Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods

1

ARTICLES:
1. Parents Seeking Sports Psychologists for Kids Need Professional Help Themselves,
Practitioner Claims.
2. Its Nature, Not Nurture: Personality Lies in Genes, Twin Study Shows.
3. The Stanford Prison Experiment: A Simulation Study.
4. How Facial Features Drive Our First Impressions.
5. Regular Marijuana Use Bad for Teens Brains, Study Finds.
6. Two for One: Lose Sleep and Brain Cells.
7. Taking Pictures to Remember May Help You to Forget.
8. The Case of Little Albert.
9. Meet the Psychologist Behind Big Brother.
10. Teen Insomnia Linked With Depression, Anxiety.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES:
1. Its Nature, Not Nurture: Personality Lies in Genes, Twin Study Shows.
2. The Stanford Prison Experiment: A Simulation Study.
3. Taking Pictures to Remember May Help you to Forget.
4. Teen Insomnia Linked with Depression, Anxiety.

Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
2

ARTICLE 1: PARENTS SEEKING SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST FOR KIDS NEED
PROFESSIONAL HELP THEMSELVES, PRACTITIONER CLAIMS
SOURCE: The Herald Sun http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/anxious-sports-kids-and-
their-parents-are-missing-the-fun/story-fndo45r1-1226459343294
AUTHOR: Andrew MacDonald
DATE: August 28
th
, 2012.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 1 Introduction to Psychology, Area of Study 1 What is Psychology?,
Outcome 1 Scope of psychology including specialist fields and fields of application and their
contribution to understanding human behaviour.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Techniques of qualitative and
quantitative data collection: case studies, observational studies, surveys, questionnaires, interviews,
rating scales, longitudinal, cross-sectional, and twin and adoption studies.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: This article gives students the opportunity to read about the duties of sports
psychologists and their application in everyday life. Students can debate at what age they think it is
appropriate for individuals to visit a sports psychologist, and ask themselves where the boundaries
should lie. They can also discuss the quality of the data observed and decide how accurate this
articles information is. The different styles of data collection can be defined, explained and
discussed in regards to how they could be applied to this article.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Observational report.
AIM: To convey disapproval at parents engaging the services of sports psychologists for their young
children.
HYPOTHESIS: n/a.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): n/a.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): n/a.


Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
3

ARTICLE 2: ITS NATURE, NOT NURTURE: PERSONALITY LIES IN GENES, TWIN
STUDY SHOWS
SOURCE: The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9267147/Its-nature-
not-nurture-personality-lies-in-genes-twins-study-shows.html
AUTHOR: Nick Collins.
DATE: May 16
th
, 2012.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 1 Introduction to Psychology, Area of Study 2 Lifespan Psychology,
Outcome 2 The interaction between heredity and environmental factors nature versus nurture
in influencing psychological development.
This article could also be used when teaching Unit 2 Self and Others, Area of Study 2 Intelligence
and Personality, Outcome 2 The concept of personality, including characteristic patterns of
thought, feelings and behaviours of an individual, and the influence of genetic and environmental
factors.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Experimental research:
construction of hypotheses, identification of independent, dependent and extraneous variables.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: This article advocates for nature (genetics) as being the greater determinant
of personality, and therefore could be used in a nature-nurture debate. Students could be instructed
to identify the independent, dependent and extraneous variables of the study and construct their
own hypothesis for it.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Independent-groups Quasi-experiment.
AIM: To determine whether genetics or upbringing has a greater effect on how successful people are
in life.
HYPOTHESIS: That genetics will have a greater effect than upbringing on how successful people are
in life, as measured using personality traits.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Identical versus non-identical (fraternal) twins.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Personality traits which contribute to chances of success in life.





Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
4

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1: ITS NATURE, NOT NURTURE: PERSONALITY LIES IN
GENES, TWIN STUDY SHOWS
Students need to read the article and write the aim of the study, identify the independent,
dependent and extraneous variables, and construct a hypothesis for the experiment. Students need
to consider the methods of selection and allocation of participants and the generalisation of results
to the population. Students will then debate the influence of nature versus nurture on personality.
AIM:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
HYPOTHESIS:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
DEPENDENT VARIABLE:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
POSSIBLE EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
PARTICIPANT SELECTION:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
PARTICIPANT ALLOCATION:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
GENERALISATION OF RESULTS:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
5

ANSWERS
AIM:
To determine whether genetics or upbringing has a greater effect on how successful people are in
life.
HYPOTHESIS:
That genetics will have a greater effect than upbringing on how successful people are in life, as
measured using personality traits.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:
Identical versus non-identical (fraternal) twins.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE:
Personality traits which contribute to chances of success in life.
POSSIBLE EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES:
- Factors other than genetics and upbringing.
- Socio-economic status.
- Geographical location.
- Sibling order.
- Type of upbringing.
PARTICIPANT SELECTION:
Participants were selected for the experiment on the basis of their twin status and whether they had
grown up in a shared or separate environment.
PARTICIPANT ALLOCATION:
Participants were allocated to experimental groups according to their twin status (identical or
fraternal).
GENERALISATION OF RESULTS:
As long as the 1,600 participants were randomly selected, representative of the wider population
and were matched according to other individual characteristics such as socio-economic status,
geographical location of upbringing, education, sibling order, type of upbringing. Etc. the results
should be able to be generalised.



Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
6

ARTICLE 3: THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT A SIMULATION STUDY OF
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMPRISONMENT CONDUCTED AT STANFORD
UNIVERSITY
SOURCE: http://www.prisonexp.org/ (article adapted from an internet slide show).
AUTHOR: Philip Zimbardo.
DATE: 1994-2014 (website information was updated in 2014).
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 2 Self and Others, Area of Study 1 Interpersonal and Group Behaviour,
Outcome 1 Social influences on the individual: effects of status and social power within groups,
informed by researchers such as Philip Zimbardo.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Experimental research:
operational independent and dependent variables, identification of extraneous and potential
confounding variables, identification of control and experimental groups, and reporting conventions.
Sampling procedures in selection and allocation of participants: random sampling, stratified
sampling, random-stratified sampling, and random allocation of participants to groups.
Ethical principles and professional conduct: the role of the experimenter, protection and security of
participants rights, confidentiality, voluntary participation, withdrawal rights, informed consent
procedures, use of deception in research, debriefing, use of animals in research, and role of ethics
committees.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: Although this article is a lengthy document (adapted from a slide show
website), it gives students a first-hand account of the events which transpired in the 1971 Stanford
Prison experiment, with an evaluation of the experiment by Philip Zimbardo himself. The article is
embedded with questions for students to consider and information which allows students to make
comparisons with news of real, recent prisoner abuse. Students can identify the different variables
of the experiment, the control of groups and the sampling procedures used in the experiment. They
could also find the violations of ethical principles and professional conduct within the study.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Independent-groups Experiment.
AIM: What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or
does evil triumph? (Why do individuals defer to figures in a perceived position of authority?)
HYPOTHESIS: That individuals will obey the commands of others who are perceived to be in a
position of authority.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Assignment to the role of prisoner or prison guard.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Psychological and physical reactions to authority.

Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
7

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2: THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT A SIMULATION
STUDY OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF IMPRISONMENT CONDUCTED AT STANFORD
UNIVERSITY
Students will answer the questions embedded in the article.
1. Consider the police procedures which make arrestees feel confused, fearful, and
dehumanized.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What are the effects of living in an environment with no clocks, no view of the outside world,
and minimal sensory stimulation?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. Consider the psychological consequences of stripping, delousing, and shaving the heads of
prisoners or members of the military. What transformations take place when people go
through an experience like this?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. How do you think you would have behaved if you were a prisoner in this situation? Would you
have rejected these privileges in order to maintain prisoner solidarity?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________



Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
8

5. Most prisoners believed that the subjects selected to be guards were chosen because they
were bigger than those who were made prisoners, but actually, there was no difference in the
average height of the two groups. What do you think caused this misperception?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. Compare the reactions of these visitors to the reactions of civilians in encounters with the
police or other authorities. How typical was their behaviour?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
7. In an exploratory study such as this, one problem is defining what the "data" are -- the
information we should collect. Also, what should have been done to minimize the effects of
experimenter bias on the outcome of the study? What were the dangers of the principal
investigator assuming the role of prison superintendent?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
8. In 2003 U.S. soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners held at Abu Ghraib, 20 miles west of Baghdad. The
prisoners were stripped, made to wear bags over their heads, and sexually humiliated while
the guards laughed and took photographs. How is this abuse similar to or different from what
took place in the Stanford Prison Experiment?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
9. In the encounter sessions, all the prisoners were happy the experiment was over, but most of
the guards were upset that the study was terminated prematurely. Why do you think the
guards reacted this way?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
9

10. Students will think of the specific ethical principles and standards that need to be applied to
this experiment, and note down how the experiment followed these ethical considerations or
violated them.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
10

ANSWERS
1. Consider the police procedures which make arrestees feel confused, fearful, and
dehumanized.
The procedures that police use to make arrestees feel confused, fearful and dehumanised can give
them feelings of hopelessness about their situation and cause feelings of depression, anxiety and
panic.
2. What are the effects of living in an environment with no clocks, no view of the outside world,
and minimal sensory stimulation?
Removing individuals from the outside world and adequate sensory stimulation can cause
individuals to feel disconnected from reality, develop a distorted sense of time and suffer from
delusions or hallucinations induced by boredom and lack of stimulation.
3. Consider the psychological consequences of stripping, delousing, and shaving the heads of
prisoners or members of the military. What transformations take place when people go
through an experience like this?
When people go through procedures designed to rid people of their individuality, they may feel
humiliated and that their identity is slipping away from them. The procedures may cause individuals
to feel dirty/unclean and inferior or insignificant.
4. How do you think you would have behaved if you were a prisoner in this situation? Would you
have rejected these privileges in order to maintain prisoner solidarity?
If I were a prisoner in this situation, I think that I would have accepted the privileges if there would
be no repercussions with the other prisoners and if I werent close to them. Otherwise, I would have
rejected these privileges in order to maintain prisoner solidarity.
5. Most prisoners believed that the subjects selected to be guards were chosen because they
were bigger than those who were made prisoners, but actually, there was no difference in the
average height of the two groups. What do you think caused this misperception?
I believe that this misperception is caused by the illusion that people in a position of authority
appear more commanding, authoritative/intimidating and powerful.
6. Compare the reactions of these visitors to the reactions of civilians in encounters with the
police or other authorities. How typical was their behaviour?
I would describe their behaviour as typical people are reluctant to challenge authority figures,
regardless of the inhumane nature of the situation, because they believe that they were powerless
to change that situation.


Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
11

7. In an exploratory study such as this, one problem is defining what the "data" are -- the
information we should collect. Also, what should have been done to minimize the effects of
experimenter bias on the outcome of the study? What were the dangers of the principal
investigator assuming the role of prison superintendent?
The experimenter should try to collect data that is relevant to the aims and hypotheses of the study.
To minimise the effects of experimenter bias on this study, Zimbardo should have distanced himself,
rather than concerned himself with filling the role of a prison superintendent, to focus on the duties
of being the principal investigator of the experiment.
8. In 2003 U.S. soldiers abused Iraqi prisoners held at Abu Ghraib, 20 miles west of Baghdad. The
prisoners were stripped, made to wear bags over their heads, and sexually humiliated while
the guards laughed and took photographs. How is this abuse similar to or different from what
took place in the Stanford Prison Experiment?
The abuse of prisoners at Abu Graib is very similar to the abuse that occurred during the Stanford
Prison Experiment because the prison guards acted above their given authority to humiliate the
prisoners, which they seemed to enjoy doing.
9. In the encounter sessions, all the prisoners were happy the experiment was over, but most of
the guards were upset that the study was terminated prematurely. Why do you think the
guards reacted this way?
I think that the guards were disappointed with the early termination of the experiment because they
were enjoying the power and authority that the guard position gave them.
10. Students will think of the specific ethical principles and standards that need to be applied to
this experiment, and note down how the experiment followed these ethical considerations or
violated them. The principles that need to be considered for this experiment include; the role
of the experimenter, protection of participants rights, confidentiality, voluntary participation,
withdrawal rights, informed consent, use of deception, debriefing and the role of ethics
committees.
THE ROLE OF THE EXPERIMENTER:
- Potential participants were given full diagnostic interviews and personality tests.
- Zimbardo failed to act in the best interests of the participants are head experimenter, because
he became too involved in acting out the role of the prison superintendent. He failed to collect
data for a whole day because he was concerned with the security of the prison.
- Zimbardo terminated the experiment early when it became clear that participants were being
adversely affected.
PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS RIGHTS:
- Participants were denied their basic human rights while they were participants.
- Each prisoner was systematically humiliated.
- Physical punishment was imposed on the prisoners.
Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
12

