978-0077825362 Chapter 1 Part 2

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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.

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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)

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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

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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Report research results. B Present the findings at a psychology

conference.

B Submit a written report of the study to a

psychology journal.

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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

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psychologists?