D2.Psy.3.9-12: Theories, Methods and Findings in Psychological Research

Overview

Lesson Procedure

65-70 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15 minutes
5. Closure10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "Do people work faster when someone is working next to them than when they work alone? Write your prediction and the reason behind it. Then write one thing you would have to measure to check your reason, not just your prediction."

   Collect two or three reasons. Point out that a prediction ("faster") can come true for several different reasons, and that a study is designed around the reason, the theory, that the researcher wants to test. Today's case is Norman Triplett's 1898 study of competition, which began with bicycle racing records.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   D2.Psy.3.9-12 names three things a researcher must discuss: theories (explanations that predict), methodologies (how evidence is gathered) and empirical findings (what was observed), so that research can be planned, conducted and, above all, interpreted. Teach the terms below, then read Sources 1 and 2.

   Research terms used in this lesson (definitions written for this page)

   Term	Meaning	Question to ask
   Theory	An explanation of why something happens that predicts new results	What would we observe if this explanation were true?
   Archival data	Records collected for another purpose, such as official race times	Who ended up in these records, and why?
   Laboratory experiment	A study that varies one condition under controlled conditions	What has the setup removed, and what is left?
   Within-subjects design	Each participant is measured in every condition	Could earlier trials change later ones?
   Practice effect and fatigue	Improvement from repetition, or decline from tiredness, across trials	How does the design separate these from the condition?
   Counterbalancing	Giving the conditions in different orders to different participants	Does every condition appear early and late equally often?
   Individual differences	Real variation in how participants respond	Do averages hide people who respond differently?
   Interpretation	The researcher's explanation of what the findings mean	Is this what the data show, or what the researcher believes?

   1Of the seven or eight not wholly distinct theories which have been advanced to account for the faster time made in paced as compared with unpaced competitive races and paced races against time as against unpaced races against time, a number need only be stated very briefly. They are grouped according to their nature and first are given two mechanical theories.

   [...]

   2Encouragement Theory. The presence of a friend on the pacing machine to encourage and keep up the spirits of the rider is claimed to be of great help. The mental disposition has been long known to be of importance in racing as in other cases where energy is expended. It is still as true as in Virgil's time that the winners "can because they think they can."

   [...]

   3The Dynamogenic Factors. The remaining factors to be discussed are those which the experiments on competition, detailed in the second part hereof, attempt to explain. No effort is made to weaken the force of the foregoing factors in accounting for the better time of paced races in comparison with unpaced races of the same type, but the facts of this study are given to throw whatever additional light they may.

   4This theory of competition holds that the bodily presence of another rider is a stimulus to the racer in arousing the competitive instinct; that another can thus be the means of releasing or freeing nervous energy for him that he cannot of himself release; and, further, that the sight of movement in that other by perhaps suggesting a higher rate of speed, is also an inspiration to greater effort. These are the factors that had their counterpart in the experimental study following; and it is along these lines that the facts determined are to find their interpretation.

   1In presenting these records it is with the feeling that they have almost the force of a scientific experiment. There are, it is computed, over 2,000 racing wheelmen, all ambitious to make records. The figures as they stand to-day have been evolved from numberless contests, a few men making records which soon fall to some of the host who are pressing closely behind. Reductions now made, however, are in general small in amount. Were all the men engaged in racing to make an effort to reduce the time in the kinds of races named, it is probable that the records already made would stand or be but very little reduced while the present leaders and their closest competitors would again assert their superiority, each in his own style of race. Regarding the faster time of the paced races, as derived from the records, it may be asked whether the difference is due to pacing or to the kind of men who take part; and whether the argument ascribing the difference noted to pacing or competition should have less validity from the fact that different men hold the records in the different races. Men fast at one kind of racing are found to be comparatively slow at another. It is for this reason, perhaps, that Michael refuses to meet any one in an unpaced contest. The racer finds by experience that race in which he is best fitted to excel and specializes in that. The difference in time, therefore, between the paced and unpaced race, as shown by the records, is a measure of the difference between the experts in the two classes of racers. It seems probable that the same amount of difference exists relatively between the averages of the classes they represent. A striking practical proof that the difference between the paced and unpaced trials noted in the records is due to pacing, is found in the paced and unpaced time of some individual racers, given later, in which the difference in time corresponds closely to that of the records. The fact may be mentioned, too, that wheelmen themselves generally regard the value of a pace to be from 20 to 30 seconds in the mile.

   • Theories make different predictions: Source 1

     Triplett says the theories fall into groups and that "first are given two mechanical theories" (paragraph 1). How do the mechanical theories differ from the encouragement and dynamogenic theories in what they predict?

