Exploring Experimental Methods in Psychology

Aug 15, 2024

Defining Psychological Science: The Experimental Method

Introduction

  • Presenter: Mr. Sin
  • Topic: Defining psychological science through the experimental method
  • Key Focus: Understanding causal relationships in psychology

Causal Relationships

  • Definition: When one variable causes a change in another
  • Variables:
    • Independent Variable (IV): The cause
    • Dependent Variable (DV): The effect
  • Example:
    • Using a phone before bed (IV) impacts sleep quality (DV)

Experimental Control

  • Purpose: To ensure only the IV affects the DV
  • Method:
    • Control all variables except the IV
    • Reduce placebo effect

Placebo Effect

  • Definition: Change in participants' behavior due to expectations
  • Method to Combat:
    • Use of a placebo: Mimics the IV without the key component
    • Example:
      • Experimental group gets ibuprofen (IV)
      • Control group gets a sugar pill (placebo)

Confounding Variables

  • Definition: Variables other than the IV that may affect the DV
  • Impact: Can skew results if not controlled
  • Example: Different lunch sizes affecting headache experiment
  • Balance: More control reduces confounding variables but may affect natural behavior

Bias in Experiments

  • Importance: Must be reduced for accuracy
  • Methods:
    • Single-Blind Study: Participants unaware of their group
    • Double-Blind Study: Both participants and researchers unaware of group assignments

Random Assignment

  • Purpose: To ensure fair distribution into experimental and control groups
  • Difference from Random Selection:
    • Random Selection: Participants chosen randomly for the study
    • Random Assignment: Participants randomly assigned to groups

Quasi-Experiments

  • Used When: Random assignment is not ethical or possible
  • Limitation: Cannot determine cause and effect
  • Example: Studies on depression

Correlational Studies

  • Definition: Studies that examine relationships between variables
  • Methods:
    • Surveys, naturalistic observations, interviews, or past studies
  • Limitation: Do not prove cause and effect
  • Visualization: Data often represented in scatter plots

Conclusion

  • Review the scenario on the screen and practice answering questions
  • Engage with the community for further learning
  • Reminder to subscribe and like the video for more content

Additional Resources

  • Check out the Discord server for more help with AP Psychology
  • Stay connected with Mr. Sin online