Psychology Research Assignment
The purpose of the second written assignment is to extend your scientific thinking about psychological issues. We will ask you to read another research scenario and: (1) check it for factual mistakes or inconsistencies, (2) think about how the principles of scientific thinking and warning signs of pseudoscience apply to it, and (3) critique the research methods used in it.
Below, you will find threescenarios, one from each of three topics: Sensation and Perception; Consciousness; or Learning.Choose one of these scenarios.
For the first part of the written assignment, you should perform a fact check on the materials, finding 3 facts or definitions that are inconsistent with your lectures and/or the textbook. So, you need to base your responses on the information provided in lectures and/or Lilienfeld et al. (2014). Where the material in the scenario is inconsistent with the course material, you need to say what the inconsistent fact is, provide the correct information and the source from which the correct information was found – i.e. the textbook or the lecture notes.
For the second part of the written assignment, you should analyze the claims being made according to 1 of the 6 principles of scientific thinking and 1 of the 3 warning signs related to pseudoscientific claims (see Written Assignment 1 for a list of these). It is up to you to select the most relevant principles but in every case, if you think the scenario does a good job of following one of the principles, provide a detailed response as to why you think that. If you think the scenario does not do a good job of following one of the principles, provide a comprehensive answer and also say what would need to be done to make sure the scenario follows the principle.
For the third part of the written assignment,analyze the research scenario and the claims it makes in relation to 2 different aspects of the research methods discussed in class or in Lilienfeld et al. (2014) in Chapter 2. In the lecture and textbook, a number of other issues related to research methods have been discussed. Below are some examples of things you might look for in the scenarios. Remember though that not every point will relate to every scenario and you may even find other weaknesses in research design that are not listed below:
(1) Reactivity – refers to the often-social nature of data collection in psychology and how the act of observation might impact the data. In other words, is it possible that the participants in the study changed their behaviour because they knew that they were being observed? If participants react to being observed, then researchers may no longer be observing the kind of behaviour that they really wanted to observe.
(2) Social desirability bias – this refers to the possibility that people may not always tell the truth when asked questions, or may attempt to improve their performance on a task to impress the experimenter. In other words, is it possible that participants in the scenario gave untruthful answers in response to questions in order to look good? Alternatively, do you think participants in a study may have tried extra hard at something in order to impress the experimenter? If so, perhaps the experimenters will obtain results that won’t reflect people’s behaviour outside of their specific study.
(3) Unrepresentative sample – this refers to the possibility that the sample of participants in the scenario may not reflect the full range of people about whom we are interested in making conclusions (i.e. the population). In other words, is it possible that the researchers in the scenario studied only a small and biased sample of people? If so, try to think about how the biased sample may have affected the results that the researchers found.
(4) Confounding variables– when conducting an experiment, a confounding variable is something that systematically differs between the experimental and control groups, which confounds (or confuses) our interpretation of the study. In other words, the presence of a confounding variable means that we can’t be sure whether the independent variable (the thing we deliberately manipulated between the experimental and control groups) or the confounding variable (something that also varies between the experimental and control groups, but which we did not mean to vary) is responsible for the results of the study. If the scenario describes an experiment, does that experiment contain a confounding variable? If it does, could the confounding variable be an alternative explanation for the results of the study?
(5) Lack of a control group – remember that in an experiment, we create an experimental group for whom we have manipulated an independent variable (e.g. we increase the amount of violent TV a group of children watches) to try to determine the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable (e.g. we look to see if watching more violent TV increases aggression in this group of children). However, we also need to study a control group for whom the independent variable has not been manipulated (in this case, a group of children who do not watch more violent TV than usual). It is the comparison of the experimental group with the control group that tells us the effect of the manipulation of the independent variable.
(6) Validity of the measures – this refers to the idea that even though we might have a measure that is highly reliable (i.e., a set of weighing scales) this measure would be inappropriate for measuring certain psychological characteristics (for example, intelligence or perfectionism). The degree of validity then is the degree to which the measure we are using has some relationship with the thing we are trying to measure.
(7) Ethics – There are many issues surrounding ethics and the study of human (and animal) behavior. One of the key features is to safe-guard the well-being and dignity of the individuals taking part in the investigation. This includes making sure the individual has the opportunity to provide voluntary informed consent, has the right to withdraw from the investigation and is fully debriefed as to the nature and purpose of the investigation after data collection.
Apply two aspects of research methods to your selected scenario. When you identify flaws in the research methodology in the scenario, provide a comprehensive explanation of the flaw and also say what would need to be done to improve the research methodology in the scenario.
