PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

• Dr. Margaret Amankwah-Poku

• Email: [email protected]
• Office Hours: Tuesdays: 12 noon - 2:00pm

• Dr. Kwaku Oppong Asante

• Email: koppongasante@ug,edu.gh
• Office Hours: Thursdays: 10am - 12 noon

• Dr. John Dotse

• [email protected]
• Office Hours: Wednesdays: 12 noon - 2:00pm
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

Dr. Margaret Amankwah-Poku

Lecture 1

• Office Hours: Tuesday: 12noon - 2:00pm

• Email: [email protected]
What is experimental Psychology?

• The branch of psychology that studies the

processes of:
• sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking
about the world, through the use of controlled
experimentation

• Applying experimental method to the study of

behavior and its underlying processes
What is Experimental psychology?

• As a science, psychology attempts to:

• 1. understand
• 2. explain
• 3. predict and
• 4. Ultimately, improve the lives of people and the
world in which they live
What is Experimental psychology?

• The scientific method is the best approach for:

• 1. eliminating biases and opinions,
• 2. reaching a consensus about how behaviour
truly operates and
• 3. correcting errors
• It enable psychologists answer questions about
human behaviour in a more valid way than non-
scientific procedures
Origin of experimental psychology

• Psychology did not begin as a scientific discipline

until the late nineteenth century

• German physiologist Gustav Theodore Fechner

(1801-1887) was one of the first scientists to
study psychological processes
• He published his findings in 1860 in a book he
titled “Elements of Psychophysics”
Origin of experimental psychology

• In 1850, Herman von Helmholtz developed a

theory of how people perceive colour
• Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)- established the
first psychological laboratory in Leipzig,
Germany to study conscious experiences (Coon,
2001)

• Thus, the discovery of psychology as an

independent science is attributed to Wundt
• With the establishment of Wundt’s laboratory,
psychology made a transition from philosophy
to science (Benjamin, 2000)
What is an Experiment?

• When you decide to cook using a new recipe you

may say you are experimenting with this new
recipe.

• In the same way you may want to experiment with

a new route that leads to your house to find out if
is may be shorter

• Or eat food you have never tried before to

experiment and find out how that food tastes
What is an Experiment?
• The systematic manipulation of some factors in the
environment to observe the effect of this
manipulation on behaviour

• The process of scientifically confirming or

disconfirming a fact or principle

• A problem is investigated scientifically, by

manipulating certain variables to observe if it will
affect other variables, while holding other variables
constant
What is an Experiment?

• So,
• a. which variable are manipulated
• b. which are measured and
• c. which are controlled?
What is an Experiment?

• A psychological experiment has been defined

by Zimney (1961) as an:

• “objective observation of phenomena that are

made to occur in a strictly controlled situation
in which one or more factors are varied and the
others are kept constant”.
Terms in Zimney’s definition

• “Objective observation” making observations

void of personal biases

• Phenomena: an event or occurrence

• “Strictly controlled situation”: conducting an

experiment such that no other factors are
interfering with the conduct of the experiment
Terms in Zimney’s definition

• One or more factors are varied”; the

experimenter varies the independent variable to
observe its effect on the dependent variable

• “Others are kept constant”.

• Certain variables may not be of interest to an
experimenter but they can still affect the conduct
of an experiment.
Sources of acquiring knowledge
Sources of acquiring knowledge

• Charles Sanders Peirce (1877) an American

psychologist compared the scientific way of
knowing to other methods of knowing
• That is authority, tenacity and a priori
methods
Authority

• Represents an acceptance of information or facts

stated by a highly respected source or someone in
authority
• A trusted authority tells you what is true and what is
false
• Example- a child will believe what his/her parent tells
him because the child’s parent is an authority to him
• Provided nothing happens to raise doubts about the
competence of a authority this method offers the
greatest advantage of minimum effort
Tenacity

• Tenacity is the acceptance of a belief (Peirce, 1877)

based on the idea that “we have always known it to
be this way” (Ray 1997)
• Tenacity is based on
• a) superstition or
• b) habits
Tenacity
• Tenacity is based on superstition:
• It is the “acquisition and persistence of superstitions”
because superstitions represent beliefs that people
respond to as if they were truths (Christensen, 2007)
• Tenacity is based on habits:
• Habits lead people to continue believing something
they have always believed
• “This is how it is done because we have always done it
this way” (Christensen, 2007)
A priori method

• ‘A priori’ means knowledge that comes before

experience

• Something that is believed without prior study or

examination

• E.g. people once believed that the world was flat

Intuition
• This is not based on reasoning or inferring
• We form impressions about strangers within a few
seconds of meeting them by intuition (McBurney,
2001)

• Example- when you think someone is not

trustworthy the instant you meet them

• Predictions and descriptions that psychics make are

not based on any facts, inferences or known
reasoning, but on intuition (Christensen, 1997)
Rational method
• Knowledge is obtained through reasoning
• Thus, it is assumed that if the correct reasoning
process is used, valid knowledge can be
acquired

• Reasoning is a vital element in the scientific

process
• However, reasoning is used to arrive at
hypotheses which are tested for validity using
scientific method
Commonsense
• This is based on our own experiences and
perceptions of the world

• We develop explanations of the events that occur

around us mostly
• based on limited information and from what
our previous experience told us is true

• E.g.- Commonsense makes us believe that “birds

of the same feather flock together”, “

• Science also offers explanations to occurrences,

but subjected to rigorous scrutiny
Empiricism

• This is the acquisition of knowledge through

experience

• This approach says “if I have experienced

something, then it is valid and true”

• Thus, we tend to believe the information

acquired through our senses
• Empiricism is a vital element in science but it
refers to the collection of data through the use of
the scientific method
Science
• This method differs from the others in terms of
its characteristics of control, operational
definition and replication (Christensen, 2007)
• Ideas and beliefs are empirically tested using
specific testing procedure
• The best method of acquiring knowledge
because information yielded is
• dependable as it is ultimately based on
objectively observed evidence
• devoid of personal beliefs, perceptions,
biases, values, attitudes and emotions
PYSC 224: Experimental
Psychology

Dr. Margaret Amankwah-Poku

Lecture 2

• Office Hours: Tuesday: 12 noon - 2:00pm

• Email: [email protected]
The Scientific Methodology
Basic and Applied Research
Basic and Applied Research
• The aims of researches may vary
depending on the phenomena under study
(Bordens & Abbot, 2002)

• Some psychologist aim to discover general

laws that explain behaviours (e.g. human
development)- Basic research
• Others aim at investigating practical
problems (e.g. developing therapy to treat
eating disorder)- Applied research
Basic and Applied Research
1. Basic research
• In psychology, basic research is conducted to
confirm or disconfirm theoretical positions
• Psychologists conduct basic research in order
to obtain information about a phenomenon or
behaviour
• There is very little emphasis on the application
of the phenomenon to the real world
• E.g.- Gaining understanding into human
growth and development
Basic and Applied Research
2. Applied research
• Investigate a phenomena or behaviour in the
real world and apply findings to real world
problems
• It is used to answer a specific question that
has direct applications to the world

• It is problem focused because it seeks to

answer questions in the real world
• Example- motivation and productivity at
workplace, dietary self-care in diabetes etc.
Basic and Applied Research
• The difference between basic and applied
research is what they will be used for
• To further our knowledge and
information?
• To help us understand a real world
problem and solve it or
• Sometimes there is an overlap of basic and
applied research
• Example- The REBT theory and its
application in clinical practice
Theory
What is a Theory
• A theory is “a set of related statements that
explain a variety of occurrences”
(Kantowitz, Roediger III & Elmes, 2015
p.8)

• Theories are created and invented through

research

• Theory explains and predicts the

relationship between variable

• Theories guides research and organises its

ideas
What is a Theory
• During research, a researcher will provide a
theoretical framework for his/her study

• Theory becomes stronger as more supporting

evidence is gathered

• Theory has the capacity to generate new

research

• A good theory must suggests new hypotheses

that are capable of being tested empirically
Some Theories in Psychology
➢Theory of Reasoned Action
➢Health Belief Model
➢Stress Theory (Selye), etc.
➢Erikson's Psychosocial Developmental Theory
➢ Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory
➢Trait Theory of Personality
➢Humanistic Theory of Personality
What is a Hypothesis
What is a Hypothesis
• A formal statement of the expected
relationships among variables

• A prediction or tentative solution to a

problem

• A hypothesis should be one that predicts a

relationship between two or more variables

• It must be testable, simple and concise

• Must be stated so that it is capable of being
either refuted or confirmed
What is a Hypothesis

• Example- investigating the effects of alcohol

on recall of words learned
• Our hypothesis will represent predictions of
the relationship between alcohol and recall
• Tested by recording the rate of recall of
individuals who are administered alcohol and
the data is analysed
Types of hypothesis
• There are two types of hypothesis –
• 1. Null hypothesis- represents a statement of
no relationship among variables being
investigated

• E.g.- There will be no differences in illnesses

experience by children who are breast-fed and
children who are bottle-fed

• There will be no differences in the academic

performance of students who attend tutorials
and students who do nor attend tutorials
Types of hypothesis
• 2. The scientific hypothesis (alternate/ working/
researcher’s hypotheses)- represents the
predicted relationship among variables being
investigated

• E.g.- Children who are breast-fed will experience

less illnesses than children who are bottle-fed

• Students who attend tutorials will have good

academic performance than students who do
not attend tutorials
Types of Hypothesis
• Hypotheses that researchers set can be
• a. Simple- made up of just two variables
• b. Complex- made up of more than two variables
• Hypothesis can also be
• i. Directional
• ii. Non-directional
Nature of scientific methodology
Characteristics of scientific research

• Christensen (2007) identified three most

important characteristics

❑Control
❑Operational definition
❑Replication
Characteristics of scientific research

1. Control
• Eliminating any extraneous variable that
can affect an experiment
• The most important element in scientific
methodology
• It enables researchers identify the causes
of phenomena they investigate
Characteristics of scientific
research
2. Operational definition/ Operationalism

• “Definition of concepts by the operations

used to attain or measure them” (Christensen,
2007, p.21)

• It is a way of defining the variable to make

it measurable

• This is necessary to eliminate confusion in

communication
Characteristics of scientific research

• Example- Diabetes patients who have

been diagnosed for a longer period will
have better glycemic levels than patients
who have been diagnosed for a shorter
period

• What needs to be operationally defined?

