Introduction to psychology/Methodology and Statistics

Gossip and rumours will often be used describe someone's behavior. They aren't acceptable to psychologists because psychologists because they require more reliable measures and accurate reports, their methods are established to meet those requirements. This lecture describes those methods and the statistics used to report, analyze and interperet this data.

Experimental method
Considered the most disciplined method. Using this method, an experimentor manipulates a variable to be studied, chooses the response to be measured, and controls exraneous influences that might inappropriately affect the results of the experiment. A variable is a characteristic of anything that can have two or more values.

Case study method
Using this method, a single participant is studied to further detail than the experimental method. While the data collected is more detailed and is relevent to the participant, generalising the data to a larger group of people is generally not possible. Examples of uses for case studies are for cognitive research with someone with brain damage, whose condition is known yet unique or for treatment of mental problems such as phobias.