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In 1920, Francis Sumner became the first Black man to earn a PhD in psychology.
Sumner was an American leader in education reform and is commonly regarded as
the “Father of Black Psychology.”
Kenneth B. Clark is a Black psychologist whose research was cited by the United
States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), a landmark ruling that
outlawed the racial segregation of public schools.
Source: Kenneth Bancroft Clark, 1914-2005 Chicago Urban League
Records, University of Illinois at Chicago Library.
http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/u?/uic_cul,149
Considerations of diversity within the profession are also important in the mental
health area. In countries with heterogeneous populations, such as the United States
and Canada, many racial and ethnic minority groups have their own unique
languages, worldviews, lifestyles, experiences, and problems. Some researchers now
specialize in diagnosing and treating mental health problems in Asian American
groups (Lor, 2018). Others focus on Latinx populations (Velasco-Mondragon,
Jimenez, Palladino-Davis, Davis, & Escamilla-Cejudo, 2016). To be most helpful in
providing treatment to individuals from diverse populations, psychotherapists need to
understand the ways in which their clients are “culturally unique” (; Anders et al.,
2021; Cuellar & Paniagua, 2000).
SCIENTIFIC METHODS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Consider the methods, tools, types of participants, and ethical practices used to
study psychology and evaluate its scientific rigor.
Explain what scientific methods are and why they are important.
Evaluate whether it is better to study people in laboratories or in natural
settings.
Justify why psychologists devise subtle measures of behavior when they can
just ask people about themselves.
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Describe the various types of research designs.
Discuss the ethical concerns raised about using humans and animals in
research.
It happens all the time. You may find a report on the evening news, a Twitter or
Facebook feed, or an ad for a new product, and react with a mixture of curiosity and
skepticism. For example, you may have heard that cell phone use during class lowers
academic performance, that a full moon triggers bizarre behavior, that workaholics
work themselves to an early grave, that pornography incites sexual assault, that
young drivers are more likely to be involved in car accidents, and that girls start
talking before boys. Some of these claims are true; others are not. For this reason, it
is always best to keep a critical mind and look for the evidence.
Many of us are drawn to psychology because people are fascinating and the
subject matter is important. What unifies the entire discipline, however, is its
commitment to scientific methods. A basic goal in science is one that everyone
should model: critical thinking. Critical thinking is a skill, and it’s also an attitude.
Psychologists are trained to practice critical thinking. This means that we challenge
blind assumptions, distrust our intuition in favor of systematic observation, maintain a
healthy air of skepticism, revise our theories in the light of evidence, scrutinize
carefully the methods used to derive that evidence, and search for alternative
explanations.
critical thinking. The process of solving problems and making decisions through
a careful evaluation of evidence.
Psychology is a scientific endeavor aimed at the discovery of the principles of
human behavior that connects each and every one of us.
iStock.com/PeopleImages
The objective of scientific inquiry is to generate creative ideas and entertain these
ideas with an open mind—but, at the same time, to be cautious, to demand that all
claims be tested, and then to scrutinize the results. The “art” in science is to achieve
a balance among these competing objectives. It’s good to be creative but not
intellectually sloppy. Similarly, it’s good to be critical, even skeptical, but not closedminded. The key to thinking like a psychologist is learning how to walk these fine
lines. And that means knowing something about the methods of research used in
psychology.
The Research Process
The research process involves developing ideas and questions, and then
proceeding through a series of steps designed to answer the questions in a
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systematic manner. The first step is to develop a theory, or at least a loose set of
ideas. As discussed earlier, you already have many intuitive theories on
psychological issues. Everyone does. When you chose a college to attend, you may
have had to decide whether or not to leave your hometown—which possibly meant
leaving behind a significant other. What should you do? What effect would distance
have on your relationship? One friend might answer: “Absence makes the heart grow
fonder.” Those words of encouragement make sense, although a second friend might
say with equal certainty, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Just what you might expect. Two
contradictory assumptions, both derived from common sense.