Characteristics of scientific research

3. Replication
• The reproduction results obtained from a study
• Replication may result in one of two possible
outcomes

• Either the results are

• a) replicated or b) not replicated
❑a) Replicated- it gives additional assurance
that the results are reliable
Characteristics of scientific research

❑b) Not replicated- it is possible that

results of the previous study were due
to chance

❑Or replication experiment might have

altered some significant element in the
experiment
Steps in Scientific Methodology
Steps in Scientific Methodology
• Christensen (2007) identified five steps in
scientific methodology

1. Identify a problem and formulate a hypothesis

2. Design the research

3. Conduct the research
4. Test the hypothesis
5. Communicate the research results
Steps in Scientific Methodology
1. Identify a problem and formulate a
hypothesis
• Identify an issue that one wants to study by
observing everyday behaviour or reading
about previous research
• Refine and narrow the problem identified to
make it researchable

• Hypotheses are formulated

Steps in Scientific Methodology
2. Design the research
• Specify the independent (levels?) and
dependent variables and how extraneous
variables will be controlled

• The researcher must also decide on the

design for the research
• The researcher must decide,
❑which participants are to be tested,
where, when, with what instrument, etc.
Steps in Scientific Methodology
3. Conduct the research

• Making decisions concerning the actual

conduct of the experiment
• First, select research participants
• Then manipulate the independent variable
• Then measures the dependent variable
• Ensure that all extraneous variables are
controlled
Steps in Scientific Methodology
• The dependent variable is usually one of
three general types,
❑self-report measures
❑behavioural measures or
❑physiological measures
• Discuss these at tutorials
Steps in Scientific Methodology

4. Testing the hypothesis

• Data must be analysed and interpreted to

confirmed or refuted the hypotheses

• Statistical software such as SPSS can be

used
• Results must then be interpreted to
specify exactly what they mean
Steps in Scientific Methodology
5. Communicate the research results

• Results of the research must be

communicated to others

• Professional journals in a field e.g. Journal

of Clinical Psychology etc.

• Write a research report stating how the

research was conducted and what was
found
The effect of feedback on task performance
Identify a problem and formulate a
hypothesis

Design the research

Conduct the research

Test the hypothesis

Communicate the research results

Researchable & non researchable
topics

• Always ensure that your topic is

researchable
• Researchable topics/ questions are ones
that can be (empirical) investigated

• Good research questions should be

• Feasible, Clearly stated, Significant,
Ethical
Researchable & non researchable
topics
• They can be logically researched and tested
using the scientific method

• They state hypothesis that can be tested

rather than address an opinion

• Methodology is clear from the topic

• They allow for data to be collect and
analyzed
Researchable & non researchable
topics
• Examples:
• Which approaches taken by University of
Ghana will be the most effective ways to
ensure cleanliness on campus?

• What is the effect of knuckle-cracking on

the development of osteoarthritis?

• How do employers perceived first class

honours students?
Researchable & non researchable
topics
• Non-researchable problems include:
• Explanations of how to do something
• Vague propositions
• Address philosophical or ethical issues
• State or address opinions
• They cannot be resolved through data
collection and analysis
Non researchable topics

• What is the best way to learn to read?

• Are some people born bad?
• Can crime be prevented?
• Is democracy the best form of government?
• Should cell phone use while driving be
banned?
• Should sex education be taught in public
schools?
Making non researchable topics
researchable
• What is the best way to learn to read?
• At which age is it better to introduce
phonics- age 5, 6 or 7

• People are born bad

• Who commits more crime- poor people or
rich people?
• Crime can be prevented
• Getting youth employed will reduce crime
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

Dr. Margaret Amankwah-Poku

• Lecture 3
What is a True Experiment?
True experiment
• A study in which a researcher actively
manipulates a variable that participants are
exposed to

• Randomly assign the independent variable(s)

to the groups or participants involved in the
experiment
• Extraneous variable are controlled, while the
influence of the independent variable is
tested
True experiment
• In a true experiment, internal validity is
established because cause effect relationships
can be established
• The experimenter has complete control over the
experiment i.e. the who, what, when, where and
how of the conduct of the experiment

• A true experiment with a true independent

variable allows random assignment of subjects
to each condition
Research Settings
Research settings
• The two research settings open for psychosocial
research are the

• Laboratory and
• Field settings
• Experimental approach is used in both laboratory
setting and field settings
• Where the field experiment is strong, the
laboratory experiment is weak and vice versa
Research settings
• 1. Laboratory experiments
• A laboratory- any research setting that is
artificial, relative to the setting in which the
behaviour naturally occurs
• Laboratory experiment- a study conducted in
the laboratory where the researcher precisely
manipulates one or more variables and
controls the influence of nearly all of the
extraneous variables (Christensen, 2007)

• Milgram’s experiment
Research settings
2. Field Experiments
• An experimental research study conducted in a
real-life setting- in the participants natural
environment
• The researcher decides which variables to
manipulate, how to manipulate them and
when to manipulate them- but in a real-life
setting

• Thus, he cannot really control extraneous

variables- eg. background noise etc.
Types of Variables in
Experimentation
What is a Variable?
• Variables are the gears and cogs that make
experiments run (Kantowitz, Roediger III & Elmes, 2015)

• A variable is any event, situation, behaviour, or

individual characteristic that can be varied to
have at least two values (Cozby, 2001)

• Observable characteristics that vary among

individuals
• In every experiment the independent, dependent
and extraneous variables have to be identified
Types of variables

• Effective selection and manipulation of

variables makes the difference between a
good experiment and a poor one (Kantowitz,
Roediger III & Elmes, 2005)

• Variables can be categorized as

• Discrete or continuous
• Qualitative or quantitative
Types of Variables
1. Discrete variables
• Variables that are measured solely in whole
units or in categories
• Discrete variable have no intermediate values
possible (e.g. number of textbooks bought)

• Example- race, (black, white or mixed race) , or

sex (male or female), or state of wellbeing
(sick or well)

• A person can only belong to one of these

categories
Types of Variables
2. Continuous variables
• Variables that form a continuum and can be
represented by both whole and fractional
units
• It is not restricted to particular values
• Example- attitude towards work could be
extremely positive, positive or extremely
negative
Types of Variables
• Variables could also be qualitative or
quantitative
1. Qualitative variables
• Qualitative variables vary in kind
• Manipulating a quality or attribute of the
situation that participants are exposed to
• Example- the quality of room lighting system
(dim, bright)
Types of Variables

2. Quantitative variables
• Quantitative variables vary in amount
• Manipulating the amount of variable that
participants are exposed to
• Example- loudness is measured in decibels or
time could be measured in hours minutes or
seconds
Independent Variables, Dependent
Variables & Extraneous Variables
Independent variables
• The variable that is purposely changed
• Its values are chosen and set by the
experimenter (called the levels)
• The variable hypothesized to be one of the
causes of the presumed effect

• Example- increasing the number of tutorials

attended will increase academic performance
• Increasing the number of therapy sessions will
reduce the period of grieving for a loss
Independent variables

• Should be one that can be manipulated, there

should be variations in this variable by:

❑1. Presence versus absence technique-

research participants are exposed to two
levels i.e. treatment condition or no
treatment condition
❑Example- A drug, exercise, feedback,
motivation, learning strategy, psychotherapy,
etc.
Independent variables
❑ 2. Administering different amounts of the
independent variable to each of the several
groups

❑Example- 5 bottles, 2 bottles, 1 bottle and 0

bottle beer to four groups
❑3. administering different types of the
independent variable

❑Example- positive or negative feedback

❑type of psychotherapy- REBT, Motivational
interviewing etc.
Dependent Variables

• The dependent variable changes in response

to the independent variable
• The variable whose value is observed and
recorded

• Measures the influence or effect of the

independent variable

• Expected to change as a result of

manipulation of the independent variable
Extraneous variables
• Any variable other than the independent
variable that can influence the dependent
variable but is not of interest to the
experimenter

• A potential independent variable that is held

constant during an experiment
• If not controlled, a causal relationship cannot
be establish

• E.g.- The effects of instructional strategies on

student’s performance
Terms used in Experimentation
Terms used in Experimentation
1. Population
• The entire collection or group of people or
animals belonging to a particular category
(Coon 2001), that a researcher selects his
participants from

• The target population is made up of all of

the individuals of interest to the researcher

• The researcher selects some of them based

on a particular criteria to serve as the sample
Terms used in Experimentation
2. Sample

• People selected from a population to be

tested as research participant
• May be drawn from the population using
probability sampling or non-probability
sampling techniques

• The method used to select participants (i.e.

sampling technique) has implications for
generalising the research results
Terms used in Experimentation
• The sample size to be tested should be
specified

• The type of research design has implications

for the sample size

❑ Quantitative/ descriptive research studies

needs hundreds of participants
❑Experiments generally need a lot less
❑Qualitative research design may need even
lesser participants
Terms used in Experimentation

3. Participant

• People who collaborate in an experiment for

the purpose of allowing their behaviour to be
studied

• The phenomenon under study will determine

the type of participants to be studied

• Psychotherapy experiment- a group of

phobias or depressives or diabetes patients
etc.
Terms used in Experimentation
4. Experimental Group

