PSYCH 100B Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: 13 Minutes, Internal Validity, Operational Definition
Document Summary
Monday, january 8th (started by reviewing course policies) Research methods could be taught for any scientific field, and the focus of this course will be an introduction to how psychological research is conducted to evaluate claims scientifically. The difference between beliefs and scientific explanations was discussed. The example used was the folk belief that chicken soup helps colds. Next, a potential question of interest was proposed: does tv violence affect aggressive behavior. A hypothetical scatterplot was drawn, indicating a positive correlation. Since this hypothetical study is based solely on observation, it"s a correlational study. In correlation studies, the input variable is referred to as a predictor variable and the output variable is called the criterion variable . This is because correlational studies are adequate for making predictions. Positive correlations are those for which as one variable increases or decreases, the other variable does the same. Negative correlation are those where as one variable increases, the other decreases.