Psychological theories are more formal than the hunches we come up with in
everyday conversation. A theory is an organized set of principles that describes,
predicts, and explains a phenomenon. We can derive a theory from logic, a world
event, a personal experience or an observation, another theory, a research finding, or
an accidental discovery. Some theories are broad and encompassing; others account
for only a thin slice of behavior. Some are simple; others contain a large number of
interrelated propositions.
theory. An organized set of principles that describes, predicts, and explains some
phenomenon.
The second step in the research process is to formulate from one’s theory specific
testable predictions, or hypotheses, about the relationship between two or more
variables. Researchers can then test these hypotheses to evaluate the theory as a
whole. In a typical study, psychologists would test one or more specific hypotheses
derived from the theory. If the results support the hypotheses, confidence in the
theory is increased. If the results fail to support the hypotheses, the theory as a whole
is revised, qualified, or discarded.
hypothesis. A specific testable prediction, often derived from a theory.
To formulate a testable hypothesis, researchers must provide operational
definitions that specify, in concrete “how-to” terms, the procedures needed to control
and measure the variables in the hypothesis. Over the years, for example,
psychologists have tried to determine why we overeat, which can lead to obesity. To
do so, researchers have conducted a variety of studies in which research participants
consume a variety of foods in a buffet, with the amount consumed operationally
defined as the number of calories consumed in these settings. It is possible, for
example, that we measure the weight of food (in grams)—however, some people eat
small amounts of high-calorie foods while others eat large amounts of low-calorie
foods. So, is it often best to operationally define food consumption by measuring
caloric intake, even if we can also operationally define it as weight of food
consumed? Another example is mood. How do we know if someone is happy or
unhappy? Well, one way to operationally define happiness is to give people a survey
where they report their happiness. This can be done on a scale from 1 (least happy)
to 5 (most happy). Another way to operationally define happiness is to measure
behaviors—count the number of times the person smiles or laughs within a certain
span of time. For how much time do you want to record smiles and laughs? The
number of smiles and laughs can be measured for 5, 15, 60, or even 90 minutes.
These specifications are all up to the researcher, and they also illustrate why
operational definitions are important. We need to know exactly how the researchers
decided to measure things like happiness and the amount of food consumed. Without
these details, we cannot replicate experiments as they were themselves conducted,
nor can a thorough critique of the experiment occur.
operational definition. A concrete definition of a research variable in terms of the
procedures needed to control and measure it.
Once researchers have a theory, a hypothesis, and an operational definition in
place, they are ready for the next and remaining steps—to design the study, collect
data, analyze the results, and draw a conclusion (illustrated in Figure 1.4). There is
no magic formula for determining how to test a hypothesis. In fact, as we’ll learn,
studies vary along at least three dimensions: (a) the setting in which observations are
made, (b) the ways in which psychological variables are measured, and (c) the types
of conclusions that can be drawn. Let’s examine each of these dimensions.
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Description
Figure 1.4 The Research Process
Research Settings
There are two types of settings in which people can be studied. Sometimes, data
are collected in a laboratory, usually located at a university, so that the environment
can be regulated and the participant observed carefully. Laboratory research offers
control, precision, and an opportunity to keep conditions uniform for different
participants. For example, bringing volunteers into a sleep lab enables the
psychologist to monitor their eye movements and brain waves, record the exact time
they fall asleep, and get dream reports the moment they awaken. Likewise, bringing a
caregiver and child into a special playroom equipped with hand-picked toys, two-way
mirrors, a hidden camera, and a microphone enables the psychologist to record every
word uttered and analyze every nuance of their interaction. To study the way juries
make decisions, potential jurors can be recruited to serve on mock juries so that the
researcher can videotape and analyze their deliberations.
laboratory research. Research conducted in an environment that can be
regulated and in which participants can be observed carefully.