• A group of participants in an experiment that

receives the treatment condition or some
amount of independent variable

• Also known as the treatment group

Terms used in Experimentation
5. Control Group

• A group of participants in an experiment that

do not receive any treatment or independent
variable

• They serves as a standard of comparison to

determine if the treatment conditions
produced any effect

• It is necessary that subjects are similar to

those in the experimental group
Terms used in Experimentation
6. Confederate

• A person in an experiment who has been

instructed to behave in ways that could affect
the responses of participants

• Confederates help administer the independent

variable
• Merely act as if they are participants to create a
situation to deceive the research participants
• Pseudo-subjects
Terms used in Experimentation
7. Randomization
• Ensue every member has an equal chance of
being assigned to any group
• Randomly selected participants should be
randomly assigned to the various groups in an
experiment

• Procedures such as tossing coins or using a

table of random numbers can be employed
• Note- At random does not mean haphazardly
Terms used in Experimentation
8. Internal Validity

• The extent to which a cause-effect

relationship can be established between an
independent and dependent variable

• An experiment lacks internal validity if

confounding variables are not controlled
Terms used in Experimentation
9. External Validity

• The extent to which the findings of a research

can be generalized to other situations or
populations, other than the population of
study
Terms used in Experimentation

10. Generalizability
• The extent to which the findings of a research
conducted on a sample of a population can be
extended to the population at large
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

Lecture 4a
Dealing with threats to validity and
reliability
Reliability in Experimentation
• Reliability refers to the consistency of a measure
• The consistency of response that individuals make to a
psychological assessment device (Schultz & Schultz,
2009)

• If an individual takes the same test on two different

days he/she should obtain the same or very similar
scores

• If two widely different scores, are obtained, then the

test will not be considered as reliable, because the
results obtained are inconsistent
Reliability in Experimentation
• Note that it is common to find some slight variation in scores
when a test is retaken
• There are several procedures to determine the reliability of a
test
• Test-retest method- a test is administered to the same
person on two different occasions and scores correlated
• Internal consistency- the consistency of people’s responses
across the items on a measure
• Inter-rater reliability- the extent to which different
researchers or observers are consistent in their judgments-
during observations, rating assessments etc.
Validity in Experimentation
• Validity simply refers to a researcher’s conclusion
being true/ correct
• It is also the extent to which the an assessment tool
measures what it says it measures
• If a test does not measure what it purports to, then it
is not valid
• This means that the results of such a test cannot be
used to predict behaviour
Validity in Experimentation

• There are different forms of validity

• Internal validity
• Construct validity
• External validity
• Statistical validity
Validity in Experimentation
Internal validity-

• It relates to the relationship between the independent

variable and the dependent variable

• The most basic type of validity

Construct validity-

• The extent to which the outcome of a study supports

the theory behind the study (McBurney, 2001)
Validity in Experimentation
Statistical validity-
• The extent to which the data obtained reflects the cause
effect relationship and not by accident
• This is similar to internal validity
External validity- The extent to which the finding of a study
can be generalized to other situations or populations
(McBurney, 2001)

• To guide against threat to internal validity a researcher

has to avoid the confounding of potential extraneous
variables
Extraneous Variables
Extraneous Variables
• 1. What are extraneous variables?
• 2. Types of extraneous variables
❑General extraneous variables
❑Participants and Experimenter variables
• 3. Controlling extraneous variables
❑a. Basic control techniques
❑b. Participant and Experimenter control
What are Extraneous variables?

• Any variable other than the independent variable

that can influence the dependent variable

• They reduce internal validity

• “The experimenter observes participants in a
specific environment and applies a measurement
procedure” (Heiman, 1995)
What are Extraneous variables?

• That is:
❑Experimenter variables
❑Participants variables
❑Environmental variables
❑Measurement variables
General Extraneous Variables
General extraneous variables
• Campbell & Stanley (1963) identified six general sources of
extraneous variables that act as threats to internal validity

• 1. History
• 2. Maturation
• 3. Instrumentation
• 4. Statistical regression
• 5. Selection Bias
• 6. Mortality / Attrition
History

• Events that take place between pre and post

measurements of the dependent variable, that can
affect the outcome of the experiment

• They become probable rival hypotheses concerning

the change that occurred between the pre and post
measurements
History

• Example: Effect of anger management on violent

secondary school children

• If aggressive behaviour decreases, can we conclude

that treatment has been effective?

• History effect- something else in the school

environment may have caused the decrease—e.g. less
overcrowding, an aggressive student arrested by the
police etc.
Maturation
• Changes in the internal conditions of the individual
due to the passage of time
• Changes are both biological and psychological
processes, e.g. age, learning, fatigue, boredom and
hunger

• These are not related to specific external events but

reside within the individual

• Maturation is a more critical problem in research

involving children
Maturation
• Example: Effect of anger management on violent
secondary school children

• If aggressive behaviour decreases, can we conclude

that treatment has been effective?

• Maturation effect: between observations,

participants could have grown out of aggressive
Instrumentation
• Changes that occur over time in the measurement of
the dependent variable

• Being in an experiment or being tested can influence

people’s performance in a later test or
administration of test

• Participants may learn how to take the tests thus,

later behaviour is changed by the earlier experience

• Example-You write a class test the first time and you

do not perform well but you perform better on a
second test
Instrumentation
• Second, some techniques used to measure the
dependent variables may be subject to change
during the course of a study
• Example- there may be unobserved changes in
criteria used by observers or in instrumentation
calibrations
• This is called instrument decay
Instrumentation

• Example: Effect of anger management on violent

secondary school students

• If aggressive behaviour decreases, can we conclude

that treatment has been effective?

• Testing effect: the act of assessing aggression may

have led to awareness of students’ own aggression
Statistical Regression

• This is the lowering of extremely high scores or

the raising of extremely low scores during post-
testing
• This may occur because participant were selected
for a study due to their extremely high or
extremely low score on some characteristics

• They are selected to represent the extremes of

behaviour etc.
Statistical Regression
• Thus, when they are retested, the scores tend to
change in the direction of the mean

• Extremely high scores are likely to become

lower, and extremely low scores are likely to
become higher

• Example- Extremely heavy smokers selected for

education to reduces smoking
Selection Bias
• Choosing participants for the various treatment
groups on the basis of different criteria
• Participants are selected from an existing natural
group resulting

• Selection can interact with maturation, history or

instrumentation
• Example- selection by maturation interaction can
occur when experimental groups selected are
maturing at different rates
Mortality/ Attrition

• The differential loss of participants from the various

comparison groups in an experiment
• This may produce differences in the groups that
cannot be attributed to experimental treatment
• Participants who drop out from the experiment may
be different from those who complete it
Participant and Experimenter Effects
Participant effect
• Examples of participant effect as extraneous
variables are:

❑Demand characteristic
❑Good participants tendency
❑Evaluation apprehension
❑Negative attitude
Participant effect

1. Demand characteristics
• Cues provided by the research context that
guides or biases participants’ behaviour in a
research

• Any variables in an experiment such as

• The instructions, experimenter, rumours or the
experimental setting from which participants
create their perception of the purpose of the
experiment
Participant effect

2. Good participants tendency

• The tendency of participants alter their

behaviour to act according to what they think
the experimenter wants

• Example- participants may deliberately feign a

naive attitude about a particular issue
Participant effect

3. Evaluation apprehension

• The tendency of participants to alter their

behaviour in order to appear as socially
desirable as possible

• Sometimes occur when participants think that

the experiment is measuring their competence
Participant effect

4. Negative attitude

• Some participants go to a laboratory with a

negative attitude to ruin an experiment

• Usually occurs when participants are required or

forced to be in an experiment
Experimenter Effect
Experimenter Effect

• Any change in participants’ performance that can

be attributed to the experimenter

• It includes
❑Experimenter attribute
❑Experimenter expectancies
Experimenter Effect
1. Experimenter Attributes

• Rosenthal (1966) proposed 3 categories of attributes

• a. Biosocial attributes: such as experimenter’s age, sex,
race and religion
• b. Psychosocial attributes: Experimenter’s anxiety level,
hostility, friendliness, social behaviour, intelligence, etc.

• c. Situational factors: Whether or not (1) the

experimenter and participants have had previous
contact, is a naïve or experienced one etc.
Experimenter Effect

2. Experimenter Expectancies/ Bias

• The influence of the experimenter’s expectations

regarding the outcome of an experiment

• The experimenter’s expectations can lead

him/her to behave unintentionally in ways that
will bias the results of the experiment in the
desired direction
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

Lecture 4b
Controlling Extraneous Variables
Controlling Extraneous Variables

• Basic Control Techniques

• Controlling Participant effects
• Controlling Experimenter effects
Basic Control Techniques

• Discovering problems with internal validity after

you have conducted a study is too late

• A poorly designed study cannot be fixed later on

• Extraneous variables cause changes in scores that
have nothing to do with the effect of the
independent variable/ treatment
Basic Control Techniques
• 1. Randomization
• This technique “equates groups of participants by ensuring
every member an equal chance of being assigned to any
group” (Christensen, 2007, pg. 264)

• The most important and basic of all the control methods

• Only technique for controlling unknown sources of
variation

• Any extraneous variables, are distributed amongst the

groups
• It allows internal validity to be established
Basic Control Techniques
2. Matching

• Using one of variety techniques to equating

participants on one or more variables (Christensen,
2007) that can confound an experiment

• Variables on which participants are matched

are controlled because constancy of influence is
attained

• E.g.- matching participants on intelligence

means the level of intelligence is held constant
Basic Control Techniques

• Matching can be done by a) holding variables

constant
• Controls for extraneous variable(s) by holding
them constant for all groups
• Participants in all the group will have the same
degree or type of extraneous variable
• Example- When studying the effect of group
cohesion on conformity, gender needs to be
controlled
Basic Control Techniques

• Matching can also be done by:

• b) building the extraneous variables into the
research design
• The extraneous variable is included in the study
as an independent variable

