PSYC 2310 Lecture : psych Ch.2
11 Dec 2012
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Document Summary
In depth analysis of individuals, groups or event. What information could a case study possibly tell us about humans. Can illustrate effectiveness of programs for special populations. Naturalistic observation; observation of a behavior in a natural setting. Does not permit clear causal conclusions e. g. naturalistic observation and human behaviour. Unrepresentative samples can lead to faulty generalizations. Data cannot be used to draw conclusions about cause-and- effect. Research measures variable x and y and see if they statistically related. Goal is to determine if an association exists between variables. Mathematically measured by a correlation coefficient -1 to +1. Positive- if height increases, so does weight. Negative- as number of hours of daylight decreases, number of symptoms of depression increases. Cant assume cause and effect relationship exists. Measures whether this variable produces changes in another variable. Control for other factors that might influence results. Dependent variable; measured by experimenter and influenced by independent variable. Two basic designs: different participants in each condition.