Laboratory research is common in science. NASA physicists construct special
chambers to simulate weightlessness in space; chemists spark chemical reactions in
the test tube; botanists study plant growth in the greenhouse; and meteorologists use
wind tunnels to mimic atmospheric conditions. Similarly, psychologists often find it
necessary to simulate events in a laboratory. There is, however, a drawback. Can
someone sleep normally in a strange bed with metal electrodes pasted to the scalp?
Will a caregiver and child interact in the playroom the way they do at home? Do mock
juries reach verdicts the same way real juries do? Being an artificially constructed
world, the laboratory may at times elicit atypical behavior.
The alternative is field research conducted in real-world locations. The
psychologist interested in sleep and dreams may have participants report back
periodically on their experiences. The caregiver and child could be visited in their own
home. And jurors could be questioned about their decision-making process after a
trial is over. The setting chosen depends on the behavior to be measured. Indeed,
psychologists have observed people on city streets and in classrooms, factories,
offices, bars, subways, dormitories, elevators, and even public restrooms. To
understand behavior in real-world settings, there is no substitute for field research.
Unfortunately, the psychologists “out there” cannot control what happens to their
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participants or measure with precision all aspects of their experiences. That’s why the
most fruitful approach is to use both laboratory and field settings.
field research. Research conducted in real-world locations.
Psychological Measurements
Regardless of where observations are made, many different types of
measurements can be taken. These types fall into four categories: physiological
measures, self-reports, behavioral observations, and archival records. These four
types of observations, and the advantages and disadvantages of each, are
summarized in Table 1.3.
Table 1.3
Physiological Measures
Researchers can measure and compare the normal and disordered functioning of
participants’ physiological responses. A physiological measure is the recorded
physical response of the brain or body in a human or animal. For example,
researchers can measure stress and anxiety by measuring cortisol levels in a blood
sample or by measuring a galvanic skin response; they can measure sleep and
arousal using an electroencephalograph, which records brain activity, or by using an
electrooculograph, which monitors eye movements. Other commonly used
physiological measures include blood pressure (in systolic pressure over diastolic
pressure, or millimeters of mercury), heart rate (in number of beats per minute), or
body temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit).
physiological measure. A type of measurement in which researchers record
physical responses of the brain or body in a human or an animal.
The key advantage of physiological measures is that when careful collection
procedures are used—for example, checking caffeine consumption or resting heart
rate—these measures are unbiased. Physiological measures are particularly
unbiased when they are not under conscious control, such as heart rate, blood
pressure, body temperature, and skin conductance. Each physiological measure is
an involuntary process of the body. The key disadvantage is largely the expense and
training required to operate the equipment needed to make these measurements.
Self-report and behavioral measures, for example, are often more affordable options.
Self-Reports
Another way to assess a person’s thoughts, feelings, or behavior is to go right to
the source and ask. This is the method of self-report. Through interviews,
questionnaires, or diaries, people are asked to report on their behavior, perceptions,
beliefs, attitudes, and emotions. Self-reports are quick and easy to get. The
information, however, can be inaccurate and misleading, which is why an entire field,
called psychometrics, is dedicated to the development of survey and self-reports that
can be trusted.
self-report. A method of observation that involves asking people to describe their
own thoughts, feelings, or behavior.
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Self-reports can be used with a single item or question. For example, Cooke,
Emery, Brimelow, and Wollin (2016) had students complete a single-item measure for
mood both before and following a therapeutic massage therapy in which participants
rated their mood on a five-point Likert-type scale. Although single-item measures are
commonly used, multiple-item measures are typically preferred when measuring a
construct such as quality of life, depression, self-esteem, or disgust. A construct is a
variable that can’t be observed directly. For example, we can measure life satisfaction
indirectly using the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire
(Endicott, Nee, Harrison, & Blumenthal, 1993); we can measure depression indirectly
using the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Hamilton, 1960; Kalali et al.,
2002); we can measure self-esteem indirectly using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem
Scale (Rosenberg, 1965); and we can measure disgust indirectly using the Disgust
Propensity and Sensitivity Scale (Cavanagh & Davey, 2000). Each survey or measure
includes multiple items to measure a construct or behavior.
construct. A conceptual variable that is known to exist but cannot be observed
directly.
