Brief Introduction to PSY101

1. Introduction to Psychology 1
PSY-101

2. Referencing
All sources, referencing and citations
can be found in the provided book:
Psychology, A Concise Introduction
(Third Edition) by Richard A. Griggs.

3. Descriptive Methods
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01
Discussing the types of data
collection
02
Correlational Studies
How we differentiate between
relationships and cause and effect
03
Experimental Studies
How we test a relationship
04
Basic Statistics
How we analyze results

4. INTRODUCTION
• Psychology took its first step to becoming
scientific in 1883 when Wilhelm Wundt created
the first experimental laboratory to test cause
and effect.
• Today, psychology has endless techniques to
create new theory, discover relationships and
test cause and effect

5. Descriptive
Methods

6. Why Descriptive Methods?
Primarily we use descriptive methods to collect
data.
We use descriptive methods when we want to
speculate a relationship between two things, or
to speculate cause and effect.
When to use these methods
Descriptive Methods

7. To remain scientific, we rely on the principles of
descriptive statistics to collect data. The 3 main
methods are:
• Observational
• Case Studies
• Survey Research
It is key that all data collection is done objectively.
Types of Methods

8. Recording behaviour in a
natural environment without
the participants knowledge.
This is known as
Naturalistic Observation
but there are many different
types.
Recording information about
a participant in detail and
over a long period of time.
These are usually done in
longitudinal studies and in
rare medical cases.
The most popular method of
data collection, survey
research involves collecting
data from large sample
sizes, these include
interviews and
questionnaires.
Observational Case Studies Survey Research
Types of Methods

9. Observational
● Gives ecological valid data because of
the natural environment.
● Data can be inaccurate because of
researcher bias
Case Studies
● Gives rich, qualitative data that can give
explanations of rare cases.
● Takes a lot of resources such as time
and cannot be generalised to a
population
Survey Research
● Gives rich, quantitative data and can be
generalised to target populations.
● Participants may give false answers and
data may not be as in depth.
Pros and Cons

10. Correlational
Studies
02

11. • Correlational studies are popularly used to
measure if a relationship exists between 2
variables. It determines how well 1 variable can
predict the other.
• There are 3 types of correlations, positive
correlation, negative correlations and zero /
no correlations.
• The strength of the correlation is determined by
its coefficient, this varies between -1 and 1. The
closer to -1 the stronger the negative
correlation is and the closer to 1 the stronger
the positive correlation is.
Correlational Studies

12. Types of Correlations
Positive
This is when 2 variables
increase or decrease
together.
Negative
This is when 1 variable
increases and the other
decreases or when 1
variable decreases and
the other increases.
Zero / No
This is when variables do
not clearly interact with
each other.

13. Scatterplots are used
to represent a
correlation between 2
variables
Strength
A correlation will never be perfect
as no one can account for every
detail of an experiment or variable,
for example not every male who
eats 3 times a day will weigh 75kg.
Correlational Studies
Cons
It’s important to
remember, correlations
do not represent cause
and effect, only that a
relationship exists
Cause and Effect
For example, less self-esteem
increases depression (Negative
Correlation) but which causes which? A
relationship exists but we don’t know
which causes the other.
Scatterplots

14. Correlations Represented on
Scatterplots
Positive
Negative
Zero / No