• c) equating participants on the extraneous

variable such as IQ, age, gender etc.
x
Matching is commonly used in case-control studies (for example, if
age and sex are the matching variables, then a 45 year old male
case is matched to a male control with same age).
4a. So you will match the subjects by holding gender constant
4b. This is because conformity varies with gender so study only
males or females or a mix in both groups
4c. E.g. Or the impact of social pressure on individual behaviour.
4d.E.g. Or people’s opinion about the poor economic situation in
Ghana- comparing rural and urban areas
Matching by holding confound variables constant (Produces
control by including in the study only participants with a given
amount or type of a confound variable)
xx
• 2Matching by building the Extraneous Variable into the design (Produces control
by including in the study the confounding variable as another independent variable,
isolating its effects from the other independent variables)
• Matching by equating participants (Equates participants on the variable or
variables to be controlled, e.g., gender, age)
• Example, if our sample of children for our TV violence study contains children of
various ages, we may decide that age is an extraneous variable that must be
equated across the groups.
• Thus, we begin by grouping the children in our sample according to age. We then
randomly assign them to the two groups according to age
Basic Control Techniques
3. Counterbalancing
• Used to control sequencing effects resulting from
repeated measures of the dependent variable
• When participants in an experiment serve in each
of the several experimental conditions

• The various treatments of the experiment are

assigned in a different order for different
participants to reduce the sequencing effect
Basic Control Techniques
• Can be complete counterbalancing or partial
counterbalancing

• Complete balancing provides every possible

ordering of treatment and assigns at least one
subject to each ordering

• It is practical for experiments with a small

number of treatments and participants

• Example- Six participants who are receiving 3

levels of an independent variable
Basic Control Techniques
Subjects Treatment Order
1 1, 2, 3
2 1, 3, 2

• 3 2, 1, 3
4 2, 3, 1
5 3, 1, 2
6 3, 2, 1
Basic Control Techniques
Partial Balancing
Subjects Treatment Order
1,2,3,4 1, 2, 3

• 5,6,7,8 1, 3, 2
9,10,11,12 2, 1, 3
13,14,15,16 2, 3, 1
17,18,19,20 3, 1, 2
21,22,23,24 3, 2, 1
Controlling Participant effects
Controlling Participant effects
1. Deception

• Participants think that the experiment is studying

one thing when in fact it is studying something
else

• The experimenter provides participants with a

hypothesis that is unrelated to the real
hypothesis
• E.g.- Milgram’s obedience experiment, Asch’s
conformity experiment
Controlling Participant effects

• 2. Single blind technique

• Participants do not know to which group they
have been assigned

• They may know about the goal of the experiment,

but do not know which group they are in
Controlling Participant effects

3. Test Unwitting participants

• Participants would not know that they are being

observed for an experiment
• They will not be aware that they are in a study
and will not alter their behaviour

• E.g- observing consumer behaviour in a

supermarket using a hidden camera
Controlling Experimenter Effects
Controlling Experimenter effects
1. Double Blind technique
• Neither the experimenter nor the participants is
aware of the treatment administered to the
participants

• Keeps the experimenter from unconsciously

influencing participants

• Someone else administers the treatment (e.g.

pills) so the experimenter does not know who was
administered what
Controlling Experimenter Effects

2. Use well-trained experimenters

• Use well-trained experimenters in order to control
experimenter effects

• Train experimenters to behave consistently with

all participants irrespective of the group they are
in
Controlling Experimenter Effects

3. Control of recording errors

• Misrecording of data can be minimized if the

observer remains aware of the necessity to
making careful observations in order to obtain
accurate data

• Multiple observers or data recorders could also be

used
Controlling Experimenter Effects

4. Consistency of instructions
• Where possible instructions given to participants
can be automate as well as the recording of their
responses for consistency

5.Controlling experimenter attributes

• Use the same experimenter in all the conditions

PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

Lecture 5
True Experimental Designs
True experimental research
designs

• Two basic elements are necessary in an

experimental design

❑ a control group to serve as a standard of

comparison
❑random assignment of participants to
groups to ensure they are equated
Types of True Experimental designs
• True Experimental designs include:
❑ 1. Pretest-Posttest Design
❑ 2. Posttest-Only Design
❑ a. Between-Participants designs
❑ b. Within-Participants designs
Pretest-Posttest design
• A researcher
❑first measures the dependent variable
(pretest)
❑administers the independent variable to
the experimental group and then
❑measures the dependent variable again
(posttest)
❑*Random assignment to groups
Pretest-Posttest design

Pretest: Measure Administer Posttest: Measure

Experimental
Dependent Independent Dependent
R Group
Variable Variable Variable
Weight Exercise Weight
Participants

R No Posttest: Measure

•.
Control Pretest: Measure
Group Independent Dependent
Dependent
Variable Variable
Variable
No Exercise Weight
Weight
Pretest-Posttest design

• Extraneous variables, history and maturation

variables are controlled
• Any difference produced in the experimental
group will also be produced in the control
group
Posttest-only design

• Independent variable is administered to only

the experimental group

• Dependent variable measures in both the

experimental and control groups

• Post-test scores of the two groups are

compared to assess the influence of the
independent variable
Posttest-only design

Measure
Experimental Administer
R Dependent Variable
Group Independent
Variable
Participants

. R
No Independent Measure
Control
Variable Dependent Variable
Group
Posttest-only design
• The exact structure of a final posttest-only
design depends on several factors

• 1. The number of independent variables

involved in the experiment

• Whether one or more independent

variables are being administered

• Example- The effect of alcohol on recall

will involves only one independent
variable
Posttest-only design

• 2. The number of levels of variation of each

independent variable
• How many levels will the experimenter have
• Example, exercise will there be 2 levels, 3
levels etc.
Posttest-only design
• 3. Whether the same or different participants are
to be tested in each condition

• Example- The effect of exercise on weight lose

with three levels of exercise ,15 mins, 30 mins and
60 mins

• Administer all 3 conditions to just one group of

participants, or to three different groups of
participants
Posttest-only design

• Same participants- the posttest-only design

is labelled a within-participants design

• Different participants- the posttest only

design is typically labelled a between-
participant design
Posttest-only design
• 1. Between-participants design

❑Two group between participant design

❑a. Simple randomised participants design
❑b. Factorial design

• 2. Within-participants design
Between-participant Posttest-Only
Design

• Different groups of participants are tested

• Participants in the experimental group are
different from those in the control group

• They are randomly assigned to the

experimental and control groups
Between-participant Posttest-Only
Design

• An experimenter can investigate

• `

• a. Only one independent variable on two

level- presence vs. absence variation

• b. Different levels of one independent

variable or

• c. Different types of independent variables

can also be administered
Between-participant Posttest-Only
Design

• Different group of participants are tested,

thus, the sequencing effect does not occur

• Also, participants are randomly assigned to

the various groups so the groups are equated

• Thus, participant variables that may interfere

with the effect of the independent variables
are controlled
Between-participant Posttest-Only
Design

• Different types of between-participants

designs

❑1. Two group between participant design

❑2. Simple randomized design/ Random
participants design

❑3. Factorial design

Two group between participant
design

Measure
Experimental Administer
R Dependent Variable
Group Independent
Variable
Participants

. R
Control No Independent Measure
Variable Dependent Variable
Group
Simple randomized participants
design
• The influence of several levels of variation of the
independent variable is investigated

• Between-participant design is extended to

include more than one level of the independent
variable

• Varying amounts of an independent variable is

given to different groups of participants
• Random assignment of participants
Simple randomized participants
design

• Example- the effect of Colour on taste

perception
• A single independent variable with more than
2 levels
• Three (3) different experimental groups
receiving different levels of exercise and one
control group
Simple randomized participants
design

• Effect of feedback on performance

• Group 1 No Feedback

• Group 2 Negative feedback

• Group 3 Positive Feedback

• Group 4 Sandwich Feedback

Simple randomized participants
design
Example 1

Control Group No practice

Exptal Grp 1 20 mins.

Exptal Grp 2 40 mins.

Exptal Grp 3 60 mins.

Factorial Design
• Sometimes psychological process may have
several causes that interact with each other

• Factorial design- a researcher studies two or

more independent variables at a time

• Determine their independent and interactive

effect

• Thus, several hypotheses can be test at the

same time
Factorial Design

• Example- The effect of diet and exercise on

weight

• The effect of practice and interference on

performance

• The effect of Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.) and

test anxiety on test performance

• All of the possible combinations of selected

values of each variable can be tested
Factorial Design

Exercise

Diet Walking Aerobics Combination

(W & A)
Normal NW NA NC

Healthy HW HA HC
Factorial Design

Interference

Practice Low Moderate High

Short (10m) SL SM SH

Mod (20m) ML MM MH

Long (30m) LL LM LH
Factorial Design

• Example- The effect of Belief and Food type on

emotional response

❑Beliefs = 2 levels
❑Food type = 3 levels
Factorial Design

Food type

Food High Fat High Fat Low

Belief Savoury Sweet Calorie
Rational R-HFSV R-HFSW R-LC

Irrational IR-HFSV IR-HFSW IR-LC

Factorial Design

Types of factorial design

• 1. Between participant factorial design

• 2. Within participant factorial design
• 3. Mixed factorial design
Factorial Design

• In a factorial design, two effects are

investigated
❑Main effect
❑Interaction effect
• 1. Main effect- the influence of one
independent variable on the dependent
variable
Factorial Design

Exercise

Diet Walking Aerobics Combination

(W & A)
Normal NW NA NC

Healthy HW HA HC
Factorial Design
• Example- the effect of Belief alone or food alone on
emotional response

• Effect of the following on emotional response

• Rational and irrational belief
• High fat savoury, high fat sweet, and low calorie
• Effect of the following on weight
• Normal and healthy diet
• Walking, aerobics and combination
Factorial Design
• 2. Interaction effect- the different variable
• Example- levels of the two independent
variables interacting to affect the
dependent
• How will participants’ eating of a normal or
healthy diet combined with the various
forms of exercise, affect their weight etc.