     Result: Mechanical theories explain the pace by physical forces on the rider, so they predict a gain only where those forces exist. The encouragement theory points to "The presence of a friend" who keeps "up the spirits of the rider" (paragraph 2), and the dynamogenic theory to "the bodily presence of another rider" as "a stimulus" (paragraph 4). Both are psychological, so they predict a gain even where no physical force acts.

   • Methodology: the limits of archival data (Source 2)

     Triplett's first evidence was official records. What problem does he raise about them?

     Result: He asks "whether the difference is due to pacing or to the kind of men who take part," since "different men hold the records in the different races." That is a selection problem: riders choose the race they are best at, so record differences mix the condition with the people. His answer is to compare "the paced and unpaced time of some individual racers," the same people in both conditions.

   • From theory to a testable hypothesis

     Turn the dynamogenic theory (Source 1, paragraph 4) into a hypothesis for a laboratory.

     Result: If another person's bodily presence is a stimulus, then a person turning a reel as fast as possible will finish faster when a second person turns a reel beside them in a race than when turning alone, with the task, the distance and the practice held the same.

   • Reading a finding with its comparison (Source 4, paragraph 3)

     In the sixth trial, Group A raced and Group B worked alone, after equal practice. What does the paragraph report, and how big is the gap?

     Result: "the competition trial gaining 2.12 seconds, and the trial alone losing .82 seconds with respect to the preceding trial." The gap between the two changes is 2.12 + 0.82 = 2.94 seconds. Because practice is equal at that point, the gap is evidence for an effect of competition in these groups, not proof that it holds for every person.

   Stress the word especially in the indicator: interpretation is where most errors happen, as Source 7 will show.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   Read Source 3, Triplett's laboratory method, together. As a class, list each design choice and the problem it solves. Then plan, on paper, how a modern team would change one choice.

   1From the laboratory competitions to be described, abstraction was made of nearly all the forces above outlined. In the 40 seconds the average trial lasted, no shelter from the wind was required, nor was any suction exerted, the only brain worry incident was that of maintaining a sufficiently high rate of speed to defeat the competitors. From the shortness of the time and nature of the case, generally, it is doubtful if any automatic movements could be established. On the other hand, the effort was intensely voluntary. It may be likened to the 100 yard dash — a sprint from beginning to end.

   [...]

   2The apparatus for this study consisted of two fishing reels whose cranks turned in circles of one and three-fourths inches diameter. These were arranged on a Y shaped frame work clamped to the top of a heavy table, as shown in the cut. The sides of this frame work were spread sufficiently far apart to permit of two persons turning side by side. Bands of twisted silk cord ran over the well lacquered axes of the reels and were supported at C and D, two meters distant, by two small pulleys. The records were taken from the course A D. The other course B C being used merely for pacing or competition purposes. The wheel on the side from which the records were taken communicated the movement made to a recorder, the stylus of which traced a curve on the drum of a kymograph. The direction of this curve corresponded to the rate of turning, as the greater the speed the shorter and straighter the resulting line.

   [...]

   3A subject taking the experiment was required to practice turning the reel until he had become accustomed to the machine. After a short period of rest the different trials were made with five-minute intervals between to obviate the possible effects of fatigue.

   4A trial consisted in turning the reel at the highest rate of speed until a small flag sewed to the silk band had made four circuits of the four-meter course. The time of the trial was taken by means of a stop-watch. The direction of the curves made on the drum likewise furnished graphic indications of the difference in time made between trials.

   [...]

   5In the course of the work the records of nearly 225 persons of all ages were taken. However, all the tables given below, and all statements made, unless otherwise specified, are based on the records of 40 children taken in the following manner: After the usual preliminaries of practice, six trials were made by each of 20 subjects in this order: first a trial alone, followed by a trial in competition, then another alone, and thus alternating through the six efforts, giving three trials alone and three in competition. Six trials were taken by 20 other children of about the same age, the order of trials in this case being the first trial alone, second alone, third a competition trial, fourth alone, fifth a competition, and sixth alone.

   6By this scheme, a trial of either sort, after the first one, by either of the two groups, always corresponds to a different trial by the opposite group. Further, when the subjects of the two groups come to their fourth and sixth trials, an equal amount of practice has been gained by an equal number of trials of the same kind. This fact should be remembered in any observation of the time made in trials by any group.

   • Task choice. A short, all-out task (paragraph 1) removes several of the race theories at once, so what remains is closer to the dynamogenic theory.
   • Two orders of trials. One group of 20 alternated alone and competition from the first trial; the other did two trials alone before its first race (paragraph 5). Ask: what does paragraph 6 say the scheme guarantees by the fourth and sixth trials?
   • Planning change. Model one: replace Triplett's single setting with volunteers from several schools, so the sample is less narrow, and get a parent's permission and each young person's own agreement before anyone takes part.
4. Independent Practice15 minutes

   Students read Triplett's results (Sources 4 and 5) and then conduct the analysis of a paper replication (Source 6), whose data are invented. No one runs the study on classmates: conducting it here means following the analysis protocol exactly.