The key advantage of using a self-report measure is that it is easy and costeffective to administer and allows researchers to measure a lot of data in little time.
Participants can respond to dozens of restricted items in minutes, providing
researchers with a lot of data for a construct or behavior. However, the key
disadvantage is that self-report items are often inaccurate. Participants can
deliberately lie, be confused by the questions being asked, or simply guess if they do
not know how to respond to items in a self-report measure.
There are many reasons why participant self-reports can be unreliable. Consider
that people sometimes distort their responses in order to present themselves in a
favorable light. It’s hard to get anyone to admit to failures, mistakes, and
shortcomings. Studies show, for example, that people overestimate their own
contributions to a joint effort (Ross & Sicoly, 1979), report after the occurrence of an
event that they knew all along it would happen (Hawkins & Hastie, 1990), and hide
their feelings of prejudice (Crosby, Bromley, & Saxe, 1980). More than this, when
respondents try to be accurate, they are often limited in their ability to do so. Long
ago, Freud noted that people block certain thoughts and wishes from awareness. And
studies show that people often lack insight into the causes of their own behavior
(Nisbett & Wilson, 1977).
Self-report measures are common in psychology, sometimes even essential. As
you read through this book, however, you’ll find that researchers often go out of their
way to collect data in more subtle, indirect ways, when possible or practical.
Behavioral Observations
It is said that actions speak louder than words—and many researchers would
agree. Many years ago, the Nielsen ratings of television shows (which determine the
cost of advertising and success of programs) were derived from the results of surveys
and diary forms mailed to viewers. Realizing that these self-reports are flawed,
however, Nielsen Media Research later installed “people meters” in thousands of
sample households across the country to electronically record what viewers are
watching, when, and for how long. Similarly, Internet marketing companies today
measure the value of specific websites by monitoring the number of users who visit
the site, the amount of time spent there, and the frequency with which users click on
the advertising banners.
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Behavioral observation is critical to psychology. In this study, children are being
observed in a childcare setting.
Billy Hustace / Corbis / Getty
In psychology as well, the major alternative to self-reports is firsthand behavioral
observation. To animal researchers, the pressing of a metal bar, the running of a
maze, and the consumption of food pellets are important behaviors. Sucking, smiling,
crying, moving the eyes, and turning the head are significant sources of information
for those who study infants. As for those who study adults, psychologically relevant
behaviors range from the blink of an eye to the choice of a marital partner or career.
Even changes in internal states (such as respiration, heart rate, eye movements,
brain waves, hormone levels, muscle contractions, and white blood cell activity) can
be monitored with the use of special instruments.
behavioral observation. A form of research based on the firsthand observation
of a subject’s behavior.
Behavioral observation plays a particularly important role in the study of subjective
experience. One cannot crawl under a subject’s skin and literally see what is on the
individual’s mind. But researchers can try to infer various internal states from
behavior. It is usually (though not always) safe to assume, for example, that
recognition reveals the presence of a memory, that solving difficult problems reveals
intelligence, and that the person who breaks into a cold sweat and runs at the sight of
a snake has a fear of snakes.
Archival Records
Another way to collect information about people is to conduct archival research
that involves examining records of past activities instead of ongoing behavior.
Archival measures used in psychology include medical records, birth rates, literacy
rates, newspaper stories, sports statistics, photographs, absenteeism rates at work,
personal ads, and marriage and divorce records. A major advantage of these kinds of
measures is that by observing behavior secondhand, researchers can be sure that
they did not influence the participants by their presence. An obvious limitation is that
existing and available records of human activity are not always complete or detailed
enough to be useful.
archival research. A form of research that relies on existing records of past
behavior.
