Chapter 2 Psychological Research

Chapter 2: Psychological Research ● ● ● ● Facts v Opinions (observable realities v personal judgements Inductive Reasoning: real-world observations lead to generalizations Deductive Reasoning: generalization idea is tested in the real world Theory: a well developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena ○ Made after the experiment, backed up by data ● Hypothesis: a testable prediction about how the world will behave if our idea is correct (it-then) statement ○ Falsifiable: capable of being shown to be incorrect ○ Made before the experiment ● Clinical/Case Study: focusing on one person of just a few individuals ● Naturalistic Observation: observing behavior in its natural setting ○ Observer Bias ○ Inter-rater Reliability: a measure of reliability that assesses the consistency of observations made by different observers ● Surveys: lists of questions to be answered by research participants ○ Population: overall group of individuals that the researchers are interested in ○ Sample: subset of individuals selected from population ● Archival Research: looking at past records or data sets to look for interesting patterns or relationships ● Longitudinal research: research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time ○ Attrition rates: reduction in the number of research participants due to dropouts ● Cross-Sectional research: comparing multiple segments of the population at the same time. ● Correlation: there is a relationship between two or more variables ○ Correlation coefficient: a number from -1 to +1 that indicates the strength and direction of the relationship between variables ■ Positive Correlation: the variables move/change in the same direction ■ Negative Correlation: the variables move/change in opposite directions ● Correlation does not tell us about cause and effect ● Confounding Variable: systematic movement in our variables of interest ● Illusory Correlations: false correlations, occur when people believe that relationships exist between two things when no such relationship exists ● Experimental Groups ○ Experimental Group: gets experimental manipulation ○ Control group: does not get experimental manipulation (basis) ● Operational Definition: is a precise description of our variables and is important in allowing others to understand exactly how and what a researcher measures in a particular experiment ● Experimenter Bias: refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study ● To eliminate bias: ○ Single blind study: one of the groups (participants) are unaware as to which group ther are in (experimental or control) ○ Double Blind study: both researchers and participants are blind to group assignments ○ Placebo effect: when people’s expectations or beliefs influence or determine their experience in a given situation ○ Random Sample is a subset of a larger population in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected ○ Random Assignment: all participants have an equal change of being assigned to either group ● Variables: ○ Independent Variable: is manipulated or controlled by the experimenter ○ Dependent Variable: what the researcher measures to see how much effect the independent variable had. ● Participants are the subjects of the psychological research ● Statistical analysis is conducted to find out if there are any meaningful differences between two groups ● Peer-review journal articles: aimed at an audience of professionals and scholars who are actively involved in research themselves ● Experiment replication: it can be repeated to find the same result ● Reliability v Validity: ○ Reliability: ability to produce consistent results ■ Think: shots all in the same spot ○ Validity: refers to the extent to which a given instrument or tool accuracy measurements what its suppose to measure ■ Think: Bullseye ● Institutional review board: reviews proposals for research that involves human participants ● Human participants: ○ Informed consent: written description of what participants can expect during the experiment ○ Deception: involves purposely misleading experiment participants in order to maintain the integrity of the experiment, but not to the point where the deception could be considered harmful ○ Debriefing:giving honest information about the purpose of the experiment and how that data will be collected and used ● Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC): ensuring that all experimental proposals require that humane treatment of animal research subjects Chapter 3: Biopsychology ● Theory of evolution by natural selection: organisms that are better suited for their environment will survive and reproduce ● Genetic Variation: ○ Chromosomes are long strings of genetic material known as deoxyribose acid ○ Genes control or partially control a number of visible characteristics ○ Allele is a specific version of a gene ○ Genotype: the genetic makeup of an individual ■ Ex. AA or Aa ○ Phenotype: refers to the individual's physical characteristics ■ Ex: blonde or brunette ● Range of Reaction: asserts that our genes set the boundaries within which we can operate (ex. We can only grow so tall) ● Genetic environmental correlation: stated simply, our genes influence our environment and our environment influences the expression of our genes ● Epigenetics: looks beyond genotype itself and studies how the same genotype can lead to very different phenotypes ○ Identical twins: single egg and sperm spilt (same genetic material) ○ Fraternal twins: two different eggs fertilized from two different sperm (genetic makeup is as similar as siblings) ● Nervous cells: ○ Glial Cells: provide scaffolding on which the nervous system is built, lines up neurons ○ Neurons: serve as interconnected information processors that are essential for all of that tasks of the nervous system ■ Semipermeable membrane: allows smaller non charged molecues to pass through but stops other larger and charged particles ■ Dendrites (tree): input sites where signals are received from other neurons ■ Soma: cell body ■ Axon ● Myelin sheath: coats the axon and acts like a insulator ● Nodes of the Ranvier: gaps in the myelin sheath ■ Terminal Buttons: ● Synaptic vesicles house neurotransmitters ○ Neurotransmitters: chemical messengers ■ Synaptic cleft: small space between two neurons and is an important site where communication between neurons occurs ● Neuron Communication: ○ Membrane Potential: the difference in charge across the membrane, provides energy for the signal ■ Resting Potential: between signals the neuron membrane’s potential is held in a state od readiness ● More Na+ outside the cell, more K+ inside the cell ● Inside the cell is more negative than the outside ○ When the neuron receives a signal Na+ rushes into the cell which makes the neuron interior more positive and if that charge surpasses the threshold of excitation the neuron becomes active and action potential begins ○ Action Potential: positive spike where the electrical signal moves from the cell body to axon to axon terminals ■ All-or-none phenomenon: incoming signal from another neuron is either sufficient or insufficient to reach the threshold of excitation ○ When the neurotransmitter is put into the synaptic clef: ■ The neurotransmitters travel across the synapse and bind to receptors on the dendrites of the adjacent neuron, ■ excess neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft drift away, ● Broken down into inactive fragments ● Or are reabsorbed in reuptake ● Neurotransmitters: ○ Dopamine: mood and learning ■ Its so dope to feel happy to learn psychology ○ GABA: brain function, decreased anxiety and decreased tension ■ GABA girl calm down your brain is working just fine ○ Glutamate: Memory and learning ■ Gluta-Mate I hope I have some of that for the psych exam! ○ Norepinephrine: Heart intestines, alertness ■ Given in greys anatomy: think izzy’s deer ○ Serotonin: Mood ■ Sara can regulate her mood better than Dom ○ Agonists are chemicals that minmi a neurotransmitter receptor site ○ Antagonists: blocks or impedes the normal activity ● Peripheral Nervous system ○ Somatic: conscious or voluntary activities. Touch and hearing and muscles that move the body ○ Autonomic: internal organs and glands (non voluntary) ■ Sympathetic: preparing for stress (fight or flight response) ■ Parasympathetic: returning the body to normal (homeostasis) ● State of equilibrium ● Central Nervous System: ○ Spinal Cord: organized into vertebrae