PSY 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Implicit-Association Test, Virtual Reality, Counterfactual Thinking
Document Summary
Most social psychology experiments are conducted in laboratories. Virtual environment technology: create a virtual research environment using a computer. Participants behave relatively naturally in vr environment. Study topics, such as conformity, eyewitness testimony, violent video games. Internet: researchers can recruit participants from all over the world and test them remotely. Studies can be run without the presence of the researcher. Data can be automatically coded and stored. Ability to collect data in weeks vs. years. Internet users are more likely to be white, young, and have children. Can"t guarantee that users haven"t completed multiple surveys. Implicit association test (iat): measures the strength of of automatic associations between different concepts in memory. The iat is a better predictor of some forms of behavior, such as discrimination (vs. self-report methods that are more vulnerable to faking). Eeg: records waves of electrical activity in the brain, using many metal electrodes placed on a person"s scalp. Cat and mri document the brain structure.
