PSY295-001Week 1

Summerfelt

60 Baker

432-6172

summerf6@msu.edu

Introductions

• Course

• Book

• Focus, goals

• Syllabus

Study Group• Small study groups will be formed to maximize everyone’s

ability to not only succeed in this course but excel– will likely meet for about 1 hour a week. & 2 before exams– Participation in the study groups is voluntary – and is not required

• If you fall into any of the following categories then you should plan to meet in a study group: – have failed this class (or a similar one) in the past, – have had trouble in other classes at MSU, – suffer from intense math phobia/anxiety, – are concerned that you may not be able to pass this class for any reason, – have received an override due to a missing pre-requisite, or – just want to make sure you get all the help you can

• If any of these are true for you, please submit a sheet a paper with your Name, PID, and schedule of available times

Extra Credit Possibilities

• Darrin’s study

• Others as the semester progresses

Research, Statistics, and all that Mumbo-Jumbo

• Science—Theories—Research

Science

• ??What is the purpose of science??

• Ultimate goal is to understand the world (mythology, religion)

• Uniqueness of Science is that it uses a standard process to examine the world.

Theories

• Abstract ideas that explain the world (Freud, philosophy)

• Provide framework for inquiry and explanation

• Logic models

Theory

• Thomas Kuhn and notion of scientific revolution

• Evidence gathered

• Anomalies grow until theory is changed

Research

• Systematic inquiry to validate theories using scientific methods

• Hypotheses

• Ho—Ha

• Is there evidence to accept the alternative

• Empirical

Theory and research

• Theory leads to research

• Research leads to theory

Stages of Scientific Inquiry (theory influences all stages)

• Selection of topic and review of literature

• Formulation of research questions (hypotheses)

• Design of measurement procedures

• Design of sampling procedures

• Actual observation and collection of data from sample

• Analysis of the data and evaluation of research questions

Role of Statistical Methods

• To understand the literature

• To understand the rationale underlying research in social and behavioral sciences

• To carry out social and behavioral research leading to decision-making

• To comprehend the everyday use of statistical information

Statistics and Science• Descriptive statistics

• Characterize, organize, and present phenomena of interest• Examples are frequencies and correlations

• Inferential statistics• Populations and Samples

– The predicament of Frito Lay– Polling procedures

• Inference– Determination of Cause and Effect– Differences due to context

Descriptive and Inferential Statistics

• Descriptive statistics allow scientists to form hypotheses about the nature of phenomena – Description may not represent relationship

“Correlation is not causation”

• Inferential statistics allow scientists to make generalizations and identify limitations– Inferential statistics used to assess the risk of

making causal statements

TYPES OF STUDIES

• Descriptive/correlational

• Inferential/empirical

Math Review

• Symbols• Signed numbers• Order of operations• Fractions

• Factorials • Exponents• Square roots• Statistical Notation &

Summation Sign

Symbols

• Addition +• Subtraction -• Multiplication X• Division /

• greater than >• less than <• greater than or equal to ≥ • less than or equal to ≤• not equal to ≠• absolute value | x |

Signed numbers

• Think of the number line

• Adding signed numbers

• Subtracting signed numbers

• Multiplication and division with signed numbers

Exponents

• Base Number and exponent

– For example, 204 “twenty to the fourth power”

– Exponents of 2 are squares, of 3 are cubed

• Base numbers with 0 or 1 as exponent• Exponents with multiple terms• Negative base numbers• Parentheses• Fractions

Square roots

• The square root of a number is the inverse of raising that number to the second power

Order of operations

• Parentheses or terms

• Calculate any exponents or roots

• Compute any multiplication or division

• Perform any addition or subtraction between terms

Fractions

• Addition/subtraction

• Multiplication/division

• Reduction

Notation

• Variable names– X and Y

• Individual values

• X versus Xi

• N• Constants

• Summation notation X X2

– (X)2

XY X Y

Ways to Study Psychological Processes

• Schumacher 1977ExperienceFocus of

ObservationInner Outer

Self 1 2

Others 3 4

Ways to Study Psychological Processes

1.What I know about myself (introspection)

2.What others know about me

3.What others know about themselves

4.What ONE knows about others--general approach in Psychology, Education, Human Development, etc.

Methods of Data Collection

• Observations (checklists, test, questionnaires

• Introspective methods (diaries, journals, letters

• Speculations (theory)

• Simulations (theory)

Approaches to Behavior Description

• Empiricism: theory -- empirical evidence

• Constructivism: theory -- realization of predicted events

Three Basic Research Designs

• Naturalistic Observation

• Simulation

• Experiment

Naturalistic Observation

• Non-interference (unobtrusive)

• focus on invariant patterns of constancy and change

• applied when there is only limited knowledge

• Produces descriptive statements

Simulation

• Exact and concrete formulation of assumed processes

• mathematics, logic, computer programs, etc.

• deterministic and probabilistic

• used when • solid amount of information available

• explicit formulation of models

Experiment

• Hypothesis-driven: need a set of properly stated expectations

• operational definitions

• dependent vs. independent variables

• confounded variables controlled/avoided

• can be exploratory or testing of specific hypotheses

The Language of Statistics

• Population: the universe of what is being studied

• Sample: a subgroup of population based on various procedures (probabilistic & non-probabilistic)

• Statistic: characteristic of a sample

• Parameter: characteristic of a population

• Sampling Error: amount of mismatch between sample and population

Variables and constants

• Independent

• Dependent

• Intervening

• Discrete and continuous

Measurement

• Datum and data

• Levels of measurement

• Discrete and continuous

Discrete variables

• Categories

• Mutually exclusive

• Exhaustive

• Coding scheme

Continuous variables

• Continuous variables have infinite possibilities

• When we use a number for a continuous variable it actually represents an interval with a– Lower real limit– Upper real limit

Types of Analyses

• Univariate

• bivariate

• multivariate

Measurement Scales 1

• Nominal– Minimum of 2 categories– No order or magnitude in categories

• Ordinal– Minimum of 2 categories– Ranked or ordered by degree of the trait

measured

Measurement Scales 2

• Interval– Values—standard units– Do not have an absolute zero

• Ratio – Values—standard units – Have an absolute zero

Sampling procedures

• Hawthorne effect, Eisenberg principle

• Sample and Sampling (idea is to represent the population

• Probabilistic - simple random

• Nonprobability sampling – availability, convenience, judgement