- Some prisoners began to suffer emotional disturbances.
- Participants were refused medical attention when they requested it.
CONFIDENTIALITY:
- Participants (those assigned to be prisoners) were arrested at home for authenticity, in full view
of neighbours and other community members, which compromised keeping their details
completely confidential.
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION:
- The advertisement for voluntary participants to help study the psychological effects of prison
life was placed in a newspaper.
WITHDRAWAL RIGHTS:
- Participants were told that they could withdraw from the experiment at any time, but when
they expressed the wish to do so, the experimenters coerced the participants into continuing
with the experiment.
INFORMED CONSENT:
- The participants were informed that their usual rights would be suspended if they were
assigned to be prisoners.
USE OF DECEPTION:
- The experimenters deceived the participants families and friends into believing that the
participants were being well cared for.
DEBRIEFING:
- Several sessions were held with guards, then the prisoners, then all individuals to recount
observations, share experiences, and for moral re-education.
- Debriefing sessions were held months after the experiment.
ROLE OF ETHICS COMMITTEES:
- An ethics committee reviewed and approved Zimbardos experiment.


Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
13

ARTICLE 4: HOW FACIAL FEATURES DRIVE OUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS
SOURCE: BBC News - http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28512781
AUTHOR: Jonathan Webb.
DATE: July 28
th
, 2014.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 2 Self and Others, Area of Study One Interpersonal and Group
Behaviour, Outcome 1 The interrelationship between attitudes, prejudice and discrimination:
factors contributing to the development of prejudice.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Techniques of qualitative and
quantitative data collection: observational studies, self-reports, surveys, questionnaires, interviews,
rating scales, standardised and non-standardised tests.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: The article reports on the results of a study measuring all of the different
factors that affect individuals social judgments of others faces and discusses these judgments
generalisation to other situations, which can be related to the study of attitudes, prejudice and
discrimination. Students can discuss the method of data collection used, evaluate its effectiveness
and brainstorm other ways of collecting data for a study such as this.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Survey.
AIM: To investigate which factors of facial expressions lead to favourable first impressions.
HYPOTHESIS: That there are specific social traits which influence whether individuals first
impressions of others faces are favourable or unfavourable.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Different factors that affect social judgments of others faces, such as
youth, attractiveness, dominance. Etc.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Favourability of social judgments of peoples faces.








Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
14

ARTICLE 5: REGULAR MARIJUANA USE BAD FOR TEENS BRAINS, STUDY FINDS
SOURCE: Science Daily - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140809141436.htm
AUTHOR: American Psychological Association (APA).
DATE: August 9
th
, 2014.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 2 Self and Others, Area of Study 2 Intelligence and Personality,
Outcome 2 The concept of intelligences and factors that influences intelligence, including the
interaction of genetic and environmental factors; and Outcome 2 Strengths and limitations of
scientific methodologies used to measure intelligence, including: Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Statistics: measures of central
tendency including mean, median, mode, spread of scores including standard deviation and
variance, frequency distributions showing bimodal, normal and skew (positive and negative)
distributions, scatterplots and correlation, reliability including test-retest, inter-rater, parallel forms
and internal consistency, validity including content, criterion-related, construct and external.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: This article is relevant to the age and potential situations of year 12 students
as it examines the effects of marijuana on IQ and why IQ is believed to decrease with regular
marijuana use. Students can use the several studies mentioned in this article (and research them
further) to create figures, diagrams and tables of the statistics mentioned, and evaluate the
reliability and validity of the study.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Independent-groups Quasi-experiment.
AIM: To investigate the negative effects that regular marijuana use has on the brain and cognitive
functioning.
HYPOTHESIS: Regular marijuana use will result in more neurocognitive damage in youths, than those
individuals who do not e marijuana regularly.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Regular marijuana use.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Cognitive functioning (IQ) for memory and attention.

Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
15

ARTICLE 6: TWO FOR ONE: LOSE SLEEP AND BRAIN CELLS
SOURCE: The Age - http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/life/two-for-one-lose-sleep-and-brain-cells-
20140321-358m0.html
AUTHOR: Sarah Berry.
DATE: March 21
st
, 2014.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 3 The Conscious Self, Area of Study 1 Mind, Brain and Behaviour,
Outcome 1 Sleep as an altered state of consciousness, purpose of sleep, characteristics and
patterns of the stages of sleep including rapid eye movement (REM) and the non-rapid eye
movement (NREM) stages of sleep; and Outcome 1 The effects of total and partial sleep
deprivation: loss of REM and NREM sleep and sleep recovery patterns including the amount of sleep
required, REM rebound and micro-sleeps.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Experimental research:
construction of research hypotheses, identification and operationalization of independent and
dependent variables, identification of extraneous and potential confounding variables.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: This article presents the effects of insomnia in a real-life context. It explains
the neurological effects of the sleep patterns of shift workers replicated in laboratory mice, and
induces students to think about the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation in their own lives.
Students can use this study to construct their own hypothesis, identify and operationalise the
independent and dependent variables, and brainstorm possible extraneous and confounding
variables.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Repeated-measures Experiment.
AIM: To examine the effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive functioning.
HYPOTHESIS: That chronic lack of sleep (in mice) will lead to the irreversible loss of neurons that are
responsible for alertness and optimal cognition.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Sleep deprivation (sleep patterns similar to those of shift workers).
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Cell death of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons.

Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
16

ARTICLE 7: TAKING PICTURES TO REMEMBER MAY HELP YOU FORGET
SOURCE: ABC Science - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/12/11/3909455.htm
AUTHOR: Not Available.
DATE: December 11
th
, 2013.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 3 The Conscious Self, Area of Study 2 Memory, Outcome 2
Manipulation and improvement of memory.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Sampling procedures in selection
and allocation of participants, random sampling, stratified sampling, random-stratified sampling,
convenience sampling, random allocation of participants to groups, control and experimental
groups.
Statistics: measures of central tendency including mean, median and mode, interpretation of p-
values and conclusions, evaluation of research in terms of generalising the findings to the
population.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: This study demonstrates to students the importance of living in the
moment, rather than taking lots of photos, to remember events and objects more accurately.
Students can conduct further research on this experiment to explore the sampling procedures that
were used in this experiment, and calculate their own statistics on the figures presented in the
report.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Matched-participants Experiment.
AIM: To investigate the effects of excessive photo taking on memory for events and objects.
HYPOTHESIS: That people who take photographs of items during a museum tour are less likely to
remember the details of those objects, than those who merely looked at the objects.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Taking note of certain objects by either photographing them or
observing them.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Memory of object details on the museum tour.





Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
17

LEARNING ACTIVITY 3: TAKING PICTURES TO REMEMBER MAY HELP YOU
FORGET
Students will visit http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/no-pictures-
please-taking-photos-may-impede-memory-of-museum-tour.html to obtain further information
about the experiment. Students will then write out the aim, hypothesis, independent variable,
dependent variable, and procedure documenting the series of steps that were taken in this
experiment. In pairs, students will have to come up with a research design that adapts an aspect of
this study to further research the area. In doing this, students will need to discuss the implications
that population and sample size would have on their adapted study (generalisation of results).
AIM:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
HYPOTHESIS:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
DEPENDENT VARIABLE:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
PROCEDURE:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
18

ANSWERS
AIM: To investigate the effects of excessive photo taking on memory for events and objects.
HYPOTHESIS: That people who take photographs of items during a museum tour are less likely to
remember details, than those who merely looked at the objects.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Taking note of certain objects by either photographing them or
observing them.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Memory of object details on the museum tour.
PROCEDURE:
1. Participants were assigned to a condition taking photographs or observation.
2. Participants were lead on a tour of the museum and were asked to take note of certain objects,
either by photographing or observing them (according to their assigned condition).
3. The next day, participants were tested on their memory of objects at the museum.

Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
19

ARTICLE 8: THE CASE OF LITTLE ALBERT
SOURCE: http://www.all-about-psychology.com/conditioned-emotional-reactions.html
AUTHOR: John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner.
DATE: Accessed August 15
th
, 2014.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 4 Brain, Behaviour and Experience, Area of Study 1 Learning,
Outcome 1 Applications of Classical Conditioning; Comparisons of classical and operant
conditioning in terms of the processes of acquisition, extinction, stimulus generalisation, stimulus
discrimination, spontaneous recovery, role of learner, timing of stimulus and response, and nature
of response (reflexive/voluntary); and Outcome 1 - The extent to which ethical principles were
applied to classic research investigations into learning, including John Watsons Little Albert
experiment.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Techniques of qualitative and
quantitative data collection: case studies, observational studies, observational studies, self-reports
and questionnaires.
Ethical principles and professional conduct: the role of the experimenter, protection and security of
participants rights, confidentiality, voluntary participation, withdrawal rights, informed consent
procedures, use of deception in research, and debriefing.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: This report includes the notes that Watson made during the experiment of
his observations. This gives students the ability to read the account of events themselves (rather
than a textbook summary) and highlight the processes of Classical Conditioning and identify the
ethical principles not considered during the experiment. This is a lengthy, dense document, so it
would be more beneficial to give this report to students one section at a time.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Observational Case Study.
AIM: To investigate the possibility of conditioning various types of emotional responses.
HYPOTHESIS: That emotional responses can be conditioned by pairing an originally neutral stimulus
with an unpleasant stimulus, to create a strong emotional response to the originally neutral
stimulus.
UCS: Loud noise.
UCR: Fear.
CS: White rat.
CR: Fear.


Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
20

ARTICLE 9: MEET THE PSYCHOLOGIST BEHIND BIG BROTHER
SOURCE: News.com.au - http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/psychologist-behind-big-
brother/story-e6frfmyi-1226445644508
AUTHOR: Andrew Fenton.
DATE: August 7
th
, 2012.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 4 Brain, Behaviour and Experience, Area of Study 2 Mental Health,
Outcome 2 Use of a biopsychosocial framework (the interaction and integration of biological,
psychological and social factors) as an approach to considering physical and mental health.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Techniques of qualitative and
quantitative data collection: case studies, observational studies, self-reports and questionnaires.
Ethical principles and professional conduct: the role of the experimenter, protection and security of
participants rights, confidentiality, voluntary participant, withdrawal rights, informed consent
procedures, use of deception in research and debriefing.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: This interview with Big Brothers resident psychologist demonstrates to
students the extensive mental health considerations and screenings that are necessary before
individuals can be placed in a stressful environment or experience. Students can discuss the different
methods of collecting data on the mental states of potential housemates, and the ethical principles
that the show must consider when placing people within a social experiment such as this.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Interview.
AIM: To investigate the precautions and screening that the television show Big Brother takes when
deciding on applicants to join the house.
HYPOTHESIS: n/a.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): n/a.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): n/a.






Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
21

ARTICLE 10: TEEN INSOMNIA LINKED WITH DEPRESSION, ANXIETY
SOURCE: Science Daily - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140730093516.htm
AUTHOR: K. Pasquale, R. M. Roberts, and J. K. Harris.
DATE: July 30
th
, 2014.
RELATED DOT POINT: Unit 4 Brain, Behaviour and Experience, Area of Study 2 Mental Health,
Outcome 2 Application of a biopsychosocial framework to understanding major depression and its
management.
RELATED RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES: Statistics: measures of central
tendency including mean, median and mode, interpretation of p-values and conclusions, evaluation
of research in terms of generalising the findings to the population.
Experimental research: construction of research hypotheses, identification and operationalization of
independent and dependent variables, identification of extraneous and potential confounding
variables, including individual participant differences, non-standardised instructions and procedures,
experimenter effects, ways of minimising extraneous and confounding variables, evaluation of
different types of experimental research designs including independent-groups, matched-
participants, repeated measures, and reporting conventions.
JUSTIFICATION OF USE: This article makes links between biological, psychological, and social
contributors to insomnia with the development of mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Students can discuss other contributing factors to the development of major depression, and
calculate the statistics for the results of this study and well as create hypotheses, identify variables
and evaluate the research design.
INVESTIGATION TYPE: Independent-groups Quasi-experimental study.
AIM: To better understand the sleep habits, mental health conditions and times for optimal activity,
of Australian high school students.
HYPOTHESIS: That having insomnia is linked with greater chances of developing depression and/or
anxiety.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Sleep habits (insomnia).
DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S): Symptoms/diagnosis of mental issues.

Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
22

LEARNING ACTIVITY 4: TEEN INSOMNIA LINKED WITH DEPRESSION, ANXIETY
Using a full copy of this article (found at http://www.sleep-journal.com/article/S1389-
9457(14)00163-4/fulltext), students (as a class) will examine the statistical significance of the
correlations found in table 4 of the results section:
Table 4. Spearmans correlations between anxiety, subtypes of anxiety, depression, insomnia and
chronotype:
Anxiety
overall
Depression GAD PD OCD SAD SP Insomnia Chronotype
Anxiety
overall
1 0.744 0.790

0.800

0.797

0.843

0.866

0.580 0.207
Depression 1 0.484

0.683

0.693

0.578

0.659

0.672 0.369
GAD 1 0.537

0.573

0.649

0.590

0.414 0.030
PD 1 0.637

0.643

0.593

0.503 0.218
OCD 1 0.619

0.597

0.457 0.193
SAD 1 0.659

0.447 0.178
SP 1 0.496 0.222
Insomnia 1 0.438
Chronotype 1
GAD, generalized anxiety disorder; PD, panic disorder; OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder; SAD,
separation anxiety disorder; SP, social phobia.
** P < 0.01 (two-tailed).

What is a correlation?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Does correlation imply causation? Why/Why Not?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Which of these correlations are not statistically significant? Why?
___________________________________________________________________________
In your opinion is this research credible, valid and reliable?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Prepare a two-minute speech on the conclusions that you would draw from this data.
Elizabeth Ferguson s4492512 - Teaching Psychology 2 - Using Media Resources to Teach Research Methods
23

ANSWERS
What is a correlation?
A relationship between two or more variables.
Does correlation imply causation?
No, correlation does not imply causation. Just because there is a relationship between the two
variables does not mean that one variable causes another.
Which of these correlations are not statistically significant? Why?
Chronotype and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. P was greater than 0.01.
In your opinion is this research credible, valid and reliable?
The research article was published in The Journal of Sleep Medicine indicating that the research was
credible, and the findings have been confirmed by other researchers, adding to its credibility.
The research is valid because the experiment measured teen insomnia links with depression, anxiety
and other mental disorders which it aimed to measure.
These mental health links have been found by other researchers, therefore the research could be
considered to be reliable.
Prepare a two-minute speech on the conclusions that you would draw from this data.
There is are statistically significant correlations between chronotype, insomnia, generalised anxiety
disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, separation anxiety disorder and social
phobia with the exception of chronotype and generalised anxiety disorder. This indicates that
insomnia in teenagers has been linked with mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, but
does not mean that insomnia causes mental disorders.