• Thus, 6 possible combinations of the two

independent variables or 6 interactional
effects can be tested
Factorial Design

Exercise

Diet Walking Aerobics Combination

(W & A)
Normal NW NA NC

Healthy HW HA HC
Factorial Design

• Advantage- the experimenter can examine

more than one hypothesis at the same time
• Interactive effects can be studied
• Economical- in terms of the number of
participants to be tested and the amount of
effort that the experimenter would expend

• The researcher can control variable that are

potentially confounding
Within-participant Posttest-only
Design
• The same participants participate in all the
experimental conditions

• The same participants are assessed

repeatedly on the dependent variable in all
the treatment groups

• Also called the repeated measures design,

because the same participants are measured
repeatedly
Within-participant Posttest-only
Design
• Example- Effect of Food type on emotional
response or

• Effect of belief on emotional response

• The experimenter will have only 1 group
• Or only one group will be primed with both
rational and irrational beliefs
Within-participant Posttest-only
Design
Participants Food type 1 Food type 2 Food type3

P1 HFSAV HFSW LC
P2 HFSAV HFSW LC
P3 HFSAV HFSW LC
P4 HFSAV HFSW LC
P5 HFSAV HFSW LC
….P36 HFSAV HFSW LC
Within-participant Posttest-only
Design
Participants Treatment 1 Treatment 2 Treatment 3

P1 10 mins 20 mins 30 mins

P2 10 mins 20 mins 30 mins
P3 10 mins 20 mins 30 mins
P4 10 mins 20 mins 30 mins
P5 10 mins 20 mins 30 mins
….P36 10 mins 20 mins 30 mins
Within-participant Posttest-only
Design
Treatment 1 Treatment 2 Treatment 3
10 mins 20 mins 30 mins

P1 P1 P1
P2 P2 P2
P3 P3 P3
P4 P4 P4
P5 P5 P5
….P36 ….P36 ….P36

Same participants for all conditions

Within-participant Posttest only
Design
• Advantage- The researcher need not worry
about creating equivalence among the
participants
• The same participants are tested in all the
treatment conditions
• Fewer participants are needed because the
same participants are tested repeatedly
Within-participant Posttest only
Design

• Major problem- Sequencing effect as a result of

the different conditions presented in a
particular sequence
• Sequencing effect is made up of
❑1. Order effect
❑2. Carryover effect
Within-participant Posttest only
Design
• Examples of order effect are order effects
associated with the passage of time which
may include:
❑a. practice effect- an improvement in
performance as a result of repeated
practice with a task

❑b. fatigue effect- a deterioration in

performance as participants become
bored, tired or distracted
Within-participant Posttest only
Design
• Carryover effect occur when a particular
treatment changes the behaviour observed in the
subsequent treatment

• The previous treatment has an effect on the

participants and this effect is carried over into
the next treatment
• Example- Experiment involving the
administration of alcohol
Within-participant Posttest only
Design

• Disadvantage- More demanding on the

participants because they may become tired
or bored

• Also, it may be difficult to find participants

who are willing to take part
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

• Lecture 6
Quasi Experiments
Quasi Experiment
• Quasi experiment- ‘an experiment that does not meet
all the requirements necessary for controlling the
influence of extraneous variable’ (Christensen, 2007, p. 330)

• Participant variables such as age, sex, etc. cannot be

experimentally manipulated

• Participants cannot be randomly assigned to a

particular condition

• Instead they are exposed to a condition because they

already qualify for that condition
Quasi Experiment

• The experimenter can only select instances that

satisfy different categories and study them

• Uses natural manipulations rather than

manipulations by the researcher

• ‘Manipulation’ could be naturally occurring attribute

or events such as ethnic group, age, sex, intelligence
etc.
Quasi Experiment
• Sometimes called ‘ex post facto’ or ‘after the fact’
experiments
• The experiment is conducted after the groups
have been formed
• The inability to control confounding variables
reduces the internal validity of a quasi experiment
but does not make it invalid
Quasi Experimental Designs
Quasi Experimental Designs

• Two types of quasi experimental designs

❑1. Non-equivalent control group design

❑2. Non-equivalent Pretest-posttest design

Non-equivalent control group design

• The performance of an experimental group is

compared with that of a non-equivalent control
group

• There is no random assignment of subjects thus,

the groups are not equivalent
Non-equivalent control group design

• Thus, difference between the groups becomes a

confounding variable

• This provides an alternative explanation for the

results obtained

• Testing non-equivalent groups of subjects

creates selection difference
Non-equivalent control group design

Experimental Independent Measure

Group Variable Dependent Variable
Lottery

Non-equivalent No Measure
Control Independent Dependent Variable
Group Variable
Non-equivalent control group design

• Example-The effect of stress management on

hypertensive patients

• An experimenter may recruit ‘willing’ hypertensive

patients who serve as the experimental group and
are administered stress management

• The experimenter later recruits more hypertensive

patients to serve as the control group
Non-equivalent control group design

• Thus, the two groups are not equated

• Differences found between the two groups, may be
as a result of the stress management or difference
between the two groups

• This design is similar to the true experiment

posttest-only
Non-equivalent pretest- posttest design

• An experimental and control group are pretested

and posttested

• However, the two groups are not equivalent

• Differences between the groups, may be as a
result of the initial difference or the effect of the
independent variable
Non-equivalent pretest- posttest design

Pretest: Administer Posttest: Measure

Experimental Measure Independent Dependent Variable
Group Dependent Variable
Variable

Non-equivalent Pretest: No Posttest: Measure

Control Measure Independent Dependent Variable
Group Dependent Variable
Variable
Comparing Quasi Experiments
and True Experiments
True Experiments and Quasi Experiments

• 1. Major difference- random assignment of

participant to experimental groups in true
experiments but not quasi experiments

• 2. Experimenter manipulates variables in

true experiments but observes categories of
participants in quasi experiments
True Experiments and Quasi Experiments

• 3. True experiments- Control permits the

establishment of cause effect relationship

• 4. Quasi experiment- cannot be determined

whether difference in behaviour is caused by the
independent variable or the difference between the
two groups

• Generally, true experiments are preferred to a quasi

experiment
Faulty Experimental Designs
Faulty Experiment
• Faulty experimental designs usually do not have a
control group and sometimes do not include a pretest

• There is internal invalidity as a result of not minimizing

extraneous variables

• Two types of faulty research designs

❑1. One group posttest-only design
❑2. One group pretest-posttest design
One Group Posttest-only design

• An experimental group is administered the

independent variable and then tested on the
dependent variable

• There is no comparison group or pretest measure

• At a minimum, participants should be pretested
• Also, an equivalent control group must be included
One Group Posttest-only design

Experimental Independent Posttest:

Group Variable Measure Dependent
(listen to Variable
music) (Mood)
One-Group Pretest-Posttest design
• The effect of an independent variable is inferred
from the pretest-posttest differences in a single
group

• This design is faulty because it does not take into

account extraneous variables such as history,
maturation, etc.

• Also, there is no control group to compare the

experimental group with
Pretest-Posttest design

Experimental Pretest: Administer Posttest:

Group Measure Independent Measure
Dependent Variable Dependent
Variable Variable
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

• Lecture 7
Non-Experimental Research Methods
Descriptive research methodology
• According to Heiman (1995) descriptive methods are
“used to
❑test hypotheses that a predicted relationship
exist
❑describe a behaviour or subject
❑discover relationships and
❑determine to predict behaviour” (p.49)
Descriptive research methodology
• It involves studying people as they lead their
lives in order to describe their behaviour and
mental processes

• Variables of interest are not manipulate

• No external variables are introduced
• Instead, behaviour and relationships are
observed without any influences

• It therefore does not try to find out cause–and-

effect relationships
Why Descriptive research methodology?
• This method is used in cases where
• The researcher cannot manipulate the independent
variable

• Studies where it is not practically possible to conduct

experiments

• Manipulation may cause physical or psychological

harm to participants

• Studies that do not require an experimental approach

• Studies are aimed at gaining more information
Types of descriptive research
methodology
• Case Study
• Archival Method
• Survey Method
• Correlational Research Method
• Naturalistic Observation
• Developmental Research Designs
• Qualitative Research
Case Study

• “A case study is typically done when a person has a

“particularly rare unusual or noteworthy
condition” (Cozby 2003 p. 96)

• It is an intensive description and analysis of a

single individual or a setting such as an
organization, school, neighbourhood, community
or event

• Also called the clinical method and very much

used by Clinical Psychologist
Case Study
• It focuses on all aspects of a single participant or
selected group of individuals

• Information is obtained from a variety of sources such

as interviews, documents, psychological test results,
observations, archival records etc.

• Example- a description of a patient by a clinical

psychologist

• Or a historical account of an event such as a

presidential election that did not go well, etc.
Case Study
Strengths
• Informational- provides an in-depth and
complete description of a case or a situation

• It allows rare and unusual problems or events to

be investigated, such as an unusual
psychological disorder

• Once a researcher is able to obtain information

about a ‘case’, he can develop ideas and
hypothesis for further testing
Case Study
Weaknesses
• It does not provide a control group for comparison
• A single case may be misleading or unrepresentative
and therefore the inability to generalize findings

• The researcher rely on peoples memories of their

past experiences which may not be trustworthy
because of distortions in memory

• Researcher’s subjective feeling may influence the

case study
Archival Method
• This involves examining already existing records
• This could be historical accounts of events or any
archival information in a written format

• E.g. court records, published research articles,

police crime reports, records from schools,
government agencies, hospitals etc.

