Research in Psychology

Summary of Research Examples xv Preface xvii 1 Scientific Thinking in Psychology 1 Why Take This Course? 2 Ways of Knowing 5 Authority 5 Use of Reason 5 Empiricism 6 The Ways of Knowing and Science 8 Science as a Way of Knowing 9 Science Assumes Determinism 9 Science Makes Systematic Observations 10 Science Produces Public Knowledge 10 Box 1.1: ORIGINS—A Taste of Introspection 11 Science Produces Data-Based Conclusions 12 Science Produces Tentative Conclusions 13 Science Asks Answerable Questions 14 Science Develops Theories That Can Be Falsified 14 Psychological Science and Pseudoscience 15 Recognizing Pseudoscience 16 Associates with True Science 17 Box 1.2: CLASSIC STUDIES—Falsifying Phrenology 18 Relies on Anecdotal Evidence 19 Sidesteps the Falsification Requirement 20 Reduce Complex Phenomena to Overly Simplistic Concepts 21 The Goals of Research in Psychology 21 Describe 21 Predict 22 Explain 22 Apply 22 A Passion for Research in Psychology 23 Eleanor Gibson (1910–2002) 24 B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) 25 2 Ethics in Psychological Research 30 Box 2.1: CLASSIC STUDIES—Infants at Risk 31 Developing a Code of Ethics for Psychological Science 32 Ethical Guidelines for Research with Humans 35 Weighing Benefits and Costs: The Role of the IRB 35 Informed Consent and Deception in Research 38 Box 2.2: ETHICS—Historical Problems with Informed Consent 39 Informed Consent and Special Populations 41 Use of Deception 42 Treating Participants Well 43 Research Ethics and the Internet 46 Ethical Guidelines for Research with Animals 47 Animal Rights 48 Box 2.3: ORIGINS—Antivivisection and the APA 48 Using Animals in Psychological Research 50 The APA Code for Animal Research 52 Justifying the Study 52 Caring for the Animals 52 Using Animals for Educational Purposes 53 Scientific Fraud 53 Data Falsification 54 3 Developing Ideas for Research in Psychology 60 Varieties of Psychological Research 61 The Goals: Basic versus Applied Research 61 The Setting: Laboratory versus Field Research 63 Research Example 1—Combining Laboratory and Field Studies 64 The Data: Quantitative versus Qualitative Research 66 Asking Empirical Questions 67 Operational Definitions 67 Developing Research from Observations of Behavior and Serendipity 69 Box 3.1: ORIGINS—Serendipity and Edge Detectors 70 Developing Research from Theory 70 The Nature of Theory 71 The Relationship between Theory and Research 72 Attributes of Good Theories 74 Falsification 74 Box 3.2: CLASSIC STUDIES—Falsification and Der Kluge Hans 75 Parsimony 77 Common Misunderstandings about Theory 78 Developing Research from Other Research 78 Research Teams and the “What’s Next?” Question 79 Research Example 2 – “What’s Next?” 80 Replication 82 Box 3.3: ETHICS—Questionable Research Practices and Replication Remedies 83 Creative Thinking in Science 84 Reviewing the Literature 86 Computerized Database Searches 86 Search Tips 87 Search Results 88 4 Sampling, Measurement, and Hypothesis Testing 93 Who to Measure—Sampling Procedures 94 Probability Sampling 94 Random Sampling 94 Stratified Sampling 95 Cluster Sampling 95 Nonprobability Sampling 96 What to Measure—Varieties of Behavior 96 Developing Measures from Constructs 97 Research Example 3—Testing Constructs Using Habituation 98 Research Example 4—Testing Constructs Using Reaction Time 99 Box 4.1: ORIGINS—Reaction Time: From Mental Chronometry to Mental Rotation 100 Evaluating Measures 101 Reliability 101 Validity 103 Research Example 5—Construct Validity 104 Reliability and Validity 105 Scales of Measurement 105 Nominal Scales 106 Ordinal Scales 107 Interval Scales 108 Box 4.2: CLASSIC STUDIES—Measuring Somatotypes on an Interval Scale: Hoping for 4-4-4 108 Ratio Scales 109 Statistical Analysis 110 Descriptive and Inferential Statistics 111 Descriptive Statistics 111 Box 4.3: ETHICS—Statistics that Mislead 116 Inferential Statistics 117 Null Hypothesis Significance Testing 118 Type I and Type II Errors 120 Interpreting Failures to Reject H0 121 Beyond Null Hypothesis Significance Testing 122 Effect Size 123 Confidence Intervals 124 Power 125 5 Introduction to Experimental Research 129 Essential Features of Experimental Research 130 Box 5.1: ORIGINS—John Stuart Mill and the Rules of Inductive Logic 131 Establishing Independent Variables 132 Varieties of Manipulated Independent Variables 132 Control Groups 133 Research Example 6—Experimental and Control Groups 133 Controlling Extraneous Variables 134 Measuring Dependent Variables 136 Subject Variables 137 Research Example 7—Using Subject Variables 138 Drawing Conclusions When Using Subject Variables 140 Box 5.2: CLASSIC STUDIES—Bobo Dolls and