BRANCHES

OF
PSYCHOLOG
Y

MAJOR BRANCHES
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
BEHAVIORAL
PSYCHOLOGY/BEHAVIORISM
PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY/
BIOLOGICAL/PSYCHOBIOLOGY
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

OTHER BRANCHES
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
EDUCATIONAL/SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY
EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY

 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
CLINICAL AND COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOMETRICS
INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

METHODS IN
PSYCHOLOGY

SURVEY
CASE STUDY
EXPERIMENT

SURVEY
Is a way to
obtain
information by
asking many
individuals to
answer a fixed set
of questions

DISADVANTAGES:
o How questions are
worded
o Who asks the
questions
ADVANTAGES:
Quick
Efficient

CASE STUDY
Is an in-depth analysis of
thoughts, feelings, beliefs,
experiences, behaviors, or
problems of a single individual.

EXPERIMENT
Is a method for identifying
cause-and-effect relationships
by following a set of rules and
guidelines that minimize the
possibility of error, bias, and
chance occurrences.

SEVEN RULES:
CONDUCTING AN
EXPERIMENT

RULE 1: ASK

HYPOTHESIS is an educated guess

about some phenomenon and is stated
in precise, concrete language to rule
out confusion or error in the meaning of
its terms.

HYPOTHESIS
Ritalin will increase positive
classroom behaviors of children
diagnosed with ADHD (Attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder)

RULE 2: IDENTIFY
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
-is a treatment or something that the researcher
controls or manipulates.
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
-is one or more of the subjects behaviors that
are used to measure the potential effects of the
treatment or independent variable.

 IV: Drug treatment

DV: Childs positive
classroom behaviors

RULE 3: CHOOSE
RANDOM SELECTION
-means that each participant in a
sample population has an equal
chance of being selected for the
experiment.

RULE 4: ASSIGN
EXPERIMENTAL GROUP
-is composed of those who receive the
treatment.
CONTROL GROUP
-is composed of participants who undergo
all the same procedures as the experimental
participants except that the control
participants do not receive the treatment.

EXPERIMENTAL GROUP: Ritalin

CONTROL GROUP: Placebo
PLACEBO is some intervention, such as taking a
pill, receiving an injection, or undergoing an
operation, that resembles medical therapy but that,
in fact, has no medical effects.
PLACEBO EFFECT is a change in the patients
illness that is attributable to an imagined treatment
rather than to a medical treatment.

RULE 5: MANIPULATE
DOUBLE-BLIND PROCEDURE
-means neither participants nor
researchers know which group is
receiving which treatment.

RULE 6: MEASURE
RULE 7: ANALYZE
STATISTICAL PROCEDURE
-are used to determine whether differences
observed in DV (behaviors) are due to IV
(treatment) or to error or chance occurrence.

RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
QUESTIONNAIRES AND
INTERVIEWS
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS
STANDARDIZED TEST
ANIMAL MODELS

RESEARCH SETTINGS

NATURALISTIC SETTING
LABORATORY SETTING