Methodology:

CHAPTER 2
How Social
Psychologists Do
Research
DISCUSSION QUESTION
You hear a news story describing
the following research finding:
the more fast food children eat,
the lower their scores on
reading, math, and science tests.
Even though this study was with
kids, does it make you want to
cut down on the amount of fast
food you eat?

Source:
seasonalcravings.com
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
2.1 How do researchers develop theories and
hypotheses?
2.2 What are the strengths and weaknesses of
various research designs that social psychologists
use?
2.3 How do social psychologists ensure the safety
and welfare of their research participants, while at
the same time testing hypotheses about the
causes of social behavior?
 2.1 How do
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: researchers develop
AN EMPIRICAL SCIENCE theories and
hypotheses?
A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE

Fundamental Principle

 Social influence can be studied scientifically

HINDSIGHT BIAS

Results of some experiments may seem obvious. Why?

 Our familiarity with the subject matter
 Social influence
 Social behavior
 Hindsight bias

Hindsight Bias
Tendency to exaggerate prediction of an outcome after knowing that it
occurred
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
Suppose an authority figure asks college students to
administer near-lethal electric shocks to another
student who has not harmed them in any way. What
percentage of these students will agree to do it?

(a) around 5%
(b) around 20%
(c) around 65%
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
Suppose an authority figure asks college students to
administer near-lethal electric shocks to another
student who has not harmed them in any way. What
percentage of these students will agree to do it?

(a) around 5%
(b) around 20%
(c) around 65%
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
If you give children a reward for doing something
they already enjoy doing, they will subsequently like
that activity

(a) more
(b) the same
(c) less
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
If you give children a reward for doing something
they already enjoy doing, they will subsequently like
that activity

(a) more
(b) the same
(c) less
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
When a business or governmental agency is faced
with an important choice it is always better to have a
group of people make the decision, because “two
heads are better than one”:

(a) true
(b) false
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
When a business or governmental agency is faced
with an important choice it is always better to have a
group of people make the decision, because “two
heads are better than one”:

(a) true
(b) false
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
Which statement about the effects of advertising is most
true?

(a) Subliminal messages implanted in advertisements are

more effective than normal, everyday advertising
(b) normal TV ads for painkillers or laundry detergents are
more effective than subliminal messages implanted in ads
(c) both types of advertising are equally effective
(d) neither type of advertising is effective.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
Which statement about the effects of advertising is most
true?

(a) Subliminal messages implanted in advertisements are

more effective than normal, everyday advertising
(b) normal TV ads for painkillers or laundry detergents
are more effective than subliminal messages
implanted in ads
(c) both types of advertising are equally effective
(d) neither type of advertising is effective.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
What effect, if any, does playing violent video games
have on how likely people are to act aggressively in
everyday life?
(a) playing the games increases the likelihood that
they will act aggressively
(b) they become less aggressive because the games
“get it out of their system”
(c) playing the games has no effect on how
aggressive people are
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: AN
EMPIRICAL SCIENCE
What effect, if any, does playing violent video games
have on how likely people are to act aggressively in
everyday life?
(a) playing the games increases the likelihood
that they will act aggressively
(b) they become less aggressive because the games
“get it out of their system”
(c) playing the games has no effect on how
aggressive people are
FORMULATING HYPOTHESES
AND THEORIES
Like other scientists, social
psychologists:
Revise
Theory
Theory

Data Hypothe
Analysis sis

Data
Collectio
n
Bobo Doll Experiment
(1961)
FORMULATING HYPOTHESES
AND THEORIES
Previous theories and research
Science is cumulative
 Dissatisfaction with behaviorism (Festinger)
Personal observation
 Kitty Genovese (Latané and Darley)
 Abraham Biggs
 THE DIFFUSION OF RESPONSIBILITY
IN APRIL OF 2021, A ANONYMOUS WOMAN WAS BEING EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE BY A
MAN IN AN ISTANBUL NEIGHBORHOOD. A DOZEN PEOPLE WALKED OR RODE PAST
HER. WHY DIDN’T THEY STOP TO HELP?

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RESEARCH 2.2 What are the
strengths and
weaknesses of various

DESIGNS research designs that

social psychologists use?
 TABLE 2.1
A SUMMARY OF RESEARCH METHODS

Method Focus Question Answered

Observation Descripti What is the nature of the
al on phenomenon?
Correlation Prediction From knowing X, can we predict
al Y?
Experiment Causality Is variable X a cause variable of
al Y?
Qualitative Descripti How do people make sense of
on their experiences?