Aggression 141 The Validity of Experimental Research 143 Statistical Conclusion Validity 143 Construct Validity 144 External Validity 144 Other Populations 144 Box 5.3: ETHICS—Recruiting Participants: Everyone’s in the Pool 145 Other Environments 147 Other Times 148 A Note of Caution about External Validity 148 Internal Validity 148 Threats to Internal Validity 149 Studies Extending Over Time 149 History and Maturation 150 Regression to the Mean 151 Testing and Instrumentation 152 Participant Problems 152 Subject Selection Effects 152 Attrition 153 A Final Note on Internal Validity, Confounding, and External Validity 154 6 Methodological Control in Experimental Research 159 Between-Subjects Designs 160 Creating Equivalent Groups 161 Random Assignment 161 Matching 163 Within-Subjects Designs 167 Controlling Order Effects 169 Testing Once per Condition 170 Complete Counterbalancing 170 Partial Counterbalancing 170 Testing More than Once per Condition 171 Reverse Counterbalancing 172 Block Randomization 172 Research Example 8—Counterbalancing with Block Randomization 173 Methodological Control in Developmental Research 174 Box 6.1: CLASSIC STUDIES—The Record for Repeated Measures 176 Controlling for the Effects of Bias 177 Experimenter Bias 177 Controlling for Experimenter Bias 178 Research Example 9—Using a Double Blind Procedure 179 Participant Bias 180 Box 6.2: ORIGINS—Productivity at Western Electric 181 Research Example 10—Demand Characteristics 182 Controlling for Participant Bias 183 Box 6.3: ETHICS—Research Participants Have Responsibilities Too 185 7 Experimental Design I: Single-Factor Designs 189 Single Factor—Two Levels 190 Between-Subjects, Single-Factor Designs 191 Research Example 11—Two-Level Independent Groups Design 192 Research Example 12— Two-Level Matched Groups Design 193 Research Example 13— Two-Level Ex Post Facto Design 194 Within-Subjects, Single-Factor Designs 194 Box 7.1: CLASSIC STUDIES—Psychology’s Most Widely Replicated Finding? 195 Research Example 14—Two-Level Repeated Measures Design 196 Single Factor—More Than Two Levels 198 Between-Subjects, Multilevel Designs 199 Research Example 15—Multilevel Independent Groups Design 199 Within-Subjects, Multilevel Designs 201 Research Example 16—Multilevel Repeated Measures Design 201 Analyzing Data from Single-Factor Designs 202 Presenting the Data 202 Types of Graphs 203 Box 7.2: ORIGINS—The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve 204 Analyzing the Data 206 Statistics for Single-Factor, Two-Level Designs 206 Statistics for Single-Factor, Two-Level Designs 207 Special-Purpose Control Group Designs 209 Placebo Control Group Designs 209 Wait List Control Group Designs 210 Box 7.3: ETHICS—Who’s in the Control Group? 210 Research Example 17—Using Both Placebo and Wait List Control Groups 212 Yoked Control Group Designs 213 Research Example 18—A Yoked Control Group 213 8 Experimental Design II: Factorial Designs 219 Essentials of Factorial Designs 220 Identifying Factorial Designs 220 Outcomes—Main Effects and Interactions 221 Main Effects 221 Research Example 19—Main Effects 223 Interactions 225 Research Example 20—An Interaction with No Main Effects 226 Interactions Sometimes Trump Main Effects 228 Combinations of Main Effects and Interactions 229 Creating Graphs for the Results of Factorial Designs 232 Box 8.1: CLASSIC STUDIES—To Sleep, Perchance to Recall 235 Varieties of Factorial Designs 237 Mixed Factorial Designs 238 Research Example 21—A Mixed Factorial with Counterbalancing 239 Research Example 22—A Mixed Factorial without Counterbalancing 240 Factorials with Subject and Manipulated Variables: P × E Designs 241 Research Example 23—A Factorial Design with a P × E Interaction 244 Research Example 24—A Mixed P × E Factorial with Two Main Effects 245 Recruiting Participants for Factorial Designs 246 Box 8.2: ETHICS—On Being a Competent and Ethical Researcher 248 Analyzing Data from Factorial Designs 249 Box 8.3: ORIGINS—Factorials Down on the Farm 250 9 Non-Experimental Design I: Survey Methods 255 Survey Research 256 Box 9.1: ORIGINS—Creating the “Questionary” 256 Sampling Issues in Survey Research 257 Surveys versus Psychological Assessment 259 Creating an Effective Survey 259 Types of Survey Questions or Statements 259 Assessing Memory and Knowledge 262 Adding Demographic Information 262 A Key Problem: Survey Wording 263 Collecting Survey Data 266 In-Person Interviews 266 Mailed Written Surveys 267 Phone Surveys 268 Online Surveys 268 Ethical Considerations 269 Box 9.2: ETHICS—Using and Abusing Surveys 269 Research Example 25—A Survey of College Students’ Study Strategies 270 Analyzing Data from Non-Experimental Methods 272 