• A researcher gains access to the archived

materials to help answer the research question
• No live participant is tested in archival studies
Archival Method
Strengths
• It allows access to phenomena that would
otherwise be unobservable

• Example- investigating the successes of past

presidents
Weaknesses
• The accuracy and appropriateness of the data
depends entirely on the people who created the
records
Archival Method
• The researcher conducts the study using data that
he/she had no part in collecting
• Most of such data are collected for non-scientific
reasons, and biases may have occurred during data
collection

• Records of interest may not be accessible or may

be unavailable to the general public

• Example- GTV records

Survey Method
• Collecting standardized information by
administering questionnaires or interviewing a
representative sample
• This method is used to obtain a limited amount of
information from a large group of individuals
(Kantowitz et al., 2015)

• A group of people are asked a series of carefully

worded questions
Survey Method
• Used to explore their characteristic, attitudes,
opinions, beliefs, demographics or other behaviour
in a natural setting
• Survey methods are used commonly in some area
of psychology than others
• Eg. in the areas of Industrial and organisational
psychology, clinical, social, and educational
psychology (Kantowitz et al., 2015)
• However, it is almost never used in the area of
cognitive psychology or psychophysics (Kantowitz et al.,
2015)
Survey Method
Strengths
• Surveys can be used to predict behaviour
• Information can be obtained from a large
number of people

• A great deal of information can be gathered

in a relatively short period of time
Survey Method

Weaknesses

• It is important to obtain a representative

sample, but this may be difficult

• People may give responses that may not be

true or may be inaccurate
Types of Survey

• Mail survey
• Telephone survey
• Group administration
• Face-to-face interview
• Internet survey
Mail Survey

• The researcher mails the questionnaire to

the participants to complete and mail back

• Most useful when a researcher needs to use

a larger sample and/ the questionnaire is
lengthy (Heimen 1995)

• A problem with this method is the low

“return rate”
Telephone Survey
• The researcher reads out the questions over
the phone and the participants answer

• Response rate is higher than the mail survey

• It can be time consuming when there is only
one interviewer

• Clarity of speech is necessary as well as a

good opening statement
Group Administration
• Administrating a questionnaire to a large
group of individuals at one time

• Participants may not treat the questionnaire

with the seriousness

• Participants may not have the sense of

confidentiality and this may affect their
response

• Some participants may feel compelled or

pressured to participate
Face-to-Face Interviews

• A face-to-face interaction with participant

• A structured interviews and/ unstructured
interviews could be used

• Structured interviews are not flexible, thus,

important information may not be captured

• Unstructured interview the researcher gains

more information but it is difficult to code and
analyse responses
Internet survey
• The researcher posts the questionnaire on the
internet and respondents answer them
electronically

• Open-ended and/ close-ended questions can be

posted

• Or the researcher solicits for potential

respondents on the internet and those who
express interest are sent questionnaires

• The researcher can reach a large number of

potential participants e.g. SurveyMonkey.com
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

• Lecture 8
Non-Experimental Research Methods
Correlational study
• Used to assess and specify the relationship
between two existing traits, behaviours or
events
• Measuring two or more variables and using
a statistical technique to determine the
degree of relationship that exist between
them
• This relationship is called correlation
coefficient
• Three types of correlations exist
Correlational study
• Positive correlation- an increase/ decrease
in the measure of one variable leads to an
increase/ decrease in the other variable
• Negative correlation- an increase in one
variable leads to a decrease in the other
variable
• Zero correlation- there is no relationship
between the two variables at all, one
variable cannot help in predicting the other
Correlational study

FIBQ Subscales Mean SD 1 2 3 4

1- Demand for success 2.89 0.82 _

belief
2.11
2- Self reproach belief 0.89 .40** _

3- Need for fairness belief 2.88 0.90 .31** .29** _

4- Desire for success belief 3.79 0.70 .42** .13 .31** _

Correlational study

Strengths
• It demonstrates the relationship that exist
between two variables

• It allows predictions to be made

• One can also determine whether the
relationship is positive or negative and the
magnitude of it
Correlational study

Weaknesses
• Cause-effect relationship cannot be
established
• Sometimes a relationship found may be
coincidental
Naturalistic Observation
• Participants are observed in their natural
environments without controlling or
manipulating variables

• Examples- observing children in a day care

centre, Christmas shoppers in a mall,
students in a lecture room or an examination
hall, patients at the clinic, animals and their
infants etc.

• The aim is to observe participants as they

behave naturally but this is not always
possible
Naturalistic Observation

• When participants are aware that they are being

observed, it may cause a change in their behaviour,
referred to as observer effect

• Observer effect can be minimized by concealing the

observer, using hidden cameras, or unobtrusive
observations

• E.g.- habituate participants to your presence when

using a video recorder, i.e. you let them get used to
you before beginning observations
Naturalistic Observation
Strengths
• Gives insight into how behaviour occurs in a
real world
• Unobtrusive observations allows for the
recording of ‘natural behaviours’, not tainted
by any artificial laboratory setting
• Thus, well conducted naturalistic
observations have extremely highly external
validity
Naturalistic Observation
Weaknesses
• It can be time consuming and expensive
• Sometimes getting the natural habitat of
participants may mean travelling long
distances. E.g. observing rural people or
animals in their habitat

• Observer bias- descriptions of behaviour are

highly susceptible to experimenter
expectations
Developmental Research Designs
• Involves evaluating changes in behaviour
that take place over time

• Thus, the major variable is age

• Developmental psychologist often study
age-related changes in individuals

• Example- Language development or

cognitive development in children
Developmental Research
Designs

• Two commonly used types are

❑Cross-sectional study
❑Longitudinal study
Cross-Sectional Study
• Participants of different ages are observed
• The researcher takes a cross-section of the
population, by selecting persons of different
ages, and tests them at only one point in time

• Example- Investigating how intelligence

varies with age by testing participants aged 5,
10, 15 and 20 years old to assess age-related
changes in behaviour
Cross-Sectional Study
Strength
• It can be conducted quickly and easily
• All age groups of interest can be tested at
the same time

Weakness
• Participants who are tested are of different
cohorts which can result in generational or
cohort effect due to differences in subject
history
Cross-Sectional Study

• Example- studying participants from 25, 45,

65 and 75 years groups
• The difference in age which the researcher
studies are confounded by differences in
subject history
• Thus, cross-sectional designs are generally
considered less effective than longitudinal
studies
Longitudinal Study
• A single group of participants is followed
over a period of time

• Measured repeatedly at selected time

intervals to note changes that occur over
time in the specified characteristics- e.g.
breastfeeding effects

• Example- giving an intelligence test to

participants at 5 years intervals over a 30 year
span
Longitudinal Study
Strengths
• There is no cohort effect as participants are of
the same cohort and thus will have the same
background

• Participants variables are kept reasonably

constant between the conditions

• Permits the researcher to see developmental

changes as it occurs over time

• E.g.- how language development progresses

Longitudinal Study
Weaknesses
• Cross-generational effects can occur
• Conclusions from a particular generation may not
apply to another generation
• Society and culture are constantly changing so a
longitudinal study that is done over a long period
of time may not generalize well to future
generations

• E.g.- Finding from a study conducted in 1970 to

1980 on the special bond between a mother and a
child
Longitudinal Study

• Carryover effect
• It can be time consuming as one group of
subjects are studied for a long period of time

• Subject mortality can also occur- when the

study is over a long period of time
Qualitative Research

• “An inquiry process of understanding a social

or human problem based on building a
complex, holistic picture formed with words
reporting detailed views of informants and
conducted in a natural setting” (Cresswell, 1994)

• “Any type of research that produces findings

not arrived at by statistical procedures or other
means of quantification” (Strauss and Corbin, 1998,
pp.10)
Qualitative Research

• It is used to:
• Better understand any phenomenon on
which little is known
• Gain new perspectives on things about which
much is already known
• Or to gain more in-depth information that
may be difficult to convey quantitatively
Qualitative Research

• Understand behaviour in a natural setting

• Understand a phenomenon from the
perspective of the research participant
• Understand the meanings people give to
their experience(Strauss & Corbin, 1990)
• Help us to understand the world in which we
live and why things are the way they are
Qualitative Research
• Creswell (1994) categorises it into five major
traditions
• The Biography
• Case-study
• Ethnography
• Grounded theory
• Phenomenology (e.g. Interpretative
Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach)
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

• Lecture 9
Proposal and Research Reports writing
How to do a Literature Search
Literature Search

• Literature search is a fundamental element of

any research work

• It is a systematic and detailed search of all types

of published information to obtain relevant
information on a specific topic

• To do a good research do a thorough review

• A thorough review of academic literature will
yield a successful research project
Literature Search

• Sources of information include academic texts,

journals long essays, dissertation/ thesis

• Others- Newspapers, archived information,

images, conference proceedings, audio and
video recordings etc.
• However, journals are the main source of
information for detailed literature searches for
your research project
Why do a Literature Search

• Review already existing information- theories,

current findings, critical opinions

• To form a bases (justification) for your own

research

• Knowing what has been done prevents

unnecessary duplication

• To enable you compared your research findings

with existing literature
Doing Literature Search
• 1. Do some background reading-
• Textbooks, journal articles and other materials

• 2. Use your title to identify search terms

• Identify as many key terminology associated with
the topic as possible

• E.g. Important authors, theories/concepts, key

findings, words in your title etc.

