Looks like almost everyone is on board... so this week your posts will count as a grade. I look forward to the discussion. We'll take it easy for the first official blog assignment... only 5 questions to answer--and of course honor code rules apply to the blogosphere as well.
These 5 are due by midnight on Friday, Feb 2.
1)Describe why we can't rely on common sense when conducting research in psychology.
2)Explain the importance of theories, hypothesis, operational definitions, and replication in psychology.
3)What is the purpose of descriptive research? Describe the three types of descriptive research and their purposes.
4)Give an example of a study that would have a positive correlation. Give an example of a study that would have a negative correlation.
5)Explain the role and importance of an experimental and control group in experimental research.
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5 comments:
1. When conducting research in psychology, we cannot rely on common sense for two simple reasons:
Not all people in the world have a high level of such common sense
Sometimes psychological experiments can come to nullify certain aspects believed to be common sense.
2.Theories are important to psychology because "by organizing isolated facts, a theory simplifies things.
A hypothesis is important to psychology because "they give direction to research."
Operational definitions are signifigant in that they allow other scientists to replicate experiments.
Replication is important because it allows others to either nullify or prove scientifical findings valid.
3. The purpose of Descriptive research is allow us to after making observations about a group of subjects, explain why things happen the way they happen.
The three types of descriptive research are the case study (studying of one individual deeply to prove universal things), the survey (to look at many cases in a less deepening manner), and naturalistic observations (making observations about a subject in their natural environment.)
4. An experiment showing that test scoring increases as height increases would have a positive slope. An experiment showing that low levels of literacy provide higher levels of high school drop-outs would pose as negative correlation.
5. The purpose of an experimental group in an experiment is to show how subjects react as a result of manipulation of any factor, while the purpose of a control group is to show how subjects under ordinary conditions react.
1. We can't rely on commons sense because, unfortunately, that isn't something that we all possess, and due to the findings that have been produced in the past by psychological studies that prove wrong some of the thing we thought were common sense.
2. They are all means to get a desired effect out of and help us grow and develop, for lack of better wording, new ways to think about thinking.
3. Descriptive research helps to observe certain people or groups but it also helps us ask more questions and test more in depth on the correlations that we see.
4. An example of positive correlation is that of years of education to salary, and a negative correlation is that of hours of TV watched to that of GPA. (which can be seen at http://www.nvcc.edu/home/elanthier/methods/correlation.htm)
5. Control helps to set a base line that the changed experimental group can be compared to.
1. In Psychology we cannot rely on common sense when conducting research because everyone doesn't share same ability to reason with their common sense as others. Also, some principles in psychology go against what we define as "common sense", so this would pose as a problem.
2. Theories are explanations of natural occurrences based on observations. In Psychology, theories are important because they help organize events that have already been studied as well as lay a foundation for future studies in which we are able to expand and develop these original theories. Theories also help organize many observations on one subject into a small list of principles.
A hypothesis is (more or less) and educated guess into what you perceive is going to happen during an experiment. They are important to psychology because they help give the experimenter a slight idea to what is going occur when conducting the experiment.
Operational definitions are important to psychology because they allow all scientists to replicate experiments o theories with their own test subjects.
Replication is also important in psychology because by using different participants and different materials we are able to either validate or annul our findings.
3. Descriptive research describes observations or data acquired on the subject that is being studied. Descriptive research often leads people to draw conclusions on why they believe the subjects preformed the way that they did. 1) The Case Study-In a case study, one person is studied in great depth in the attempt to learn about widespread principles. 2) The Survey-In a survey, random members of a population are asked questions in order to learn about the feelings of the entire population. 3) Naturalistic Observation-During naturalistic observation, individuals are studied within their natural habitats and surroundings in order to learn what they are truly like in an everyday setting.
4. An example of a positive correlation would be the hours of studying to grades on a test. And an example of a negative correlation would be the time you spend brushing your teeth to the amount of plaque on them.
5. A control is the part of the experiment in which the treatment is withheld. Scientists use controls for comparison to the subject(s) that were exposed to the treatment(s).
1) Common sense is not very reliable when conducting research because it’s inconsistent. Depending on the researcher, common sense can vary. Research based on common sense is unscientific. It can’t be measured.
2) Theories are of importance in psychology because they set basis for future research. A researcher is capable of building on to theories to discover new facts and form a new theories.
Hypothesis are important in psychology because hypotheses open new doors for the expansion of the psychology science. Researchers can test a hypothesis in order prove or disprove theories. Operational definitions are significant because it allows other experimenters to test the hypothesis with the same variables used in the original experiment. In order to find scientific discoveries.
Replication is needed because the more a hypothesis is tested with different experimenters the larger the range of outcomes will be. Thus making a conclusion easier.
3) Descriptive research shows the quantitative aspect of an experiment. It also gives insight to why a certain event occurred. The three types of descriptive research: Case study; in-depth research on an individual to draw conclusions and collect data on events. Survey; a random questionnaire in a population to comprehend qualitative data of a certain subject. Naturalistic Observation; non-interference method of collecting data from a subject in its natural environment without disturbing or controlling the situation.
4) Positive: A person’s income compared to number of years of education.
Negative: Amount of time spent partying instead of studying compared to test scores.
5) The control group is the variable that is kept consistent throughout an experiment. It’s important because it shows the differences in the outcomes between the experimental group that is being manipulated. The experimental group is receiving the treatment during an experiment.
1. Common sense cannot be used for conducting research because people do not possess the same beliefs and judgments. It is also possible that the results of an experiment can go against common sense.
2. Theories are common ideas and conceptions tested in order to become fact or fiction- they are the basis of the experiment. The hypothesis is the experimenter's idea about the possible outcome of the experiment. The operational definition is for others to know how the experiment was conducted, so that it can be repeated or validated. Replication is the process of performing the experiment over so that it can be useful and valid. It is important that all these things are used in an experiment so that the data will be considered fact.
3. Descriptive research is the observation and description of the outcome of the experiment upon a population. The case study is when one person is studied to get a better idea of the whole group. Naturalistic observations are observations made under normal circumstances so that there is the least possible amount of interference in normal activity. A survey is a random sampling of a group, so that the data is the most accurate representation of the whole group.
4. A positive correlation would be: the more miles driven, the more gas used. A negative correlation would be: the more food eaten, the less hungry you become.
5. The experimental group is the group that is put under different conditions to observe the affects. The control group is used to see the normal response to normal conditions. It is important to have both of these groups so that there will be an accurate comparison.
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