Intro to research methods: psych is the scientific study of behavior & mental processes Research methods True Experiment: participants are randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. The independent variable is manipulated in the experimental condition but not in the control condition Strengths: can determine cause and effects Weaknesses: confounds may creep into experiments. Ethical problems may arise. Case studies: stories that illustrate a point Strength: generate hypotheses well Weakness: can't generalize for other people, can't determine cause and effects, observers sometimes lie Correlational studies: 2 variables measured in many people, the statistic "r" Strengths: generalize findings so we know how string the relationship is Weaknesses: can't determine causes and effects. Other research methods: Longitudinal and Cross-sectional studies Studies of families and genes: ex: increased risk of depression if its in the genes and added stresses of life. You can look at genes now (genome project). i.e. saratonin transfer gene--> deposition gene Survey research: asking people. Problems are: who is providing data? On 15% return survey, so its not the general public. Also, people lie in surveys Practical and Ethical problems Animal research Analogue research Focus on certain aspect. (ex: stress, can't cause natural stress, so shock treatment is administered) Quasi-experimental research Ethical guidelines: ex: shock machine. There are now certain standards that experiments must be approved by. Religious, scientific, political, cultural, etc. Behavior: observable actions Processes: internal experiences such as thinking & feeling which are unobservable Can't see thought processes but by observing behaviors you can infer what someone's thinking or feeling Development of modern psychology Aristotle suggested differences in behavior were based on differences in experiences (philosopher) Hippocrates: physiologist who thought different behaviors were result of different levels of body fluids Philosophers relied on logic to develop their explanations while physiologists relied on observations & experiments Wilhem Wundt: physiology professor in Germany. Established 1st psych lab Johns Hopkins was 1st U.S. psych lab Structural Approach: question of what should be studied Wundt wanted to determine what components went together to form an experience Ex: how colors and sensations went together to form an apple Similar to the approach of physicists Used method called introspection--> involves having individuals describe what they did when they were thinking Process was very subjective and unreliable Functional approach: question of how experiences helped humans adapt to situations? *influenced by Darwin* Studied how thinking helps humans survive Gestalt approach: the whole is different from or greater than the sum of the parts In German, means form or shape Only when we combine or separate elements does an experience take form or shape Comparisons Structuralists: wanted to take apart an experience and study its separate components Functionalists: wanted to learn what the experience did for the individual Gestaltists: wanted to learn how the components of an experience worked together to create it.