Readings
Textbook
Open Textbook Chapter 5: Experimental Research
Open Textbook Chapter 7: Survey Research
Lectures and quizzes
Stats Screencast 1 is available
Stats Quiz 2 is available online
Useful links
Wikipedia actually has a pretty good list of psychological research methods.
Forum
Topic - Critical Reading of Published Research
OK, so this topic was actually going to be something else entirely, but I got caught up after noticing the labelling error in a graph on p.193 of the Burton textbook. (It’s not important to have the textbook if you’re reading this for the 2023 class.) The graph is from Crum & Langer’s 2007 paper in Psychological Science (which has, in the past, had a tendency to prefer studies with “flashy”, surprising results, although it has now lifted its game considerably). The paper is entitled “Mind-set matters: exercise and the placebo effect”.
I’ve included the PDF in the link above. Can anyone else spot some odd things in the paper? Have a read and see what you think!
Maybe we can make a contribution to the next edition of the textbook!
ABSTRACT: In a study testing whether the relationship between exercise and health is moderated by one’s mind-set, 84 female room attendants working in seven different hotels were measured on physiological health variables affected by exercise. Those in the informed condition were told that the work they do (cleaning hotel rooms) is good exercise and satisfies the Surgeon General’s recommendations for an active lifestyle. Examples of how their work was exercise were provided. Subjects in the control group were not given this information. Although actual behavior did not change, 4 weeks after the intervention, the informed group perceived themselves to be getting significantly more exercise than before. As a result, compared with the control group, they showed a decrease in weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index. These results support the hypothesis that exercise affects health in part or in whole via the placebo effect.