9/25 Experiments in Psychology

Experimental Psychology:

Welcome to discovering about experiments in the field of psychology.  This class period is designed with the student objective of becoming more familiar to experiments done in psychology as a way to broaden your thinking and create ideas for future experimentation.

Your answers will be completed on a separate sheet of paper.  To get started, go to the following website:

http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/u/psychology-experiments.htm#s1

We will start by looking at the oldies:

1.      Read about Pavlov’s experiment:

 http://psychology.about.com/od/classicalconditioning/a/pavlovs-dogs.htm

Explain what Pavlov’s background was and what he discovered.  How did he influence the field of psychology even to today?

2.      Read about the Little Albert experiment:

http://psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/a/little-albert-experiment.htm

Explain what Watson discovered.  What were criticisms of his research procedures?  How is this deemed unethical today?  What ever happened to Baby Albert?

3.      Read about the Asch Conformity experiments:

 http://psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/p/conformity.htm

What were the findings of the experiment?  Is this an experiment that could be replicated here at Sprague?

4.      Read about Harlow’s experiment with Rhesus monkeys:

http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology/p/harlow_love.htm

What were the findings?  What has been the impact of his work?

5.      Read about Milgram’s study:

http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology/a/milgram.htm

What were the findings?  How was this study controversial?  How did this study overcome basic beliefs in our society?

6.      Read about the Stanford Prison Experiment:

http://psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/a/stanford-prison-experiment.htm

What did Zimbardo find about the issue of setting on behavior?  Did Zimbardo fall victim to this also?  How does this experiment not fit the ethical standards of today?

Next:  Read about the types of research and issues with experimentation:

7.  From this site:

http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/ss/expdesintro.htm

What are the three types of research?

           

8. What effect does time have on psychological research?

http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/ss/expdesintro_3.htm

9. What does causal relationship among variables mean?

http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/ss/expdesintro_4.htm

10.    What does correlational relationship among variables mean?

http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/ss/expdesintro_5.htm

11.    What is validity?  What are the three types of validity?  What are the implications about validity in psychological research?

http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/f/validity.htm

12.    What is reliability?  What does it measure?

http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/f/reliabilitydef.htm

13.    What are the different theories of intelligence?  Why is this knowledge important in constructing intelligence tests?

http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/p/intelligence.htm

14.    Take the research methods quiz.

http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl_researchmethods_quiz.htm

Do all 15 questions.  Take the quiz until you get a perfect score.  On your answer sheet, tell me how many times it took you to get a perfect score.

15.    Pick any other area that you read on this site:

http://psychology.about.com/

For your answer, describe what area you went to and what you learned that will help you in the class.