For example, Hehman, Graber, Hoffman, and Gaertner (2012) analyzed how two
U.S. presidents were portrayed by Internet media outlets to determine whether media
outlets would preferentially depict images of presidents that aligned with their political
leanings. The warmth and competence of the presidents depicted was evaluated
because these qualities are highly prized in leadership and can be conveyed
effectively in facial images. Images of the 43rd U.S. president (George W. Bush) and
44th U.S. president (Barack Obama) were collected in May 2010 from conservativeleaning (e.g., FOX.com, Townhall) and liberal-leaning (e.g., CNN.com, Huffington
Post) media outlets. In this study, the existing data were images of the presidents
from the Internet media outlets. Ratings of how each president was depicted were
compared against the source of the image. The results showed that media outlets
were in fact biased in their portrayal of presidents. Figure 1.5 provides a sample of
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images assessed. Overall, media outlets portrayed a president as warmer and more
competent in the images if the president shared the same political orientation as the
media outlet.
Description
Figure 1.5 Depictions of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama by
Media Sources
Source: Hehman, E., Graber, E. C., Hoffman, L. H., & Gaertner, S. L.
(2012). Warmth and competence: A content analysis of photographs
depicting American presidents. Psychology of Popular Media Culture,
1(1), 46-52. doi:10.1037/a0026513
Images are a sample of those analyzed for media bias.
Research Designs
Regardless of where and how the information is obtained, researchers use
statistics to summarize and then analyze the results. In some cases, statistical tests
are used simply to describe what happened in terms of averages, percentages,
frequencies, and other quantitative measures. In other cases, analyses are used to
test inferences about people in general and their behavior. The Appendix of this book
provides a closer look at the use of statistics in psychological research. For now, note
that the types of conclusions that are drawn are limited by the way a study is
designed. In particular, three types of designs are used in psychological research:
descriptive studies, correlational studies, and experiments.
Statistics. A branch of mathematics that is used for analyzing research data.
Descriptive Research
The first purpose of research is simply to describe a person, a group, or a
psychological phenomenon through systematic observation. This goal can be
achieved through case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observations.
Case Studies
Sometimes it is useful to study one or more individuals in great detail. Information
about a person can be obtained through tests, interviews, firsthand observation, and
biographical material such as diaries and letters written. Case studies are conducted
in the hope that an in-depth look at one individual will reveal something important
about people in general. The problem with case studies is that they are time
consuming and often are limited in their generality. To the extent that a subject is
atypical, the results may say little about the rest of us but can often be quite
informative for developing new theories about behavior.
case study. A type of research that involves making in-depth observations of an
individual person.
Nevertheless, case studies have played an influential role in psychology. Sigmund
Freud based his theory of personality on a handful of patients. Behaviorist John
Watson used a case study involving an infant to try to debunk psychoanalysis. Jean
Piaget formulated a theory of intellectual development by questioning his own
children. Neuroscientists gain insights into the workings of the brain by observing and
testing patients who have suffered brain damage. Cognitive psychologists learn about
memory from rare individuals who can retain enormous amounts of information.
Psycholinguists study language development by recording the speech utterances of
their own children over time. Intelligence researchers learn about human intellectual
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powers by studying child prodigies, chess masters, and other gifted individuals.
Social psychologists pick up clues about leadership by analyzing biographies of great
leaders. And clinical psychologists refine the techniques of psychotherapy through
their shared experiences with patients. When an individual comes along who is
exceptional in some way or when a psychological hypothesis can be answered only
through systematic, long-term observation, the case study provides a valuable
starting point.
Surveys
In contrast to the in-depth study of one individual, surveys describe an entire
population by looking at many cases. In a survey—which can be conducted in
person, over the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet—people can be asked
various questions about themselves. Surveys have become very popular in recent
years and tell us all sorts of things about what humans believe. For example, using
surveys on paranormal beliefs and fears, we learn that about 52 percent of
Americans believe places can be haunted by spirits, 35 percent believe aliens have
visited Earth, 25 percent believe that some people can move objects with their minds,
19 percent believe fortune-tellers and psychics can foresee the future, and 16 percent
believe that Bigfoot is a real creature (Chapman University Survey of American Fears
Wave 4, 2017). Common results from surveys on this topic are shown in Figure 1.6.