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1. THE OBSERVATIONAL
METHOD
Researcher observes people and systematically
records behavior.
 Used to describe behavior

Examples:
 Ethnography: Description from an “insider’s point of view” –
Used mostly by anthropologists
 Archival analysis: Researcher examines accumulated
documents (archives) – Used mostly by historians
 RESEARCHING MOODS THROUGH TWITTER
Researchers use archival analyses to test psychological hypotheses. One study, for example,
analyzed millions of twitter messages to see how people’s moods varied over the course of a day.

Source: Pixellover RM 8/Alamy

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OBSERVATIONAL
METHOD EXAMPLE
Research Question
 How much aggression do children exhibit during school
recesses?
Method
 Behaviors concretely defined before observation
 Observer systematically looks for and records behaviors
 Accuracy of observer is important
INTERRATER
RELIABILITY
Do you see what I see?

Important to establish reliability when observation is

used

Interrater Reliability
The level of agreement between two or more people who
independently observe and code a set of data
LIMITS OF THE
OBSERVATIONAL
METHOD
Certain behaviors difficult to observe
 Occur rarely
 In private
Archival analysis
 Original may not have all information researchers need
Does not allow prediction and explanation
 Limited to description
 2. THE CORRELATIONAL
METHOD
Two or more variables are systematically measured and
the relation between them is assessed.

Correlation Coefficient
A statistical technique that assesses how well you
can predict one variable from another
POSITIVE CORRELATION
Increases in the value of one variable are
associated with increases in the value of the other
variable
 Aggression and viewing violent media are positively
correlated
 Children who are aggressive tend to watch more violent television

 Height and weight are positively correlated

 Taller people tend to weigh more (r = .47)
NEGATIVE
CORRELATION
Increases in the value of one variable are
associated with decreases in the value of the other
variable

 Vaccination rate correlates negatively with disease rate

 More vaccinations, less disease

THE CORRELATION
COEFFICIENT
Correlation coefficients range from –1.00 to +1.00

+1.00 perfectly correlated in a positive direction

0 means that two variables are not correlated

–1.00 perfectly correlated in a negative direction

 FIGURE 2.1
THE CORRELATION COEFFICIENT
A hypothetical study of watching violence on television and aggressive behavior in
children. The diagram at the left shows a strong positive correlation: the more
television children watched, the more aggressive they were. The diagram in the middle
shows no correlation: the amount of television children watched is not related to how
aggressive they were. The diagram at the right shows a strong negative correlation: the
more television children watched, the less aggressive they were.

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SURVEYS
Surveys

 Representative sample of people asked about attitudes or

behavior

 Correlations computed using responses to questions

USING SURVEYS
Random Selection

 A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative

of a population by giving everyone in the population an
equal chance of being selected for the sample
 THE PERILS OF SURVEYING A NON-REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE
FAILURE TO USE RANDOM SELECTION = MISLEADING RESULTS

In the fall of 1936, a magazine called the Literary Digest predicted that the Republican
candidate for present would win by a landslide, based on a poll they conducted.
Instead, Franklin Roosevelt won every state but two, as seen in the map. What went
wrong with the Literary Digest poll?

Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum.

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SURVEYS: ADVANTAGES
AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages
 Investigate relations between variables difficult to observe
 Sexual behavior & Knowledge of HIV

 Sample representative segments of population

Disadvantages
 Accuracy of responses:
 People may not know the answer—but they think they do!
LIMITS OF THE
CORRELATIONAL
METHOD
Correlation does not equal causation!

Correlational method tells us only that two variables are

related

Most social psychologist want to:

 identify causes of social behavior

 be able to say that A causes B, not just that A is correlated with B

 AIR CONDITIONERS, NICHOLAS CAGE AND DROWNINGS
A fi ctional study conducted in the early 1990s found a correlation between use of air-
conditioning and drownings as well as Nicholas Cage movies and drownings. Does this
mean that buying AC and watching Nicholas Cage movies cause drownings?

Source: Crash Course on Youtube

Pearson
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3. THE EXPERIMENTAL
METHOD
Researcher randomly assigns participants to
different conditions

Conditions are identical except for the independent

variable (the one thought to have a causal effect on
people’s responses).