• Eg.- The effect of sight on perception of taste

• “Can the colour of a drink affect a person’s perception of its taste?
Literature Search

• 3. Identify the resources to search

• No one single source of information will contain
all the information you need
• From University of Ghana Balme library website,
you can access many different online resources
covering different subject areas

• Different types of databases- E.g. JSTOR,

Medline, CINAHL, EBSCOhost, Project Muse,
Science Direct, etc.
Literature Search
• 4. Search using the following search techniques
• Avoid using ‘simple’ or ‘basic’ search option
• Always use the advanced search
• a) Databases of journal articles- insert
asterisk (*) at the end of the ‘stem’ of a word
to automatically search for all endings for
that word stem
• Eg. Psychology, Behaviour, etc.
Literature Search

• b) Link terms together with either the

connecting word ‘and’ or the connecting
word ‘or’

• ‘and’ will narrow the search to find only

results that contain both terms

• ‘or’ will broaden the search to find any results

that contain either or both terms
Literature Search

• Example- cancer and patients- This will find

only the results that contain both the term
cancer and the term patients

• It would not find any results that just refer to

cancer on its own or just refer to patients
without any mention of cancer

• Example- cancer or patients will find any

results that just mentions cancer, any results
that just mentions patients AND any results
that mention both cancer and patients
Literature Search
• c) Variant spellings- Databases will only match on the
specific word entered
⁻ Use or between the two different spellings to find
either

• d) Finding phrases- If your search terms is a phrase (string of

words), insert your search terms in quotation marks “…,E.g.
“cancer patients”

• This way the words always appear immediately next to each

other in the search results

• e) Search current and up to date material- you can limit your

search to only articles published within a certain period
Literature Search

• 5. Organise your results

• Organise the materials you find in order of
priority

• You can create folders according to your core

materials and other materials

• Where core or important references are not

full text you can request Balme library to
order the full paper
Writing a Research Proposal
• A proposal outlines how a researcher intends to conduct a study
• It includes:
• Title
• Abstract/ executive summary( optional)
• Introduction (aims)
• Literature review (hypotheses)
• Proposed method (Participants, Instruments
/ Materials, design, procedure,
• Proposed analysis
• Expected outcome
Writing a Research Report
Title

• This summarizes the main idea of the research

• It should inform readers about the variables and
relationship being studied, so one can tell what
the whole study is about
• Avoid words that will not serve any useful
purpose
Title

• An Experimental Study of the Effect of Exercise on the

weight of Obese individuals

• Make the title eye catching, otherwise readers may skip

it

• According to the APA Publications Manual (2005), the

recommended title length for any title is 10 to 12 words
Names of Author(s) & Affiliation
• Have name of the author(s) and the institution(s) where
the study was conducted, immediately below the title
• The preferred form is to list first names, middle initial and
last name with no titles and degrees
• Affiliation is the organizations that provided the facilities
or support for the research- usually a University, College,
or an Institute

• A manuscript for publication will include the

corresponding author’s name and contact (email/ full
address)
Abstract
• This is a comprehensive summary of the whole
research report

• It introduces the report, allowing readers to decide

whether the report appears relevant to their own
interests
• It should include a sentence or two about each of
the four main sections of the whole report, and
should not be more than 120 words

• Word count may vary from journal to journal- some

may be 200, 250, 300 or 350 words etc.
Introduction

• Usually begins with a description of what is already

known about the phenomenon under study
(background information) and a statement of
purpose of the study

• It is funnel shaped- it is broad at the beginning and

narrow at the end, leading into a statement of the
variables to be investigated

• Then, follows the aims and relevance of the study

Introduction

• Also includes a literature review- a description of past

research and theory that are directly related to the
present study

• The final part states the rationale for the study and
the hypotheses to be tested

• Note- The literature review may be separated from

the introduction for students’ reports but not
manuscripts unless the latter specifies so
Method

• The second section of the report and the heart of

the report (McBurney, 2001)

• It tells the reader exactly how the study was

conducted

• It allows the reader to replicate the study

• It has the following subsections-
a. Participants or Subjects
• Describes the participates/ subjects that were tested
• Human participants- who they were, how many were
tested, their demographic variables and how they
were selected, assignment to groups, number who did
not complete the study etc.
• Animals subjects-mention species, the name of the
supplier and his/her location etc.
b. Materials or Apparatus
• This describes the materials or apparatus
used, what they were used to test and why
they were used

• For example, a memory drum, a one-way

mirror, a biofeedback machine, a
questionnaire, a lie detector, etc.

• If you used any equipment, provide its name,

model, the name of the manufacturer etc.
c. Design
• State the research method used
• If it is an experiment, you state the number of
independent variables used and their levels and the
dependent variables measured (2 x 3 factorial
design)

• State whether it is a repeated measures design etc.

• Also state which variables were randomized, which
were counterbalanced etc.
d. Procedure

• A step-by-step account of what both the

experimenter and participant did during the study

• Procedures used to obtain informed consent

should also be reported

• Method used for debriefing should be described

Results
• Reports the data that was collected and how it was
analysed (statistical test) and what the outcome of
the analysis was

• Present the results (usually in past tense) without

discussing your finding

• First, state which statistical test was used for the

various hypotheses, then present any descriptive
statistics, then present the inferential statistics
Discussion
• Interprets and evaluates the results obtained, and
the implications of the results obtained

• It interprets what the results mean and relates it to

the literature

• It also focuses on the theoretical contribution the

study makes to existing knowledge

• Then outlines the similarities and difference

between the findings and previous findings
Discussion

• First, you summarize the purpose of the study and

the expected outcome
• Then report whether or not the results obtained are
consistent with the expected outcomes (hypotheses)
• Then interpret the results, telling the reader what
you think they mean

• If you did not obtain the expected results, discuss

possible explanations
Discussion

• Discuss limitations or shortcomings of your study

• State any major and minor flaws in that could be
corrected in a subsequent study

• Example, state why a result cannot be

generalized
Discussion

• Also discuss implications of the research and

practical applications

• Then outline the direction that future

research can take

• End this section by providing a brief

conclusion that sums up your main findings
Reference

• Provides an accurate and complete list of all the

references cited in the report

• Do not omit any source cited or include any source that

was not cited

• APA style- Presented in alphabetical order with the

second and subsequent lines indented to the right

• Note that, the source of the information/ a journal may

determine how a reference is written
Appendices

• This include copies of ethics approvals, sample of

questionnaires used, list of stimulus words,
instructions, etc.
• Might be appropriate when necessary material
would be distracting in the main body of the report

• It is rarely provided in manuscripts submitted for

publication

• For students’ reports such as long essay or

dissertations you include appendices
APA referencing style

• You cannot do research without reading previous

researches and reviewing what has been done in the
past

• As we write out our proposals and/ final research

report, we borrow ideas from other researchers

• Thus, in our write-ups, we need to acknowledge that

obtained information from various sources
APA referencing style

• This is why we cite sources in our reports and reference

the sources as well
• There are different referencing styles,
• APA- American Psychological Association style
• MLA- Modern Language Association style
• Chicago
• Harvard
• Vancouver
• Psychologist use the APA referencing style
APA referencing style
• The American Psychological Association style is most
frequently used style in the social sciences, thus other
disciplines use this style as well
• The 6th edition of the APA manual is thus the Citation
Guide, that provides the general format for in-text (the
body of the report) and the reference page as well
• There are different formats for referencing the different
sources
• Thus, the source from which you obtain information will
determine how you will write the reference
APA referencing style

Types of Source

• How to cite a Book in APA

• How to cite a Journal Article in APA
• How to cite a Website in APA
• How to cite a Newspaper in APA
• How to cite a Magazine in APA
APA referencing style

Types of Source

• How to cite a Film in APA

• How to cite an Interview in APA
• How to cite a Lecture in APA
• How to cite a TV Show / Radio Broadcast in APA
• How to cite an Encyclopedia in APA
• How to cite a Photograph in APA
APA referencing style
Referencing books
• Aiken, L. S. & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple Regression: Testing and
Interpreting Interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
• Christensen, B.L. (2007). Experimental Methodology (10th ed.).
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
• Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural
Sciences
(2nded). Hillsdale, NJ:Eribaum
• Denmark, F. L & Paludi, M. (2008). Psychology of Women: Hand
Book of Issues and Theories (2nd ed). USA: Praeger Publications.

• Myers, A., & Hansen, C. (2012). Experimental Psychology (7th Ed.).

Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Inc.
APA referencing style
Referencing book chapter

• Haybron, D. M. (2008). Philosophy and the Science of Subjective

Well-Being. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The Science of Subjective
Well-Being (pp. 17-43). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Reference Edited book

• Cooke, D. J., & Philip, L. (2001). To treat or not to treat? An
empirical perspective. In C.R. Hollin (Ed.), Handbook of offender
assessment and treatment (pp. 3-15). Chichester: Wiley.

• Kestly, T. (2010). Group sandplay in elementary schools. In A. A.

Drewes, & C. E. Shaefer (Eds.), School-based play therapy (2nd ed.,
pp. 257-282). Hoboken, NJ: John Wileys & Sons.
APA referencing style
Referencing & Citing journal articles

One Author
• Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The development of markers for the big-five
factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 4(1), 26-42.

• In text citation: (Goldberg, 1992) or Goldberg (1992)

Two Authors
• Crossan, M. M. & Apaydin, M. (2010). A multi-dimensional framework
of organizational innovation: A systematic review of literature. Journal
of Management Studies, 47(6), 1154-1191.

• In text citation: (Crossan & Apaydin, 2010) or Crossan & Apaydin,

(2010)
APA referencing style
Referencing & Citing journal articles

Three Author
• Antonakis, J., Avolio, B. J. & Sivasubramaniam, N. (2003). Context
and leadership: an examination of the nine-factorful range
leadership theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire.
The Leadership Quarterly, 14, 261-295.

• In text citation for the first time: (Antonakis, Avolio &

Sivasubramaniam, 2003) or Antonakis, Avolio & Sivasubramaniam
(2003)

• Subsequent citations: (Antonakis et al., 2003) or Antonakis et al.,

(2003)
APA referencing style

Referencing & Citing journal articles

Five Authors
• Boehm, S., Schlenk, E. A., Funnell, M. M., Powers H., & Ronis, D. L.
(1997). Predictors of adherence to nutrition recommendations in people
with non- insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Educator, 23(2),
157-165.

• In text citation for the first time: (Boehm, Schlenk, Funnell, Powers &
Ronis, 1997)

• Subsequent citations: (Boehm et al., 1997) or Boehm et al., (1997)

APA referencing style

Referencing & Citing journal articles

Six or more Authors

• Davies, M. J., Heller, S., Skinner, T. C., Campbell, M. J., Carey, M. E., &
Cradock, S. (2008). Effectiveness of the diabetes education and self-
management for ongoing and newly diagnosed (DESMOND)
programme for people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: Cluster
randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal, 336, 491-495.

