Table of Contents
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
