make at least 300 words per topics, there are four of them. A. Introducing Psychological Science: Lecture on SCIENCE AND SCIENTIFIC METHODS task: Read this lecture (click on the link above) on Science and Scientific Methods. It is extensive and detailed, but it will teach you all you need to know about this week’s topic, so give it the time required to master the ideas discussed. At the end of this lecture there are instructions for you telling you what you need to post here after completing the lecture. B. Experiments vs. Correlation Task: Students often confuse the concept of the experiment with the concept of science in general. Experiments are just one type of scientific method used by scientists, including psychological scientists. Correlation studies are another scientific method used by psychological scientists. It is important that you distinguish between these concepts. YOUR TASK: For this topic, after you have carefully read the lecture this week on Science and Scientific Methods, describe in a paragraph or two what an experiment is, and what makes a good experiment vs. one that is flawed (confounded). See section in the lecture on the logic of experiments. Then describe what correlation means, and describe the difference between experiments and correlational studies. Which of these methods can be used to test for cause/effect? Both or just one of these methods? If just one, which one?Use the lecture on Science and Scientific Methods in this week’s conference and use our textbook chapter on these topics to assist you in producing a well thought out response. A few sentences (if they are the right ones) should suffice here. C. If you wanted to test for predictive relationship Task: Suppose you wanted to test to see if there is a predictive relationship between two variables such as smoking and life span or number of traffic tickets (moving violations only) and number of accidents, both as part of your job in an insurance company assessing risk factors to determine insurance rates. YOUR TASK: 1. Tell me what type of research design would be appropriate for you to use here. (Use our text, but ALSO use my lecture in this week’s conference to answer this and the following questions) 2. What type of relationship (inverse or direct) would you expect for each of the two pairs of variables above? And what terms would you use to describe each relationship (two words each; positive or negative _______________)? 3. Can you conclude that there is a cause and effect relationship between variables based on the study that you have selected in #1 above? 4. If “yes,” tell why. If “no,” tell (in a word or two) what specific type of scientific research would be necessary to conclude cause and effect. 5. Of what use is a study which only permits you to make predictions about one variable based on your knowledge of the second variable, if such a study doesn’t allow cause/effect conclusions? D. Last topic: Testing for Cause and Effect Task CAUTION: FOR THIS TOPIC YOU MUST READ AND UNDERSTAND THE LECTURE THIS WEEK ON SCIENCE AND SCIENTIFIC METHODS. READ IT FIRST BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS TOPIC. Suppose you are a drug researcher and your company has given you the task of discovering a new drug for the treatment of anxiety. You have discoverd a drug that you think might work, but you need to test its effectiveness. Does the drug really reduce anxiety in humans? Tell me and your classmates how you would go about designing a study to see if the new drug, called Drug X, is effective as a treatment for anxiety. To do so, answer these questions: 1. First, what type of scientific study would you use (see lecture)? 2. State your hypothesis (see my lecture and our textbook to see what a hypothesis is and how to state one). 3. Identify the indepedent variable and the dependent variable. 4. Ideally, how you would select subjects (participants) for the study (one word will do it here; see lecture)? What method would you use to assign them to groups (in order to control for the confounding effects of pre-existing differences among your subjects; see lecture)? 5. How many groups do you need in your experiment (if more than one group)? 6. What would the groups be in your study (what would be done to each group, if anything)? There are formal names in my lecture that would apply to these groups–What are these groups called? 7. Would you use statistics? What for? That is, for what purpose would statistics be used in your study (be specific; see my lecture)? What statistical test (if any) would be appropropriate for analysis of your data (name it; see my lecture)? What would that analysis tell us (be specific; see my lecture)?
