This document provides an overview of research methods in psychology. It discusses why research is important in psychology to obtain objective data rather than just relying on self-reports. It also discusses potential biases like hindsight bias, overconfidence, and the Barnum effect that can skew perceptions. The document defines key terminology used in research methods like applied vs basic research, control vs experimental groups, sampling, random assignment, hypotheses, and discusses an example of the Clever Hans effect where subtle cues can influence results.

1. Research Methods
It is actually way more exciting
than it sounds!!!!

2. Why do we have to learn this
stuff?
Psychology is first and foremost a science.
Thus it is based in research.

4. Who does what?
• Psychologist: studies patients, tests disorders, talks
and counsels
• Psychiatrist : works inside a branch of medicine dealing
with psychological disorders
• Provides medical (drug) treatment
• http://www.diffen.com/difference/Psychiatrist_vs_Psychologist

5. Why do we need research?
• Why? Because just asking people how/why
they felt and acted the way they did can be
misleading.
• Common sense isn’t all it is cracked up to be.

7. • Before we delve into how to do
research, you should be aware of
three hurdles that tend to skew our
logic.
1.Hindsight Bias
2.Overconfidence
3.The Barnum Effect

8. Hindsight Bias
• The tendency to
believe, after
learning the
outcome, that you
knew it all along.
Monday Morning
Quarterbacking!!!
After the Chris Brown/Rihanna
incident….my friend said she
knew Chris Brown was a violent
kid!!! Did she really?

10. Overconfidence
• We tend to think we
know more than we do.
• 82% of U.S. drivers consider
themselves to be in the top 30% of
their group in terms of safety.
• 81% of new business owners felt
they had an excellent chance of
their businesses succeeding. When
asked about the success of their
peers, the answer was only 39%.
(Now that's overconfidence!!!)

12. The Barnum Effect
• It is the tendency for
people to accept very
general or vague
characterizations of
themselves and take
them to be accurate.

14. Terminology

15. Applied V. Basic Research
• Applied Research
has clear, practical
applications.
• YOU CAN USE IT!!!
• Basic Research
explores questions
that you may be
curious about, but
not intended to be
immediately used.
Research on therapies for drug addicts has
a clear purpose.
Studying how
kissing changes
when you get
older is
interesting…but
that’s about it.

16. Who will be researched?
• Control Group
• Group that does
not receive the
test variable
• Experimental Group
• The group in
an experiment
that receives
the variable
being tested

17. Sampling
• Identify the
population you want
to study.
• The sample must be
representative of
the population you
want to study.
• GET A RANDOM
SAMPLE.
• Stratified Sampling

18. Random Assignment
• Once you have a
random sample,
randomly assigning
them into two groups
helps control for
confounding variables.
• Experimental Group v.
Control Group.
• Group Matching

19. Hypothesis
• Expresses a
relationship between
two variables.
• A variable is anything
that can vary among
participants in a study.
• Participating in class
leads to better grades
than not participating.

20. Clever Hans
• Clever Hans the horse could do simple math and spell out the answers to simple
questions. He wasn’t always correct, but he was most of the time.
• While a team of scientists, veterinarians, zoologists and circus trainers could not
figure out how Hans was correctly answer the questions, Oskar Pfungst, a
psychologist did. What did he discover?

21. Hans’ Secret
• While Hans could not do math or correctly answer questions
on his own, he was very perceptive.
• Hans was picking up on subtle body language given off by his
owner who asked the questions.
• When the owner was hidden from view, suddenly Hans could
not answer the questions correctly.
• How does this story relate to methodology?