Beliefs about old people/aging
Negative beliefs correlate with poorer memory, worse health
Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement
Positive perceptions of aging: lived 7.5 years longerPeople 50+ followed for 23 years...Baseline measures: Perceptions of aging, actual age, SES, loneliness, functional health
Aging study - Levy et al. (2009)
Negative age stereotypes early in life (18-49) = worse health and greater risk of heart attack or stroke
Activating stereotypes in the lab (Levy, 1996)
Exposing elderly people to stereotype words subliminally (55 ms)�E.g., senile, forgets, confused, alzheimer�s�E.g., wise, enlightened, accomplished, alert
Meta-analysis: Bond & DePaulo (2008) - Detecting deception
Assessed the variability in everyone�s lie-detection skills - 247 samples; 19,801 judges; 2,945 sendersLie-detection vs. lie-telling abilities, Credibility as an important factor
Male circumcision and HIV
HIV prevalence is lower where there�s a higher % of circumcised malesCircumcision predicts lower risk of HIV contraction27 studies, risk for HIV infection was 44% lower in circumcised men
Other findings: Circumcision
Infant urinary tract infections: 12 fold decreased risk in circumcised boysSyphilis: 1.5-3.0 fold decrease in circumcised menHPV: 63% reductionCervical cancer in female partners: 2.0 �5.8 times more frequent in women with uncircumcised partners
Cell phones & brain tumors
Most studies find no relationship between the two variablesLahkolaet al., 2006 (meta-analysis) - 12 published studies (N = 2780)Overall, no association between cell phone use and brain tumor diagnosis�Not even for regular users of 5+ years
Cell phones & tumors - Khuranaet al., 2009 (meta-analysis)
Users of 10+ years - 11 published studiesFound significant increases in tumor risk (for 2 of 3 types of tumors,) but only ipsilateralto cell phone useAnother meta-analysis (10+ yrs) found an overall association
Decision Making
We need to determine what information is instrumental to our choiceNoninstrumental information �has no value in decision (but may seem relevant)Pursuing missing information can lend greater weight to that information
Problem 1 (Register for class) - Decision Making
Uncertain - 42% register, 2% don't, 56% waitAfter waiting - 29% register, 27% don't(Simple) Certain total (less popular professor) - 82% register, 18% don'tUncertain total - 71% register, 29% don't
Problem 2 (Accepting student) - Decision Making
(Simple) Certain: 57% accept, 43% rejectUncertain: (immediately) 21% accept, 5% reject, 74% wait; (after waiting) 25% accept, 49% rejectUncertain total: 46% accept, 54% reject
Problem 2 (Mortgage application) - Decision Making
(Simple) Certain: 29% approve, 71% rejectUncertain: (immediately) 2% approve, 23 reject, 75% wait; (after waiting) 54% approve, 21% rejectUncertain total: 56% approve, 44% reject
Problem 2 (CD player) - Decision Making
(Simple) Certain: 91% buy, 9% don'tUncertain: (immediately) 26% buy, 5% don't, 69% wait; (after waiting) 29% buy, 40% don'tUncertain total: 55% buy, 45% don't
Decision Making - Kidney
Simple Certain: 44% would donate, 56% would notUncertain: Get tested? 69% yes, 31% noYou're a match, donate? 65% yes, 35% no
Decision making in real life
Uncertainty often leads to seek more information. We need to determine whether the missing information is important.
Ethics in research
Ethics intertwined with research methodsModern ethical guidelines shaped by early psychological research
Ethical Considerations
Researchers bound by APA Guidebook of Ethical Principles, Federal guidelines, State and local lawsUniversity research is supervised by IRB = Institutional Review Board, Several ethical issues that are of concern to IRBs
1. Involving participants without their knowledge/consent
Issue: No informed consentNo informed consent is OK if: Behavior is public, No invasion of privacy, Participants are not inconvenienced, Participants are anonymous
2. Coercing people to participate
Example: Research in organizational setting -- Could be implied pressure to cooperateResearch with intro psych students?
3. Withholding true nature of research
Example: Elaborate cover stories
4. Deception
Confederates: Getting rejected, Attractive confederate flirting with youFalse feedback: Success vs. failure, Feedback about your personality -- Example: Twengeet al. (2001)Deceiving about drugs taken -- Debriefing is critical
5. Exposure to physical or mental stress
The �classic� social psych studiesExposure to disturbing stimuliStudying negative emotionsMortality salienceDo potential benefits outweigh the risks? -- Male circumcision experiment
Putting the researcher assistants at risk
Staged assault (Harariet al.); Staring at people (Ellsworth et al., 1972); Urinal study (Middlemistet al., 1976)
6. Privacy and Confidentiality of data
Are responses anonymous?How are data handled after collected? -- Make data anonymous, Maintain the security of the data
Which of the following is the same as a panel survey design?
a) successive independent samples designb) longitudinal designc) cross-sectional designd) epsem designe) quota design
Variance in a behavior that is related to the variables that an investigator is investigating is:
A) systematic variance.B) standard variance.C) error variance.D) total variance.
Which of the following is used to eliminate demand characteristics?
a) random assignmentb) a double-blind procedurec) matchingd) counterbalancinge) confounding
What is an operational definition?
Defining a construct by how it is measured or manipulated in a particular study