   1The three tables which follow are made up from the records of the 40 subjects mentioned. The classification was in general determined by the time record as taken by the watch.

   2The first table gives the records of 20 subjects who, on the whole, were stimulated positively. The second table contains 10 records of subjects who were overstimulated. The third table shows the time of 10 subjects who give slight evidence of being stimulated.

   [...]

   3The 20 subjects given in Group A and Group B, of Table I, in nearly all cases make marked reductions in the competition trials. The averages show large gains in these trials and small gains or even losses for the succeeding trials alone. The second trial for Group A is a competition, for Group B a trial alone. The gain between the first and second trials of the first group is 5.6 seconds, between the first and second trials of the second group, 2.52 seconds. The latter represents the practice effect — always greatest in the first trials, the former the element of competition plus the practice. The third trial in Group A — a trial alone — is .72 seconds slower than the preceding race trial. The third trial in Group B — a competition — is 4.48 seconds faster than the preceding trial alone. The fourth trials in these two groups are on an equality, as regards practice, from an equal number of trials of the same kind. In the first case the gain over the preceding trial is 3.32 seconds. In the latter there is a loss of 1.58 seconds from the time of the preceding competition trial. In like manner there is an equality of conditions in regard to the sixth trial of these groups, and again the effect of competition plainly appears, the competition trial gaining 2.12 seconds, and the trial alone losing .82 seconds with respect to the preceding trial. These are decided differences. Curve No. 1 in Chart II is a graphical representation of them.

   1The 10 subjects whose records are given in Table II are of interest. With them stimulation brought a loss of control. In one or more of the competition trials of each subject in this group the time is very much slower than that made in the preceding trial alone. Most frequently this is true of the first trial in competition, but with some was characteristic of every race. In all, 14 of the 25 races run by this group were equal or slower than the preceding trial alone. This seems to be brought about in large measure by the mental attitude of the subject. An intense desire to win, for instance, often resulting in over-stimulation. Accompanying phenomena were labored breathing, flushed faces and a stiffening or contraction of the muscles of the arm. A number of young children of from 5 to 9 years, not included in our group of 40, exhibited the phenomena most strikingly, the rigidity of the arm preventing free movement and in some cases resulting in an almost total inhibition of movement. The effort to continue turning in these cases was by a swaying of the whole body.

   [...]

   2The subjects in Table III, are a small group who seemed very little affected by competition. They made very fast time, but they are older than the average; their muscular control was good, and they had the forearm movements. Practice gains while somewhat apparent at first in some cases, are, as shown by curve No. 3 of the chart, on the whole, less in amount.

   [...]

   3In the records of the 40 subjects found in the three groups discussed above, there are 80 cases wherein a competition trial is followed by a trial alone. Of these, 45 were made in faster time than the preceding competition trial. Several facts seem to contribute to this result.

   4First, greater facility in turning naturally follows from the practice gained in former trials. In general, spectators were not permitted during the trials alone, but in a few cases visitors were present. The effect of this would be to stimulate the subject in a trial alone. Then, too, the competition element entered into the trials alone and it was found advisable in some cases to keep from the subject the time made, as there was a constant desire to beat his own or his friend's records, and thus make all the trials competitive. The competition feeling seemed present all the time. It is felt, therefore, that succeeding trials alone are not really non-competitive trials.

   1Invented replication summary with invented data, written for this page. A research team planned a modern version of Triplett's study using a peg-sorting task: each volunteer sorted 50 pegs by color as fast as possible, once alone and once with another person sorting at the next table. The 12 volunteers were adults who read and signed a consent form, knew they could stop at any time, and were told afterward what the study was testing. A review board approved the plan. A coin toss put volunteers 1-6 in the order alone, then together, and volunteers 7-12 in the order together, then alone. Each volunteer practiced once before the timed trials, and the two trials were five minutes apart.

   2Times in seconds (alone, together): volunteer 1: 62.4, 58.1; volunteer 2: 55.0, 53.2; volunteer 3: 70.3, 64.9; volunteer 4: 58.7, 60.2; volunteer 5: 66.1, 61.0; volunteer 6: 52.8, 52.5; volunteer 7: 60.5, 57.9; volunteer 8: 74.2, 76.0; volunteer 9: 57.6, 54.0; volunteer 10: 63.9, 60.7; volunteer 11: 68.4, 63.3; volunteer 12: 59.2, 59.6.

   3The team will report the difference for each volunteer as the together time minus the alone time, so a negative difference means faster together.

   Analysis protocol for Source 6:

   1. For each volunteer, compute together time minus alone time.
   2. Count how many differences are negative, positive and zero.
   3. Compute the mean difference for all 12 volunteers, then separately for volunteers 1-6 and 7-12.
   4. Write one sentence that states the finding and one that states its main limit.