• In text citation for the first time and Subsequent citations : (Davies
et al., 2008) or Davies et al., (2008)

• Cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al., and the year.
APA referencing style
Referencing & Citing journal articles

Eight or more Authors

• Wolchik, S. A., West, S. G., Sandler, I. N., Tein, J., Coatsworth, D.,
Lengua, L., ... Griffin, W. A. (2000). An experimental evaluation of
theory-based mother and mother-child programs for children of
divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 843–856.

• In text citation for the first time and Subsequent citations : (Davies
et al., 2008) or Wolchik et al., (2000)

• Cite only the surname of the first author followed by et al., and the year.
APA referencing style
Referencing Newspaper
• Oblayo, G. (2011, June 23). The plight of Ghana. Graphic, p. 17.
• In-text citation: (Oblayo, 2011) or Oblayo, (2011)

Referencing Newspaper (online)

• Abekah, E. (2015, April 4). Why students fail in Maths. The Ghanaian
Times. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/
Mathematics/grades/6038621/
APA referencing style
Referencing oral report
• Smith, M. B. (1989, August 12). Interview by C. A. Kieser [Tape
recording]. President’s Oral History Project, American
Psychological Association. APA Archives, Washignton, DC

Referencing Film
• Preston, G. (Director/Producer). (2010). Home by Christmas
[Motion picture]. New Zealand: Gaylene Preston Production.
PYSC 224: Experimental Psychology

• Lecture 10
Ethics in psychological research
Ethics in psychological research
• Research ethics are “a set of guidelines to assist
the experimenter in conducting ethical research”
(Christensen 2007, p.128)

• A psychologist must:
• conduct a study in an ethical manner, without
causing harm to human participant

• Ensure that the dignity and welfare of

participants are maintained

• Ensure research is conducted according to the

APA regulations and standards
Ethics in psychological research
• Ethical principles in the conduct of research with
human participants was first published in 1953
(APA, 1953)

• Revised overtime and expanded to include

emerging issues, to reflect other areas of
research that have emerged such as biomedical
research (Christensen, 2007)

• Section 8 of the APA code of ethics 2002,

specifies ethical concerns governing research
and publication
Ethical Principles Of Psychologists
And Code Of Conduct
• Adopted August 21, 2002 and made effective
June 1, 2003
• In 2010 amendments were made to the
“Introduction and Applicability” section and
Standards 1.02 and 1.03- effective June 1, 2010
• In 2016 amendment were again made to the
Standard 3.04
• This was adopted August 3, 2016 and made
effective January 1, 2017
Ethical Principles Of Psychologists
And Code Of Conduct
• This contains the
• A. General Principles
• B. Ethical Standards
• General principles list 5 principles, A to E
• These discuss Beneficence and
Nonmaleficence, Fidelity and Responsibility,
Integrity, Justice and Respect for People’s and
Rights and Dignity
Ethical Principles Of Psychologists
And Code Of Conduct
• Ethical Standards
• 1. Resolving Ethical Issues
• 2. Competence
• 3. Human Relations
• 4. Privacy and Confidentiality
• 5. Advertising and Other Public Statements
Ethical Principles Of Psychologists
And Code Of Conduct
• Ethical Standards
• 6. Record Keeping and Fees
• 7. Education and Training
• 8. Research and Publication
• 9. Assessment
• 10. Therapy
8. Research and Publication

• 8.01 Institutional Approval

• 8.02 Informed Consent to Research
• 8.03 Informed Consent for Recording Voices
and Images in Research
• 8.04 Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate
Research Participants
• 8.05 Dispensing With Informed Consent for
Research
8. Research and Publication

• 8.06 Offering Inducements for Research

Participation
• 8.07 Deception in Research
• 8.08 Debriefing
• 8.09 Humane Care and Use of Animals in
Research
• 8.10 Reporting Research Results
8. Research and Publication

• 8.11 Plagiarism
• 8.12 Publication Credit
• 8.13 Duplicate Publication of Data
• 8.14 Sharing Research Data for Verification
• 8.15 Reviewers
8. Research and Publication

• 8.01 Institutional Approval

• When institutional approval is required,
psychologists provide accurate information
about their research proposals and obtain
approval prior to conducting the re- search
• They conduct the research in accordance with
the approved research protocol.
8. Research and Publication
• 8.02 Informed Consent to Research
• (a) When obtaining Informed Consent as, psychologists
inform participants about
• (1) the purpose of the research, expected duration, and
procedures;
• (2) their right to decline to participate and to withdraw
from the research once participation
• has begun;
• (3) the foreseeable consequences of
• declining or withdrawing
8. Research and Publication

• (4) reasonably foreseeable factors that may be

expected to influence their willingness to participate
such as potential risks, discomfort, or adverse effects;
• (5) any prospective research benefits;
• (6) limits of confidentiality;
• (7) incentives for participation; and
• (8) whom to contact for questions about the research
and research participants’ rights
8. Research and Publication

• (b) Psychologists conducting intervention

research involving the use of experimental
treatments clarify to participants at the outset
of the research
• (1) the experimental nature of the treatment;
• (2) the services that will or will not be available
to the control group(s) if appropriate;
• (3) the means by which assignment to
treatment and control groups will be made;
8. Research and Publication

• 4) available treatment alternatives if an individual

does not wish to participate in the research or wishes
to withdraw once a study has begun; and

• (5) compensation for or monetary costs of

participating including, if appropriate, whether
reimbursement from the participant or a third-party
payor will be sought
•
8. Research and Publication

• 8.03 Informed Consent for Recording Voices

and Images in Research
• Psychologists obtain informed consent from
research participants prior to recording their
voices or images for data collection unless
• (1) the research consists solely of naturalistic
observations in public places,
8. Research and Publication

• It is not anticipated that the recording will be

used in a manner that could cause personal
identification or harm, or
• (2) the research design includes deception, and
consent for the use of the recording is obtained
during debriefing
8. Research and Publication

• 8.04 Client/Patient, Student, and Subordinate

Research Participants
• (a) When psychologists conduct research with
clients/patients, students, or subordinates as
participants,
❖psychologists take steps to protect the
prospective participants from adverse
consequences of declining or withdrawing
from participation
8. Research and Publication

• (b) When research participation is a course

requirement or an opportunity for extra credit,
the prospective participant is given the choice
of equitable alternative activities
8. Research and Publication

• 8.05 Dispensing with Informed Consent for

Research
• Psychologists may dispense with informed
consent only
• (1) where research would not reasonably be
assumed to create distress or harm and
involves
• (a) the study of normal educational practices,
curricula, or classroom management methods
conducted in educational settings;
8. Research and Publication
• (b) only anonymous questionnaires, naturalistic
observations, or archival research for which
disclosure of responses would
❖ not place participants at risk of criminal or
civil liability or
❖damage their financial standing,
employability, or reputation, and
❖confidentiality is protected; or
8. Research and Publication

• (c) the study of factors related to job or

organization effectiveness conducted in
organizational settings for which there is
❖no risk to participants’ employability, and
confidentiality is protected or
• (2) where otherwise permitted by law or
federal or institutional regulations
8. Research and Publication
• 8.06 Offering Inducements for Research Participation
• (a) Psychologists make reasonable efforts to avoid
• offering excessive or inappropriate financial or other
inducements for research participation
❖when such inducements are likely to coerce
participation
• b) When offering professional services as an
inducement for research participation,
❖psychologists clarify the nature of the services, as
well as the risks, obligations, and limitations
8. Research and Publication
• 8.07 Deception in Research
• (a) Psychologists do not conduct a study involving
deception unless
❖they have determined that the use of deceptive
techniques is justified by the study’s significant
prospective scientific, educational, or applied
value and
❖that effective non-deceptive alternative
procedures are not feasible
8. Research and Publication

• b) Psychologists do not deceive prospective

participants about research that is reasonably
expected to cause physical pain or severe emotional
distress
8. Research and Publication

• (c) Psychologists explain any deception that is an

integral feature of the design and conduct of an
experiment to participants
❖as early as is feasible, preferably at the
conclusion of their participation,
❖but no later than at the conclusion of the data
collection, and
❖permit participants to withdraw their data
8. Research and Publication

• 8.08 Debriefing
• (a) Psychologists provide a prompt opportunity
for participants to obtain appropriate information
about the nature, results, and conclusions of the
research, and
❖they take reasonable steps to correct any
misconceptions that participants may have of
which the psychologists are aware
8. Research and Publication

• (b) If scientific or humane values justify delaying

or withholding this information, psychologists
take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of
harm
• (c) When psychologists become aware that
research procedures have harmed a participant,
they take reasonable steps to minimize the harm
8. Research and Publication
• 8.09 Humane Care and Use of Animals in
Research
• (a) Psychologists acquire, care for, use, and
dispose of animals in compliance with current
federal, state, and local laws and regulations,
and with professional standards

• * Obtain other information on 8.09 from the APA

code of Conduct
8. Research and Publication

• 8.10 Reporting Research Results

• (a) Psychologists do not fabricate data
• (b) If psychologists discover significant errors in
their published data,
❖they take reasonable steps to correct such
errors in a correction, retraction, erratum, or
other appropriate publication means
8. Research and Publication

• 8.11 Plagiarism
• Psychologists do not present portions of
another’s work or data as their own, even if the
other work or data source is cited occasionally
8. Research and Publication

• 8.12 Publication Credit

• (a) Psychologists take responsibility and credit, in
including authorship credit,
❖only for work they have actually performed or
❖to which they have substantially contributed
8. Research and Publication

• (b) Principal authorship and other publication

credits accurately reflect the relative scientific
or professional contributions of the individuals
involved, regardless of their relative status

• Get full detail form the APA Code of Conduct

including :

• 8.13 Duplicate Publication of Data

• 8.14 Sharing Research Data for Verification
• 8.15 Reviewers
THE END
BEST WISHES IN YOUR
EXAMS

Remember hardwork pays off …….. and so

does laziness!