CORNELL NOTES Name: Tarlit, Czarina Nicole W.

Aquino Yessamine Keziah

Topic: Velasco, Teosi Iya A. Atuban, Deborah Marcy P.
Chapter 2 | Psychological
Science Program: BS Psychology I Date: 9/14/2023

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. What role do genetics and environment play in shaping human behavior within the field of psychological
science?
2. How does the brain's neural architecture contribute to cognitive processes and emotional responses in
psychological science?
3. What ethical considerations and challenges arise in psychological research, and how do they impact the
validity and applicability of findings?

QUESTIONS / MAIN IDEAS

NOTES:
BASIC RESEARCH
 The “why” stage
 Research that answers fundamental questions about behavior.

BASIC VS APPLIED RESEARCH APPLIED RESEARCH

 The “how” stage
 Psychologists take what we've learned from basic research and apply it
to real-world problems. Imagine a psychologist working with students to
find better study techniques based on the principles discovered in basic
memory research.
OBSERVATION
 Psychologists start by closely observing a phenomenon. For instance,
they might notice that some students seem to perform better in exams
when they're less stressed.

QUESTIONS & HYPOTHESIS

 This leads to questions like "Why does stress affect performance?" They
form hypotheses, educated guesses like "Higher stress levels hinder
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD concentration."

EXPERIMENTATION & DATA

 To test these ideas, psychologists design experiments, perhaps
measuring the performance of students under different stress levels. They
collect data, which is the raw information.

ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION

 The data is then analyzed to draw conclusions. Do students perform
worse when stressed? The scientific method helps us find out.
OBSERVATION
 You might observe behaviors like nail-biting, restlessness, or increased
heart rate in people who are anxious.

QUESTIONS & HYPOTHESIS

 This prompts questions like "What causes anxiety?" and hypotheses
such as "Maybe it's related to genetic factors."
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
EXPERIMENTATION & DATA
 Psychologists then design experiments. They may compare the anxiety
levels of individuals with different genetic backgrounds and collect data
on their anxiety responses.

ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION

 By analyzing this data, they can draw conclusions about the relationship
between genetics and anxiety.
 LAWS
 These are like the building blocks. They describe specific, unchanging
relationships. For example, the law of reinforcement in behaviorism states
that rewarding behavior increases the likelihood of it happening again.
LAWS AND THEORIES AS
ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES THEORIES
 Theories are like the grand blueprints. They tie all the building blocks
together. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, for instance, offers a
comprehensive view of human behavior and development by integrating
various concepts like the id, ego, and superego.
THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS HYPOTHESIS
 Imagine you're curious about how stress affects memory. Your
hypothesis could be, "Increased stress levels might lead to poorer
memory recall."

TESTING
 You then test this idea through your research by designing experiments
or surveys to gather relevant data.

RESULTS & IMPLICATIONS

 After analyzing the results, you can draw conclusions. If your hypothesis
is supported, you've contributed to our understanding of how stress
impacts memory.
ETHICAL RESEARCH When Psychologists conduct ethical research, they consider several key
factors especially when they use humans as participants.
 Building trust
 Considering the rights of both parties
 Treating participants with respect, and concern
 Providing all necessary information about the research
 Allowing participants to ask questions about the procedure
 Making deception public after the experiment
 Debriefing participants about the research hypothesis and procedure
 And offering contact information for those interested in receiving the
results.
APA CODE OF ETHICS APA - AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

NO HARM
 The primary ethical concern for researchers.

INFORMED CONSENT
 A crucial document in research, ensuring participants have a clear
understanding of the study's procedures and rights.

CONFIDENTIALITY
 In research protecting participants' privacy involved. It means, the data
can be kept anonymously, not revealing or identifying information on
questionnaires. The researchers can track the data using only the unique
codes like student ID numbers

DECEPTION
 The practice of not fully informing the participants of the purpose of the
study or a practice where researchers intentionally mislead participants or
withhold information from them to study their behavior or reactions.

DEBRIEFING
 A procedure designed to fully explain the purposes and procedures of the
research and remove any harmful aftereffects of participation

ENSURING THAT RESEARCH IS ETHICAL

 Through a cost-benefit analysis, we determine the ethics of a research
project where the costs outweigh the benefits.
 COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
 Cost Benefit Analysis is important in research because it helps the
researchers to evaluate the feasibility of their projects, uncover hidden
costs and benefits, parse out critical information and make informed
decisions about whether to advance the projector not.

RESEARCH WITH ANIMALS

 The majority of psychological research using animals is now conducted
with rats, mice, and birds, but the use of other animals is decreasing.
 Psychologists ensure that individuals using animals under their
supervision receive proper instruction in research methods, care,
maintenance, and handling, as appropriate to their role.
 Psychologists make reasonable efforts to minimize discomfort, infection,
illness, and pain in animals.
 Psychologists use pain, stress, or privation procedures in animals when
alternative methods are unavailable and the goal is justified by its
scientific, educational, or applied value.
 Psychologists expedite the termination of an animal's life to minimize pain
and follow established procedures when it is appropriate.
RESEARCH DESIGN USED BY RESEARCH DESIGN
PSYCHOLOGISTS TO  Are the specific methods a researcher uses to collect, analyze, and
UNDERSTAND BEHVAIOR interpret data.

3 PRIMARY RESEARCH DESIGNS:

 Descriptive Research
 Correlational Research
 Eperimental Research

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
 Research that observes specific behaviors and records the observation.

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH
 This research aims to identify relationships among variables and predict
future events based on current knowledge.

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
 Research involves creating initial equivalence among participants in
multiple groups, manipulating an experience, and measuring its influence.