Correlation: Describing Relationships 272 Scatterplots 273 Correlation Coefficients 275 Coefficient of Determination 276 Be Aware of Outliers 277 Regression: Making Predictions 277 Research Example 26 – Regression and Multiple Regression 280 Interpreting Correlational Results 282 Directionality 282 Research Example 27—Correlations and Directionality 283 Third Variables 284 Combining Non-Experimental and Experimental Methods 286 Research Example 28—Combining Methods 286 10 Non-Experimental Design II: Observational and Archival Methods 291 Observational Research 292 Varieties of Observational Research 292 Naturalistic Observation 293 Participant Observation 294 Box 10.1: CLASSIC STUDIES—When Prophecy Fails 294 Challenges Facing Observational Methods 295 Absence of Control 295 Observer Bias 296 Participant Reactivity 297 Ethics 298 Box 10.2: ETHICS—A Matter of Privacy 298 Research Example 29—A Naturalistic Observation 299 Research Example 30—A Covert Participant Observation 301 Analyzing Qualitative Data from Non-Experimental Designs 302 Archival Research 303 Archival Data 304 Research Example 31—A Non-Experimental Design Using Archival Data 305 Analyzing Archival Data 307 Meta-Analysis—A Special Case of Archival Research 308 Research Example 32—Meta-analysis and Psychology’s First Registered Replication Report (RRR) 309 11 Quasi-Experimental Designs and Applied Research 313 Beyond the Laboratory 314 Research Example 33—Applied Research 315 Applied Psychology in Historical Context 316 Box 11.1: CLASSIC STUDIES—The Hollingworth’s, Applied Psychology, and Coca-Cola 318 Design Problems in Applied Research 319 Quasi-Experimental Designs 320 Nonequivalent Control Group Designs 320 Outcomes 321 Regression to the Mean and Matching 322 Research Example 34—A Nonequivalent Control Group Design 325 Research Example 35—A Nonequivalent Control Group Design Without Pretests 327 Interrupted Time Series Designs 327 Outcomes 328 Research Example 36—An Interrupted Time Series Design 329 Variations on the Basic Time Series Design 330 Program Evaluation 332 Box 11.2: ORIGINS—Reforms as Experiments 332 Planning for Programs—Needs Analysis 333 Research Example 37—Assessing Need in Program Evaluation 334 Monitoring Programs—Formative Evaluation 335 Evaluating Outcomes—Summative Evaluation 336 Weighing Costs—Cost-Effectiveness Analysis 337 A Note on Qualitative Data Analysis 338 Box 11.3: ETHICS—Evaluation Research and Ethics 338 12 Small N Designs 343 Research in Psychology Began with Small N 344 Box 12.1: ORIGINS—Cats in Puzzle Boxes 346 Reasons for Small N Designs 347 Occasional Misleading Results from Statistical Summaries of Grouped Data 347 Practical and Philosophical Problems with Large N Designs 349 The Experimental Analysis of Behavior 350 Applied Behavior Analysis 353 Box 12.2: ETHICS—Controlling Human Behavior 353 Small N Designs in Applied Behavior Analysis 355 Elements of Single-Subject Designs 355 Withdrawal Designs 356 Research Example 38—An A–B–A–B Design 357 Multiple Baseline Designs 357 Research Example 39—A Multiple Baseline Design 360 Changing Criterion Designs 360 Research Example 40—A Changing Criterion Design 361 Alternating Treatments Designs 363 Research Example 41—An Alternating Treatments Design 363 Evaluating Single-Subject Designs 365 Case Study Designs 367 Research Example 42—A Case Study 368 Box 12.3: CLASSIC STUDIES—The Mind of a Mnemonist 370 Evaluating Case Studies 371 Epilogue: What I Learned in My Research Methods Course 376 Appendix A Communicating the Results of Research in Psychology 379 Research Reports and APA-Style 379 General Guidelines 380 Writing Style 380 Using Numbers 380 Reducing Bias in Language 382 Avoiding Plagiarism 383 Main Sections of the Research Report 384 Presentations and Posters 395 Tips for Presenting a Paper 395 Tips for Presenting a Poster 395 Appendix B Answers to Selected End-of-Chapter Applications Exercises 399 Chapter 1. Scientific Thinking in Psychology 399 Chapter 2. Ethics in Psychological Research 400 Chapter 3. Developing Ideas for Research in Psychology 400 Chapter 4. Sampling, Measurement, and Hypothesis Testing 401 Chapter 5. Introduction to Experimental Research 402 Chapter 6. Methodological Control in Experimental Research 403 Chapter 7. Experimental Design I: Single-Factor Designs 405 Chapter 8. Experimental Design II: Factorial Designs 408 Chapter 9. Non-Experimental Design I: Survey Methods 410 Chapter 10. Non-Experimental Design II: Observational and Archival Methods 411 Chapter 11. Quasi-Experimental Designs and Applied Research 411 Chapter 12. Small N Designs 413 Appendix A. Communicating the Results of Research in Psychology 414 Glossary 416 References 430 Index 451