SCENARIO A: SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
Want to stand out in a crowd? Wear red!
We’ve all heard that red is a standout colour… well, new research has shown that there is some truth to this idea. In a recent study, perception researchers at Ohio State University wanted to find out whether some colours are more visually salient than others. Specifically, they wanted to see whether some colours are more easily identified than others, when presented alongside other colours.
Prior research has focused mainly on saturated colours, but these researchers wanted to expand our understanding of colour by studying de-saturated colours. Saturated colours are those that are pure and experienced as very vivid, such as “fire engine red”. On the other hand, de-saturated colours are those that are low in saturation and appear muted; “light blue”, “pale yellow”, and “pink” are examples of de-saturated colours.
In the study, a group of 12 participants performed a visual search task. All participants were between the ages of 19 and 22 and were right-handed; they were asked to self-report colour-blindness, and whether they wore corrective lenses. There were 9 males and 3 females in the study. After a number of baseline reaction-time trials, the test trials began. All participants were tested on all the target colours used in the study. On each trial, they had to find a specific de-saturated target colour among various saturated distractor colours that were presented on a tablet screen. The participant’s reaction time (i.e. time between presentation of the visual array and participant’s response on the screen) was recorded by the tablet.
The researchers found that reaction times were faster for de-saturated reds and oranges compared to de-saturated blues and purples. More specifically, participants identified red targets the fastest and purple targets the slowest. Interestingly, these colours are at opposite ends of the visible spectrum of light: reds have long wavelengths (around 700 nanometers) and violets have short wavelengths (around 400 nanometers).
Neuroscientists currently believe that there are specialized parts of the brain that process colour, namely the parietal lobe of the human cortex. In addition, various colour perception theories exist: for example, Trichromatic theory proposes that our eyes are sensitive to three colours: red, green, and yellow. There are even specialized cells around the pupil of the eye called rods and cones. Rods are ultimately responsible for our ability to sense colours, whereas cones are present for seeing at night. The researchers hope to gather brain and optical imaging data on tasks such as the one they used in their study, and feel that it would add to our theoretical understanding of how we detect and process colour.
In reaction to the study’s findings, we asked students on campus about their thoughts on these results. Jess, a sophomore in media studies, commented that she “thinks it makes sense. Red is definitely a good colour. I recently posted a new Facebook picture of myself wearing a red top and I got lots of likes”. Jeannette Bridges, a spiritual healer who uses colour-based therapy, was also interviewed about her take on the results: “In my practice, many clients often undergo profound changes of the spirit by experiencing colour, so the results of this study are not surprising. But I would disagree that blue and purple are ineffective colours – in my practice, they are easily experienced and highly transformative.”
Whether you personally agree or not, the research has shown that red is a striking colour that will get noticed. It reminds us to pay attention to effects of colour in our lives: meeting new friends and making good first impressions all seem to be potential benefits of wearing red when you walk out that door (or post a new pic to facebook!)
SCENARIO B: CONSCIOUSNESS
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SCENARIO C: LEARNING
Want to learn to love running? Reward yourself with ice cream!
We all know that aerobic exercise is good for preventing cardiovascular disease, but does it also help us to fend off other types of illness? And, if so, how can we motivate ourselves to exercise more? New research by psychologist Dr. Michel Breal uses the most recent and modern psychological techniques (called ‘conditioning’) to find out!
Dr. Breal said he first became interested in trying to help people take up regular aerobic exercise after experiencing the health benefits of running for himself. “I started running regularly at the age of 30 and experienced a noticeable decrease in the number of aches, pains, and minor ailments like colds that I experienced” Dr. Breal told us.
Motivated to find more evidence for the benefits of regular running, Dr. Breal then read about a scientific study that demonstrated its health benefits. In that study, researchers at the University of Toronto recruited a group of 1000 participants who they monitored for 6 months from January to June. In the first three months of the study, participants were simply asked to report on the state of their health, and just under half of the participants (45%) reported that they had caught a cold in those three months. For the second three months, the researchers convinced the participants to adopt a training schedule in which they ran 3 miles every day. Remarkably, in this second three months, only 15% of participants reported that they caught a cold, showing that regular running reduced the risk of catching a cold by two-thirds!
