Book Link 13 Video: Psychological Research
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At the end of this topic you should be able to:
- Recognize the scientific method in psychological research.
- Recognize and mitigate bias in experimentation.
- Define key concepts in psychological research.
Instructions
Watch this 11 minute video. You will learned answers about how we apply the scientific method to psychological research.
The video discusses case studies, naturalistic observation, surveys and interviews, and experimentation. Different kinds of bias in experimentation and how research practices help us avoid them are also included.
Key word definitions
Research and experimentation:
This involves conducting studies and tests to learn more about people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Intuition:
This refers to using our gut feelings or instinct to make decisions or judgments, often without conscious reasoning.
Hindsight bias:
This is the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it.
Overconfidence:
This is when we believe our judgments and knowledge are better than they actually are.
Operationalizing questions:
This means defining exactly what you are measuring to ensure that everyone understands the question in the same way.
Hypothesis:
A hypothesis is an educated guess about the relationship between two or more variables.
Replicable tests:
This refers to studies and experiments that can be repeated and produce the same results.
Case studies:
These involve in-depth investigations of individuals or small groups to explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Overgeneralizing:
This refers to making broad conclusions based on a small sample of information.
Naturalistic observations:
This involves observing people or animals in their natural environments.
Sampling bias:
This is when the sample of people used in a study is not representative of the larger population.
Random sampling:
This is a method for selecting a sample from a larger population, where each individual has an equal chance of being selected.
Correlation:
This refers to a mutual relationship or connection between two or more things.
Placebo:
This is a substance or treatment that has no therapeutic effect, often used as a control in experiments to test the effectiveness of a drug or treatment.
Summary
In the video, we learned about how the scientific method is applied to psychological research.
The different research methods such as case studies, naturalistic observation, surveys, and experiments were discussed, along with ways to avoid bias in experimentation. We also learned about key terms like intuition, hindsight bias, and placebo, and their relevance to psychological research. Overall, the video provided a clear understanding of how the scientific method is used to study people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in psychology.