Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
15
A Research Example:
Media Violence and Aggression
! Exposure to media violence causes
Increase aggressive and violent thoughts, emotions, behaviors
Short- and long-term effects
! Consistent effects of exposure to violent media across:
Variety of research studies and methods
Samples of people
Types of media (e.g., TV, films, video games, Internet, music)
! Long-term effects of childhood exposure
Adult aggression
Physical assaults
Spouse abuse
! Research supports theories about exposure to media violence:
AActivates@ aggressive cognitions and physiological arousal
Models aggressive behaviors
Desensitization to violence
! Additional factors important
Characteristics of viewers (e.g., age)
Social environments (e.g., parental monitoring)
Media content (e.g., realism, consequences of violence)
! No one is immune to the effects of media violence.
Anderson, C. A., Berkowitz, L., Donnerstein, E., Huesmann, L. R., Johnson, J. D., Linz,
D., Malamuth, N. M., & Wartella, E. (2003). The influence of media violence on youth.
Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4, 81-110.
16
The Scientific Method
! Not a particular technique or method; an abstract concept
! Ways in which scientists ask questions
Logic and methods they use to gain answers
Two important aspects: Empirical approach, skeptical attitude
! Empirical approach
Observe behaviors directly
Experimentation (systematic control of observations)
17
Science in Context
Historical, Social-Cultural, and Moral Contexts
! Historical context
Increased scope of scientific psychology
Psychological organizations: APA, APS
Early 1900s: empirical approach
20th century: computer revolution
Shift: behaviorism to cognitive psychology
! Social and cultural context
Zeitgeist influences
Research questions
Support for research
Society=s acceptance of research findings
Potential for ethnocentric bias
! Moral context
High standards for integrity and ethical conduct
Scientists do not fabricate data, plagiarize, or selectively report
research findings
Ethical principles of APA
Evaluate research dilemmas involving risk and benefits, deception,
animal research
18
Ethnocentric Bias
! Attempt to understand behavior of individuals in a different culture
through framework or views of our own culture
! Be aware of cultural influences.
! Consider research questions that go against stereotypes.
! Ethnocentric bias influences how we interpret behavior.
Example: stereotypes based on clothing, hair style, body art
Class Discussion
Does ethnocentric bias influence how people of different age groups
interpret the dress (including body art) and behavior of teens and
young adults?
19
Thinking Like a Researcher
! Be skeptical.
Even for claims based on Apublished@ research
And claims presented in the media
! Strongest evidence
Converging evidence
All claims are probabilistic.
! Science and the legal system
Both make decisions based on evidence.
Small amount of evidence leads to suspicion.
Large amount of evidence is needed to convict.
20
Guidelines for Evaluating Reports
Of Psychological Research
! Don=t confuse pseudoscience or nonscience with science.
! Be skeptical.
! Scientists may disagree.
! Research is generally about averages.
! Go to the original source.
21
Getting Started Doing Research
! What should I study?
Review psychology journals, textbooks, and courses
Attend colloquia
Join a research team
! How to develop a research question and hypothesis to test in research?
Most important: Read reports of psychological research
22
Research Hypotheses
! A hypothesis (plural: hypotheses) is
A tentative explanation for a phenomenon
Stated in the form of a prediction together with an explanation for the
prediction
! Examples
Research participants who play violent video games are predicted to
behave more aggressively after the exposure than participants who
passively view television violence
because
video game participants= aggression is reinforced (rewarded) while
playing the game.
Research participants who play violent video games are predicted to
behave less aggressively after the exposure than participants who
passively view television violence
because
video game participants have the opportunity to release any
aggressive impulses; passive television viewers do not have the
opportunity during exposure.
23
The Multimethod Approach
to Psychological Research
! One scientific method
! Many psychology research questions and methods
! Different areas in psychology require multiple research methods
(e.g., clinical, cognitive, developmental, and social psychology).
! No single research method or technique can answer all of the different
questions.
! Multimethod approach
Use various research methodologies and measures of behavior
AToolbox@ with different strategies
No perfect method for answering questions
Each method or measure of behavior has flaws or may be incomplete
Multiple methods Afill in the gaps@
Advantage: gain more complete understanding of complex behavior
and mental processes
24
Steps of the Research Process
Step How?
Develop a research question. B Be aware of ethnocentric bias.
B Gain experience doing research.
B Read psychological literature.
Generate a research B Read theories on your topic.
hypothesis. B Consider personal experience, think of
exceptions, and notice inconsistencies in
previous research.
Form operational definitions. B Look to previous research to see how
others have defined the same constructs.
B Identify the variables you will examine.
Choose a research design. B Decide whether your research question
seeks to describe, allow prediction, or
identify causal relationships.
B Choose the appropriate research design
for your question.
Evaluate the ethical issues. B Identify the potential risks and benefits of
the research and the ways in which
participants’ welfare will be protected.
B Submit a proposal to an ethics review
committee.
B Seek permission from those in authority.
Collect and analyze data; B Get to know the data.
form conclusions. B Summarize the data.
B Confirm what the data reveal.
25
Report research results. B Present the findings at a psychology
conference.
B Submit a written report of the study to a
psychology journal.
26
Discussion Questions
! Have you heard or read media reports about psychological research?
Did you accept the report without questions? Why or why not?
Did you have enough information?
What do other scientists say about the topic?
Could the reporter be biased?
! Do you remember ever being skeptical about research presented in the
media?
Why were you skeptical?
What information would have made you less skeptical?
Did a finding seem Atoo good to be true@?
Did anyone have anything to gain through the report?
Have the findings been replicated (repeated)?
! What research topics in psychology interest you?
What relationships might exist among variables (factors) of interest to
you?
Can you make predictions regarding your variables?
Can you identify potential causes for the behavior or phenomenon?
! Does your cultural background influence your choice of topic and
hypotheses?
Would people of different backgrounds view your topic similarly?
Consider people with different age, sex, racial and socioeconomic
status than yourself. Might these characteristics make a difference for
your topic?
! What research topics and theories are currently popular among
27
psychologists?
