Chapter 2: The Research Enterprise in Psychology

(Pags 31-37)

2.1 Looking for Laws: The Scientific Approach to

Behavior
The scientific approach assumes that events are governed by
some lawful order.
Goals of the Scientific Enterprise
There are 3 sets of interrelated goals: measurement and
description, understanding and prediction, and application
and control.
- Measurement and description: science’s commitment to
observation requires that researches figure out a way to
measure the phenomenon under study. The first goal of
psychology is to develop measurement techniques that make
it possible to describe behavior clearly and precisely.
- Understanding and prediction: scientists say that they
understand events when they can explain the reasons for
their occurrence, they create a hypothesis.
Hypothesis: statement about the relationship between 2 or
more variables.
Variables: any measurable conditions, events,
characteristics, or behaviors that are controlled or observed in
a study.
- Application and control: once the phenomenon is
understood, scientists can exert more control over it and
apply research findings to practical problems.
Psychologists use the facts gathered and construct theories.
Theory: system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of
observations.
Steps in Scientific Investigation
Step 1 - Formulate a Testable Hypothesis: scientific
hypothesis must be formulated precisely and the variables
must be clearly defined. Researchers achieve the clear
formulations by providing operational definitions of the
relevant variables.
Operational definition: actions or operations that will be
used to measure or control a variable. Establish precisely
what is meant by each variable in the context of a study.
Step 2 - Select the Research Method and Design the
Study: scientists choose a general method to do the research
and create detailed plans to execute it. They need to find
participants.
Participants: persons or animals whose behavior is
systematically observed in a study.
Step 3 – Collect the Data: commonly used techniques
include observation, questionnaires, interviews, psychological
tests, physiological recordings, and review of archival records.
Data collection techniques: procedures for making
empirical observations and measurements.
Step 4 – Analyze the Data and Draw Conclusions:
observations converted into numbers. Researches use
statistics to analyze their data and to see if their hypothesis
have been supported.
Step 5 – Report the Findings: the publication of research is
fundamental in any project. The final step is to write a
summary of the study and its findings.
Journal: periodical that publishes technical and scholarly
material.
Advantages of the Scientific Approach
Research methods: different approaches to the observation,
measurement, manipulation, and control of variables in
empirical studies.
(Pags 37-41)

2.2 Looking for Causes: Experimental Research

Experiment: research method in which the investigator
manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions
and observes whether any changes occur in a second variable
as a result.
Independent and Dependent Variables
The purpose of an experiment is to find out whether changes
in one variable cause changes in another variable. How the
independent variable affects or is related to the dependent
variable.
(x) Independent variable: condition or event that an
experimenter varies in order to see its impact on another
variable.
(y) Dependent variable: variable affected by manipulation
of the independent variable.
Experimental and Control Groups
In an experiment the investigator usually creates 2 groups of
subjects who are treated differently regarding the
independent variable.
Experimental group: subjects who receive some special
treatment regarding the independent variable.
Control group: similar subjects who don’t receive the special
treatment given to the experimental group.

Extraneous Variables
Experimenters concentrate on making sure that the
experimental and control groups are alike on a limited number
of variables that could have a bearing on the results of the
study. These variables are called extraneous variables.
Extraneous variables: any variables other than the
independent variable that seem likely to influence the
dependent variable in a specific study.
Confounding of variables: occurs when two variables are
linked in a way that makes it difficult to sort out their specific
effects.
When an extraneous variable is confounded with an
independent variable, a researcher cannot tell which is having
what effect on the dependent variable.
Experimenters use a variety of safeguards to control for
extraneous variables. Subjects are usually assigned to the
experimental and control groups randomly.
Random assignment: occurs when all subjects have an
equal chance of being assigned to any group or condition in
the study.
Variations in Designing Experiments
There are many variations in experiments rather than just
having one independent variable and one dependent variable.
Sometimes it is advantageous to use only one group of
subjects who serve as their own control group. The effects of
the independent variable are evaluated by exposing this
single group to 2 different conditions: an experimental
condition and a control condition.
It is also possible to manipulate more than one independent
variable or measure more than one dependent variable in a
single experiment. The main