative
ii. Regression line
iii. Magnitude
iv. Correlation doesn’t equal causation