Research and Diversity

• Why do research?

• Psychology is an empirical science which emphasizes or is based on observation & experiment.

The Scientific Method

• Theory• Hypothesis• Operational

Definition• Principle of

Falsifiability• Subjects• Selection Factor• Replication

Theory

• An organized system of assumptions and principles that purports to explain a specified set of phenomena and their interrelationships.

Hypothesis

• A statement that attempts to predict or to account for a set of phenomena; scientific hypotheses specify relationships among events or variables and are empirically tested.

Operational Definition

• A precise definition of a term in a hypothesis, which specifies the operations for observing and measuring the process or phenomenon being measured.

Principle of Falsifiability

• The principle that a scientific theory must make predictions that are specific enough to expose the theory to the possibility of disconfirmation; that is, the theory must predict not only what will happen, but also what will not happen.

Other Concepts

• Subjects

Participants in a scientific study

• Replication

The ability to repeat, reproduce or copy a study

• Selection Factor

The bias source that may occur when subjects are allowed to determine for themselves whether or not they will receive a treatment condition in a scientific study.

Samples & Populations: Representing Human Diversity

• Sample a segment of the population

• Population refers to a complete group of organisms or events

• Infer is to draw a conclusion

• Generalization extend from the particular to the general

• Random Sample each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected to participate

• Stratified Samples identified subgroups in the population are represented proportionately in the sample

• Volunteer Bias people who offer to participate in research studies differ

Methods of Observation

• The Case-Study Method

• The Survey Method

• The Testing Method

• The Naturalistic-Observation Method

• The Laboratory-Observation Method

• The Correlational Method

• The Experimental Method

The Case-Study Method

A carefully drawn biography that may be obtained through interviews, questionnaires, and psychological tests

The Survey MethodA method of scientific investigation in which a large sample of people is questioned about their attitudes or behavior

The Testing Method• Psychologists use

psychological tests like intelligence, aptitude, and personality, to measure various traits and characteristics among a population

Testing

• Standardize: To develop uniform procedures for giving and scoring a test.

• Norms: Established standards of performance.

• Reliability: Consistency of scores derived from a test.

• Validity: The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure.

Observations

• Naturalistic- Observation

A scientific method in which organisms are observed in their natural environments

• Laboratory-Observation

A method where a place is found in which theories, techniques, and methods are tested and demonstrated

The Correlational Method

• A scientific method that studies the relationships between variables

• Correlation coefficient is a number between +1.00 to -1.00 that expresses the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables

Types of Correlations

• Positive correlation: Increases in one variable are associated with increases in the other; decreases are likewise associated

• Negative correlation: Increases in one variable are associated with decreases in the other

The Experiment: Hunting for Causes

• Experimental Variables

• Experimental and Control Conditions

• Experimenter Effects

• Advantages and Limitations of Experiments

Experimental Variables

• Independent Variable: A variable that an experimenter manipulates.

• Dependent Variable: A variable than an experimenter predicts will be affected by manipulations of the independent variable.

Experimental Method

• Treatment refers to a condition received by participants so that its effects may be observed

• Experimental subjects receive the treatment

• Control subjects do not receive the experimental treatment but for whom all other conditions are comparable to those of experimental subjects

Experimental Method Cont.

• Placebo refers to a bogus treatment that has the appearance of being genuine

• Blind refers to unawareness as to whether or not one has received a treatment

• Double-blind refers to a study where neither the subjects nor the persons measuring results know who has received the treatment

Advantages and Limitations of Experiments

• Experiments allow conclusions about cause-effect relationships.

• Participants in experiments are not always representative of larger population.– Much psychology research is carried out using

colleges students as participants.

• Field Research: Descriptive or experimental research conducted in a natural setting outside the laboratory.

Different Research Methods

• Cross-Sectional Study: Subjects of different ages are compared at a given time.

• Longitudinal Study: Subjects are followed and periodically reassessed over a period of time.

From the Laboratory to the Real World

• Choosing the Best Explanation– Sometimes there are competing explanations

for the same events

• Judging the Result’s Importance– Statistical significance does not prove that a

result is important, only that it is reliable– Meta-analysis combines and analyzes data

from many studies

Unique Problems in Cross-Cultural Research

• Obtaining a representative sample

• Measurement leading to imposed etic (Berry, 1969)

• Equivalence in behavioral definition & research instruments (Lonner, 1979)

Factors Influencing Representative Samples

• Subject availability

• Willingness to participate

• Geographic Isolation

• Unavailability

Measurement

• The behavioral definition and measurement techniques of the researcher’s home culture may not transfer easily to another culture thereby leading to an imposed etic (Berry, 1969)

Equivalence

• Functional Equivalence– whether behavioral phenomenon serves the same purpose or intent

• Conceptual Equivalence– meanings associated with similar stimulus across different cultures

• Metric Equivalence– assumes numeric scales measure a concept equally (Problem e.g., I.Q.)

Linguistic/Translation Equivalence

• Researcher’s understanding of subject’s response & their understanding of researcher’s questions

• Culturally idiographic terms– words or terms unique to the culture

• Culturally isomorphic terms– words or terms in both cultures with different meanings

• E.g., out-of-sight, out-of-mind; view/intellect

Possible Solutions

• Use back translation

E.g., Paul’s Social Skills Scale

• Use an emic approach with observation and collaboration from members of the other group

E.g., AIDS education

S.E. Asian New Year Festival

Advantages of Cross-Cultural Research

• Determine whether a variable is etic or emic• Opportunities to assess the relative contribution

of culture to behavior• Increased range of concepts being studied• Opportunity to unconfound variables where they

don’t occur together in different cultures e.g., Oedipal Complex in Trobriand Islands (Malinowski, 1927)

• Increased sensitivity to context• Contribute to the understanding of potential

cognitive differences between cultures e.g., language & thought

Indigenous Approach to Research

• An emic approach whose starting points are concerns within a culture

• If the understanding of the emic analysis is appropriate, it may be compared to other cultures

Starting Points for Indigenous Research

• Researchers living in other countries note what is interesting or striking

• Researchers ask colleagues from other cultures to note what is interesting or striking about the researcher’s culture

• Note what current explanatory frameworks miss or what behaviors are de-emphasized in journals already

• Consider behavior concepts and practices all cultures must deal with e.g., production & care of children