Introductory

Psychology
 Correlations
• Two variables relate
• Two ways: positive and
negative
• Also, no correlation (C1
and C2)
• correlation coefficient is
noted by a low case “r”
and ranges from -1 to 1

Most psychological research can be divided into two types: experimental and correlational research.
When scientists passively observe and measure phenomena it is called correlational research. Here, we
 Activity: Correlation Coefficient
Relationships Correlation Coefficient
 Time on social media & exam
scores
 Animal-lover & owning a cat
 Having a sweet tooth & number
r=.75, r= -.50, r= .20
of desserts consumed
Correlation: strength n importance:
Most people say if there’s a strong correlation it is more important, but it’s not always the case. For ex you’d
expect ibuprofen and pain relief, but that is not the case. The strength of correlation does not depict its
importance
What’s weak, medium, or strong depends on the paper and field of study.
Interpreting Research
(Correctly)
Research Hypothesis:
Standing desks increase productivity
Standing desks increase productivity:
What is a standing desk? How high? Same for everyone?
How do you measure productivity? What is productivity?

Survey Observation
Do standing desks increase
productivity?
3 Options:
1. Results Support Hypothesis
But what if….
Do standing desks increase
productivity?
3 Options:
1. Results Support Hypothesis
2. Results Contradict Hypothesis
a. Sitting > Standing
b. No difference between groups  third option

Results supports hypothesis: extraneous variables might have effected the study.

Traits and personality if distributed around a mean. Extraneous variables are any variables that you
are not intentionally studying in your experiment or test. When you run an experiment, you’re looking
to see if one variable (the independent variable) has an effect on another variable (the 
dependent variable). May compromise the validity of the experiment

Results contradict hypothesis: for the same reasons

No difference: no group did better than the other

 Null-Hypothesis Significance
Testing
H0 = No relationship vs. HA = There is a relationship
Note:The only thing the researcher knows is the finding… they never know the reality.

HA

H0

general rule: acceptable if there’s only a 5% chance that’s its a type 1 or 2 error.
Operationalizations
Video:
Number of violet acts bugs bunny vid: 12
When we do research we need to define and be clear on what we are measuring.
What is considered a violent act?
Is you don’t clarify what is operationalization it is hard to replicate.
is a process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon that is not directly 
measurable. Operationalization thus defines a fuzzy concept so as to make it clearly
distinguishable, measurable, and understandable by empirical observation
Gold Standards of Correlational
Research
• Random sampling
• Choose random, representative sample from population
• Blind researchers
• Don’t know purpose
• Thus they wont be bias
Correlation vs. Causation
• https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/vigorous-exercise-linked-
with-better-grades/
• Interpret this:
• Ice cream is linked with weight gain (Causation)
• Ice cream enhances risk of weight gain (lil more causation)
• Ice cream is related with weight gain (correlation)
• Ice cream consumption increases as weight increases (correlation)

To get causation: u have to manipulate only one variable

You must manipulate one variable AND THEN measure it
Thus, correlational studies cant determine causation. Some experimental studies can
 Correlation ≠ Causation

☹
☹ ️
️
No friends

Third Variable Problem ☹

More facebook = more sad
More sad=more facebook
️
No friends= more facebook and more sad ==> this is a third variable problem
 Interpreting Research
(Correctly)
Research Hypothesis:
Standing desks increase productivity

Standing Desks
(Experimental Group)

Typing Task
Random Assignment (Measurement)

Traditional, Seated Desks

(Control Group)
Variables
• Independent (the one you manipulate): seated vs. Standing
• Dependent (the thing you measure): productivity

Usually 3 groups: actual group, placebo group, and 1 group that does nothing
Confounding variables (things that undermine the fact to draw causal relationship): amount of
sleep, age, practice effect, 
 Experimental Research
 Confounding variables? variable that influences both the dependent variable and independent
variable. an “extra” variable that you didn't account for. They can ruin an experiment and give you
useless results. They are like extra independent variables that are having a hidden effect on your
dependent variables. this is a type of extraneous variable. should be controlled if possible. One way
to control extraneous variables is with random sampling. Random sampling does not eliminate any
extraneous variable, it only ensures it is equal between all groups. Only those of the extraneous
variables that effect your results are called confounding variables (that’s the difference between
em). Placebo effect is a type of confounding variable

 Participant demands affect outcomes? A related idea is participant demand. This occurs when
participants try to behave in a way they think the experimenter wants them to behave. Placebo
effects and participant demand often occur unintentionally

 Experimenter expectations influence outcomes? experimenter might perceive improvements that

are not actually there. Or researchers get funding and they might have pressure to find a certain
outcome.
Gold Standards of Experimental
Research
• Random sampling
• Random assignment
• Assign participants to conditions randomly
• Double-blind research
• Researchers don’t know condition assignment
• Participants don’t know condition assignment
However, we cant always apply random sampling due to ethical issues… this is where quasi-
experimental design comes in…. For ex: we cant randomly assign social-economical statuses
Qualitative experiments
3 Types:
• participant observation: the researcher embedding him- or herself into a
group in order to study its dynamics
• case studies: involves an intensive examination of specific individuals or
specific contexts. Sigmund Freud used this methodology. For ex: how brain
injury of only 1 participant effects happiness
• narrative analysis: centers around the study of stories and personal accounts
of people, groups, or cultures. rather than engaging with participants
directly, or quantifying their responses or behaviors, researchers will analyze
the themes, structure, and dialogue of each person’s narrative
 Quasi-Experimental Design
 No random assignment

 Different independent variables

 Problems: biggest problem is confounds… there may be other

confounds affecting the results
A quasi-experimental design is similar to experimental research, except that random
assignment to conditions is not used. Instead, we rely on existing group memberships. We
treat these as the independent variables, even though we don’t assign people to the
conditions and don’t manipulate the variables. As a result, with quasi-experimental
designs causal inference is more difficult. Cant draw the same conclusion compared to
regular experimental design cause not as good.
 Longitudinal
Time 1 Time 2
Designs
Time 3 Time 4 Time 5 Time 6 Time 7 Time 8

Repeated observations of the same variables over a period of time. It has

more than 2 observations
last a few weeks, some a few months, some a year or more
Track a trend. How changes take place.
One of the biggest problem is attrition, which means people stop coming
back as well people who just die. And the cost (very expensive)
 surveys
• A survey is a way of gathering information,
using old-fashioned questionnaires or the
Internet. Compared to a study conducted
in a psychology laboratory, surveys can
reach a larger number of participants at a
much lower cost. Although surveys are
typically used for correlational research,
this is not always the case. An experiment
can be carried out using surveys as well.

ethical considerations and resource

availability are crucial factors in
determining an appropriate
research design
Important questions:
• What are some key differences between experimental and
correlational research?
• Why might researchers sometimes use methods other than
experiments?
• How do surveys relate to correlational and experimental designs?