RESEARCH DESIGNS,
GOALS, ADVANTAGES &
DISADVANTAGES
 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
 A snapshot of the current thoughts, feelings, or behavior of individuals.
 This section reviews three types of descriptive research: Case studies,
Surveys, and Observations.

CASE STUDY
 It is the descriptive records of one or more individual’s experiences and
behavior.

PHINEAS CAGE
 A well-known case study is Phineas Gage, a man whose thoughts and
emotions were extensively studied after a tamping iron was blasted
through his skull in an accident.

SURVEY
 Questions that are administered through either an interview or a written
DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH questionnaire to get a picture of the beliefs or behaviors of a sample of
people of interest.

The following categories are used for individuals involved in a survey:

POPULATION
 All the people that the researcher wishes to know about.

SAMPLE
 All the people chosen from the population to participate in the research.

REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE
 Reflects the population on key variables such as gender, ethnicity, and
socio-economic status, and it is necessary to draw valid conclusions
about the population.
ADVANTAGES:
 It attempts to capture the complexity of everyday behavior.
 Provides a relatively complete understanding of what is currently
happening.
ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES OF DISADVANTAGES
RESEARCH  Although it allows us to get an idea of what is currently happening, it is
usually limited to static pictures.
 Not always transferable to other individuals in other situations, nor do
they tell us exactly why specific behaviors or events occurred.
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH THE GOAL OF EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
 To provide more definitive conclusions about the causal relationships
among the variables in the research hypothesis than is available from
correlational research.
 Is a study conducted with a scientific approach using two sets of
variables.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
 In an experiment is the causing variable that is created or manipulated by
the experimenter.

DEPENDENT VARIABLE
 In an experiment is a measured variable that is expected to be influenced
by the experimental manipulation.

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
 This suggests that the manipulated independent variable will cause
changes in the measured dependent variable.

A good experiment has at least two groups that are compared:

1. Experimental group
2. The Control group
 EXPERIMENTAL GROUP
 Receives the experimenters’ manipulation.

CONTROL GROUP
 Also called as Comparison Group. Receives either no manipulation or
nothing out of the ordinary.

RANDOM ASSIGNMENT
 Each participant is assigned to a group through a random process: such
as drawing numbers or using a random number table.
ADVANTAGES AND ADVANTAGES:
DISADVANTAGES OF  First, they guarantee that the Independent Variable occurs prior to the
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH measurement of the dependent variable. This eliminates the possibility of
reverse causation.
 Second, the influence of third variables is controlled, and thus eliminated,
by creating initial equivalence through randomly assigning the participants
in each of the study groups before the manipulation occurs.

DISADVANTAGES
 First, they are often conducted in laboratory situations rather than in the
everyday lives of people.
 Second, and more important, is that some of the most interesting and key
social variables cannot be experimentally manipulated because of both
practical and ethical concerns.
FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE VALIDITY
TO CREDIBLE RESEARCH  Good research is valid research meaning the conclusions drawn by the
researcher are legitimate.

RELIABILITY
 One threat to valid research is that the measured variables are not
reliable or consistent.

STATISTICAL RESEARCH
 The statistical methods that scientists use to test their research
hypotheses are based on probability estimates.

DOUBLE-BIND EXPERIMENTS
 To avoid experimenter bias, researchers frequently run experiments in
which the researchers are blind to the condition.
 In a double-blind experiment, both the researcher and the research
participants are unaware of which subjects are receiving the active
treatment.

REPLICATION
 These tests are conducted by different researchers using different
research designs, participants, and operational definitions of the
independent and dependent variables.

GENERALIZATION
 Refers to the extent to which relationships among conceptual variables
can be demonstrated in a wide variety of people and a wide variety of
manipulated or measured variables.

CROSS-CULTURAL REPLICATION
 External validity is observed if the same effects that have been found in
one culture are replicated in another culture.
CRITICALLY EVALUATING THE PEER REVIEWED RESEARCH
VALIDITY OF WEBSITES
The gold standard for validity.

You may also need to get information from other sources:

• The Internet
• Wikipedia
• Search engines, (Google or Yahoo! L)
• GoogleScholar
• Our library’s databases

Techniques for evaluating the validity of websites:

Ask first about the source of the information.

Is the domain a :
”com” (business)
”gov” (government)
”edu” (educational institution)
”org” (nonprofit) entity

SUMMARY
Psychological science is the academic discipline that explores and investigates the intricacies of human behavior
and mental processes. Rooted in the scientific method, this field employs systematic observation, experimentation,
and analysis to comprehend the various facets of the human mind. It encompasses a broad spectrum of topics,
ranging from individual cognition and emotion to social interactions and cultural influences.

Psychological scientists, often referred to as psychologists, strive to unravel the complexities of human thought,
emotion, and behavior through empirical research and theoretical frameworks. They may investigate cognitive
processes such as memory, perception, and problem-solving, as well as emotional experiences and their
physiological underpinnings. Additionally, psychological science delves into the study of individual differences,
exploring why people vary in personality, intelligence, and other traits.

The field is not confined to individual experiences; it also extends to the examination of social behavior and group
dynamics. Psychologists study how individuals interact with others, form relationships, and navigate societal
structures. They explore topics like prejudice, conformity, aggression, and prosocial behavior to gain insights into
the social forces that shape human interaction.

Furthermore, psychological science contributes to practical applications in various domains, including clinical
psychology, counseling, education, organizational psychology, and health psychology. It informs therapeutic
interventions, educational practices, and organizational strategies by providing evidence-based insights into human
behavior.

In essence, psychological science serves as a multifaceted lens through which we can better understand, predict,
and potentially influence the complexities of human thought and behavior, ultimately contributing to our knowledge
of what it means to be human.