Surveys are a useful way to quickly gather these kinds of insights into what we
believe.
survey. A research method that involves interviewing or giving questionnaires to a
large number of people.
Description
Figure 1.6 Paranormal Beliefs
Surveys are sometimes necessary to describe psychological states that are
difficult to observe directly. For example, this method is a vital tool in epidemiology—
the study of the distribution of illnesses in a population. How many children are
awakened by nightmares? What percentage of college students are struck by test
anxiety? How common are depression, drug use, and suicide? These kinds of
questions are vital for determining the extent of a problem and knowing how to
allocate health care resources. Surveys are also useful for describing sexual
practices. With the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, it’s important to know
how sexually active people are, whether they use condoms, and whether some
segments of the population are more at risk than others. Today, surveys are so
common, and the results have such significant implications, that the methods (which,
after all, rely on self-report) should be scrutinized carefully. Two factors are
particularly important in this regard: who the respondents are and how the questions
are asked (Jones, Baxter, & Khanduja, 2013; Privitera, 2020).
epidemiology. The study of the distribution of illnesses in a population.
To describe a group, any group—males, females, college students, redheads,
Americans, or all registered voters—researchers select a subset of individuals. The
entire group is called the population; the subset of those questioned constitutes a
sample. For a survey to be accurate, the sample must be similar to or representative
of the population on key characteristics such as sex, gender, race, age, region,
income, ability, education, and cultural background. For example, if the research
question was about women in their 40s who had been diagnosed with breast cancer
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in the past five years, then a sample that includes women in their 30s as part of the
study would not be representative. Nor would a sample that included men, or women
in their 50s. Short of questioning everyone in the population, the best way to ensure
representativeness is to use a random sample, a method of selection in which
everyone who meets the criteria for the research question has an equal chance of
being chosen.
random sample. A method of selection in which everyone in a population has an
equal chance of being chosen.
Most research studies include only a select group of participants (a sample), and
not all participants who are members of a particular group of interest (a population).
In other words, most psychologists have limited access to the phenomena they study,
especially behavioral phenomena. For this reason, most science involves research in
which researchers select a portion of all members of a group (illustrated in Figure
1.7). Imagine, for example, trying to identify every person who has experienced exam
anxiety, depression, fatigue, happiness, or being in love. This is true for most
behaviors—the population of all people who exhibit those behaviors is likely too large,
making it more practical to select samples from which we can infer what is happening
in the population.
Description
Figure 1.7 Distinguishing Between Populations and Samples
istock.com/Iamnee
Survey researchers usually pick names arbitrarily from a list or recruit volunteers.
This seems like a reasonable strategy, but no sample is perfect. Not everyone has a
listed phone number, some people’s physical or email address is not up to date, and
some people who are called upon to participate whether in person, via social media,
or by phone may refuse to participate. Prior to the 1936 presidential election, pollsters
for the magazine Literary Digest mailed postcards to more than 10 million people
selected from telephone directories and automobile registration lists. The cards asked
the respondents to indicate who they intended to vote for. Based on the more than
two million cards that were returned, the Literary Digest predicted that Republican
Alfred Landon would defeat Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt in a landslide. In fact,
the opposite occurred. The problem: At the time, more registered Republicans than
Democrats owned telephones and automobiles, which skewed the poll results. For a
sample to accurately reflect its given population, it must be selected in a manner that
is random, not biased, and it must be representative of the population as a whole—
across all demographics, or groups to which people belong, such as by race,
ethnicity, class, sexuality, and gender.
A second factor to consider is the way in which survey questions are asked.
Studies show that the answers people give are influenced by the wording of the
questions, the context in which they are asked, and other extraneous factors
(Schwarz, 1999). The following examples illustrate the point. When survey
respondents were asked about “assisting the poor,” only 23 percent said that too
much money was being spent. Yet among those asked about “welfare,” 53 percent
gave this negative response (Geer, 2004).
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