Convinced that regular exercise could bring health benefits, Dr. Breal started studying ways to encourage people to start and maintain exercise programs. “In one of my earliest studies, I surveyed a large and representative sample of runners. I measured how long they exercised for and whether or not they rewarded themselves with a food treat, like a cookie or an ice cream, afterwards” said Dr. Breal. “Food items like cookies and ice cream can act as what are called ‘conditioned reinforcers’, which increase the likelihood that behaviour will be repeated. I found that when runners reported giving themselves rewards after running they had typically run for longer than when they did not reward themselves” said Dr. Breal,“so, I started to believe that giving people treats like this after they have run might be a great way to cause people to run for longer.”
In a second study, Dr. Breal recruited a large sample of people who responded to an advertisement describing the study as about the effect of rewards on exercise. None of the participants were initially runners but they volunteered to start one of Dr. Breal’s training programs. Dr. Breal randomly assigned the volunteers to two groups. The first group were asked to run at least 3 miles every day and then log on to Dr. Breal’s website to anonymously enter the details of how fast and how long they ran. The second group were also asked to run at least 3 miles a day, but to then visit Dr. Breal or one of his research assistants to report the details of their run to them and then receive a treat in the form of a freshly-baked cookie. “We noticed that the rewarded group generally ran faster, and for longer, than the group who received no reward” said Dr. Breal. So food-rewards really do seem to motivate people to run!
And the best thing about all this? Changing your behavior to receive a reward like this is a form of what psychologists call ‘classical conditioning’. All animals can learn through this simple process and it will work for anyone!
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 2 MARKING
Your written assignment should be about 900-1000 words. You should allocate approximately 300 words to the fact-checking part of the assignment (100 words per incorrect fact), 200 words to the discussion of the scientific principle, 100 words to the discussion of the pseudoscientific claim, and 150 words each to the application of two ideas from the research methods material. The written assignment will be out of 18 marks. We will use the following criteria:
1. FACT CHECK (approximately 300 words) 6 MARKS
3 incorrect facts (2 marks each)
0 mark – missing error, or incorrectly labeled fact as error
1 mark – correct labeling of error
2 marks – correct labeling, explanation of error and source of correct fact
2. SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES AND PSEUDOSCIENCE CLAIM (approximately 300 words) 6 MARKS
1scientific principle and 1 pseudoscience claim (3 marks each)
0 mark – no answer or wholly inappropriate answer
1 mark – significant misunderstanding or inappropriate application of principle
2 marks – fair application of principle to scenario, some omissions
3 marks – comprehensive discussion of principle as applied to scenario
3. RESEARCH METHODS (approximately 300 words) 6 MARKS
2 aspects (3 marks each)
0 mark – no answer or wholly inappropriate answer
1 mark – significant misunderstanding or inappropriate application of materials
2 marks – fair application of materials to scenario, some omissions
3 marks – comprehensive discussion of materials as applied to scenario
FORMATTING AND SUBMISSION
FORMAT
Because you will be handing in the assignment electronically through the course website, you do not need to include a cover sheet with your name, student number, etc. We do not need a paper copy of this assignment.
Full sentences and paragraphs must be used, bullet form is notacceptable.
It will be good practice for you to include a reference list in APA format at the end of the paper (see below) but there are no marks assigned for this.
CITATIONS
For this assignment, the only sources you should consult are our class lectures/notes and the course textbook. If you would like to cite the class notes in the text of your assignment in APA format, write something like the following:
“As defined in class (Huggon, 2015), falsifiability refers to whether or not a claim can be tested.”
The reference for the class material at the end of your assignment should look something like this:
Huggon, W. (2015, September). Research methods. Psychology 102: Introduction to Psychology I. Lecture conducted from Ryerson University, Toronto, ON.
If you would like to cite the textbook in the text of your assignment in APA format, write something like the following:
“Lilienfeld et al. (2014) tell us that anecdotes can be misleading in the following ways.”
The reference for the textbook at the end of your assignment should look something like this:
Lilienfeld, S.O., Lynn, S.J., Namy, L.L., Woolf, N.J., Cramer, K.M. & Schmaltz, R. (2014). Psychology: From inquiry to understanding. 2nd Canadian edition. Toronto, ON: Pearson.
All that said, don’t worry about citing too much for this assignment. It’s good to practice citing and referencing in APA format, but there are no marks for citing and references in this assignment. Also, please write this whole assignment in your own words. Do not use any direct quotes for this assignment.
SUBMISSION
Save your assignment as a .doc or .docx file
Assignments are to be submitted via the course website before 11.59pm on the due date.
Please see the course outline for details of late submission policy.
Retain your electronic receipt of submission in case of dispute but please don’t forward this to me unless I specifically ask for it.