Need for Speed 2

So we discussed some of the issues in assignment 4. Without giving too much away:
• Questions 1-8 are about correlation
• Questions 9-21 are about experiments
The rest are self explanatory

Graphs:
These can be done either by hand on graph paper (see me if you want some) or by computer. I’d prefer it if they were not freehand – I need you to convince me you can draw a graph. (I know, I know!) Don’t join the points on a scattergram – it’s not a dot-to-dot game!

Reminder that correlations have covariables and experiments have IV and DV. Correlations have intervening variables and experiments have extraneous variables, confounding variables, situational variables, spam variables, spam and chips, egg spam and variables, aaarrrgggghhhh!!!!

Design has a special meaning in experiments. It’s all about allocation of participants to conditions. Only two for you to worry about – independent subjects and repeated measures.

Ethics has a whole chapter – there’s also a section in the research design chapter in Psychology in Focus.
The *best* source for hypothesis, null hypothesis, sampling and such is my website.
See how you get on. You’ve got this week in lesson time to go for it!

The Need for Speed

Well, here's the hints for assignment 4 - Need for Speed.
 

This is the story of the psychology student with the boyfriend and the fast car.  It has elements of relationships (between variables, that is), of emotion and electricity, of fast driving with fast women and breaking speed limits.  All the stuff of a good Mills and Boon.  You should be so lucky!

The assignment is in four main parts, each with set questions that must all be answered:

·         A case-study/interview

·         A correlation

·         A questionnaire survey

·         An experiment

But not necessarily in that order.

The resources you need for this are:

·         Class notes

·         Handouts

·         Psychology in Focus

·         www.jeffstanden.net

In theory, you can find everything on my website, in the research methods section.

Don’t worry about references for this assignment.  Have a good look at it, talk to your friend and I’ll put up some more info in a couple of days.

What's stress, Mummy?

Grab the burger!

The burger has the plan for assignment three. That is, the plan we talked about in class. But you don’t have to use that!

Remember that an essay is a style of writing, a kind of literary form I suppose. Think of it as telling your reader what you are going to say, then saying it, then telling them what you’ve just said. The introduction and the conclusion are a bit like the bun, and the meaty stuff in the middle is the bit that matters.

You could write the essay by including Fantz (pattern and face recognition in infants) and Gibson and Walk (depth perception using the visual cliff) for the nature side. Then, use cross cultural studies (e.g Segall et al.) to illustrate the nurture side. BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO! You could use any research you want to illustrate the arguments, just as long as it is evaluated and referenced. You might like to use the animal studies such as Blakemore and Cooper, or Held and Hein. Riesen with the three Chimps is an old favourite. Or you might like to illustrate the argument using recovered sight case studies, or research with the spectacles that turn the world upside down. I could go on.

You can use any text book you want, just as long as it is referenced appropriately. The world doesn’t stop at Gross or the pink handout!

Try to come to a conclusion. Is it nature, or nurture or something else; either in between or an alternative?

Then the usual Jeff advice: Don’t worry. Wine sometimes helps the process. I doubt you think clearly at 3am. Don’t let it fester, ask somebody. You know the drill by now!

Word length is important. Aim for plus or minus 10%.

No references no pass. It doesn’t worry me if you get it wrong first time.