 Use to answer causal questions

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
(IV)
The IV is what researchers manipulate to see if it
has a causal effect

 e.g., type of TV show children watch

DEPENDENT VARIABLE (DV)

The DV is what researchers measure to see if it is

affected

 e.g., measure children’s aggression (DV) after they watch

television (IV) that is either violent on nonviolent
IV AND DV EXAMPLE USING
LATANÉ AND DARLEY (1970)
Independent Variable

 Number of bystanders

Dependent Variable

 Helping behavior
 FIGURE 2.2
INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES IN EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

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DISCUSSION QUESTION
FOLLOW-UP
Now that you know that
correlation does not equal
causation, you know that
eating fast food doesn’t
necessarily cause poor test
performance.
Fast Lower
What are some alternative food perfor
explanations for the negative manc
e
correlation between children’s
fast food consumption and low
test scores?
INTERNAL VALIDITY IN
EXPERIMENTS
Internal Validity
Making sure that nothing besides the independent
variable can affect the dependent variable
INCREASING INTERNAL
VALIDITY
Control extraneous variables

Randomly assign people to experimental

conditions
RANDOM ASSIGNMENT
Ensure all participants have equal chance of
being in any experimental condition
Ensures that differences in participants’ personalities
or backgrounds are distributed evenly across
conditions

This powerful technique is the most important part

of the experimental method.
LIMITS OF EXPERIMENTAL
METHOD
Experimental situations can be
Artificial

Distant from real life

 Tradeoff with increasing control over the situation to make it similar for
all participants
EXTERNAL VALIDITY IN
EXPERIMENTS
External Validity
The extent to which the results of a study can be
generalized to other situations and to other people.
TWO KINDS OF
EXTERNAL VALIDITY
Generalizability across
1. Situations
the extent to which we can generalize from the experimental
situation to real-life situations
2. People
the extent to which we can generalize from the people who
participated in the experiment to people in general
GENERALIZABILITY
ACROSS SITUATIONS
Psychological Realism

Psychological processes triggered by experiments are

similar to psychological processes in real life

Cover story

A description of the purpose of a study, given to

participants, that is different from its true purpose, used to
maintain psychological realism
GENERALIZABILITY
ACROSS PEOPLE
Random selection of participants from
population
Impractical and expensive for most social
psychology experiments

Address by studying basic, fundamental

psychological processes that may be universal
 DO FINDINGS APPLY TO ALL PEOPLE?
Social psychologists are interested in how generalizable their fi ndings are to
diff erent kinds of people. What are the challenges in doing so? What approaches do
social psychologists take?

Source: Megapress/Alamy

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IMPROVING EXTERNAL
VALIDITY
Field Experiments:
 Experiments conducted in
natural settings rather than
in the laboratory

Advantages:
 Participants unaware that
they are in an experiment
 Participants more diverse
than typical college sample Enos, 2014.
Proceedings of the
National Academy of
TRADE-OFF BETWEEN
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL VALIDITY

“Basic dilemma of the social psychologist” (Aronson &

Carlsmith, 1968)

Internal validity: random assignment, experimental

control
External validity: generalize to everyday life
 Too much control, generalizable?
 Too much like real life, control all extraneous variables?

The way to resolve this basic dilemma is not to try to do

everything in a single experiment!
TESTS OF INTERNAL AND
EXTERNAL VALIDITY
Meta-analysis:
 A statistical technique that averages the results of two or more
studies to see if the effect of an independent variable is
reliable
 Test of internal validity

Replications:
 Repeating a study, often with different subject populations or
in different settings
 Ultimate test of external validity
 4. QUALITATIVE METHODS
A method of inquiry aimed at
understanding human experiences,
behaviors, and social contexts
Data is often in the form of words,
images, or objects rather than numbers
Focuses on exploring "why" and "how"
questions
Emphasizes depth over breadth,
findings are often context-specific
No emphasis on internal validity
QUALITATIVE METHODS
Interviews: One-on-one conversations to explore a
participant's thoughts and experiences in depth. Can be
structured, semi-structured, or unstructured.

Focus Groups: Group discussions facilitated by a researcher

to gain insights into collective views and dynamics. Useful for
exploring community perspectives or shared experiences.

Content Analysis: Systematic analysis of text, images, or

media to identify patterns, themes, and meanings. Can be
applied to interviews, media content, social media posts, etc.
BASIC VERSUS APPLIED
RESEARCH
Basic Research
Designed to find the best answer to why people
behave as they do
Conducted purely for reasons of intellectual curiosity
Applied Research
Designed to solve a particular social problem
To solve social problems, one must understand
underlying psychological dynamics
“There is
nothing so
practical as a
good theory”
Kurt Lewin
HOW TO STUDY A TOPIC
1.Divide into small groups.
2.Each group is paired with a different research method (e.g.,
survey, experiment, observation, qualitative interview).
3.You are researching the topic of “Prejudice”
4.Create a short scenario that demonstrates how your assigned
method could be used to study that topic.
5.5 minutes of preparation, then each group will present their
scenario to the class.
6.We will discuss the strengths and limitations of each method
based on your presentations.