   Keep the work: the quiz asks about these results.

5. Closure10 minutes

   1SVHS-written sample interpretation, with deliberate errors for students to find. "Our replication proves that working next to another person makes everyone faster. The average volunteer improved by about two seconds, which is the same as Triplett found, so his 1898 theory is completely right. They were faster because the other person encouraged them. Because this worked for 12 adults, schools should seat every student next to a partner during tests."

   Exit ticket: "Source 7 contains at least four interpretation errors. Name two, and rewrite one sentence so it says only what the data show."

   Teacher notes. (1) Triplett's subjects were children. Today, federal rules for research with children require adequate provisions for "soliciting the assent of the children" and "the permission of each child's parents or guardian" (45 CFR 46.408), which D2.Psy.4.9-12 covers. (2) The article uses 1898 language, such as "competitive instinct" and "nervous energy," and also makes claims about differences between boys and girls from small groups; this page leaves those claims out and does not present them as current findings. (3) Sources 6 and 7 are invented for teaching; their data are not real.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 1, paragraph 4 says that "the bodily presence of another rider is a stimulus to the racer in arousing the competitive instinct." What kind of statement is this?

   AA theory: a proposed explanation that predicts results BA methodology: a description of how data were gathered CAn empirical finding: a measured result from the laboratory DA replication: a repeat of an earlier study's procedure

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which part of the theory in Source 1, paragraph 4 is about what the racer sees?

   A"the bodily presence of another rider is a stimulus to the racer" B"releasing or freeing nervous energy for him that he cannot of himself release" C"the sight of movement in that other by perhaps suggesting a higher rate of speed" D"it is along these lines that the facts determined are to find their interpretation"

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In Source 2, why does Triplett point out that there are "over 2,000 racing wheelmen, all ambitious to make records"?

   ATo show that most riders in 1897 preferred to race without a pacemaker BTo explain why the record times were set by riders of every skill level CTo prove that pacing helps every one of those riders by the same amount DTo argue that so many riders pushed the records close to the limit

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 2 ends: "wheelmen themselves generally regard the value of a pace to be from 20 to 30 seconds in the mile." What kind of evidence is this?

   AA measured result from Triplett's own reel-turning laboratory trials BThe shared belief of people who race, which is not itself a measurement CAn official record kept by the Racing Board of the League of American Wheelmen DA counterbalanced comparison of the same riders in paced and unpaced races

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3, paragraph 3 says the trials were made "with five-minute intervals between to obviate the possible effects of fatigue." What does this design choice protect?

   AIt makes sure every child practices the same number of times before racing BIt keeps tiredness from building up and slowing later trials CIt lets the children watch one another between trials DIt hides each child's previous time from the child

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Triplett timed each trial with a stop-watch and also recorded a curve on a drum (Source 3, paragraphs 2 and 4). Why is having two records of the same trial useful?

   AIt doubles the number of children in the study without new recruiting BIt makes the competition trials and the trials alone take the same time CIt removes the need to compare races with trials alone DEach record can check the other, so a timing slip is easier to catch

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 3, paragraph 5 says records of "nearly 225 persons of all ages were taken," but the tables are "based on the records of 40 children." What does this mean for interpreting the results?

   AThe reported findings describe those 40 children, not all 225 people or adults in general BThe findings apply to all 225 people because they were all tested on the same machine CThe 40 children must be the fastest of the 225, since only their tables were kept DThe other 185 records must have contradicted the findings, or they would be in the tables

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 4, paragraph 3 says that in the third trial Group A, racing earlier and now alone, was ".72 seconds slower," while Group B, now racing, was "4.48 seconds faster" than its preceding trial. How many seconds apart are the two groups' changes?

   A3.76 B4.48 C5.20 D0.72

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Source 5, paragraph 1 reports that "14 of the 25 races run by this group were equal or slower than the preceding trial alone." What percent of that group's races is this?

   A56% B44% C14% D25%

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Source 5, paragraph 3 notes that in 45 of 80 cases a trial alone was faster than the race just before it. What is the first explanation Triplett gives in paragraph 4?

    ASpectators were always present during the trials alone BThe children did not try hard during the races CThe trials alone were timed with a different watch DSkill from earlier trials, a practice effect

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Source 5, paragraph 2 says the children who "seemed very little affected by competition" were "older than the average" with good muscular control. Why does this matter for interpretation?

    AIt shows that competition has no effect on anyone older than ten BIt proves these children did not care whether they won CAge may explain it, so the small effect may not be a lasting trait DIt means their trials were run incorrectly and should now be dropped

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In the invented data of Source 6, what is the mean difference (together time minus alone time) across all 12 volunteers?

    A-2.6 seconds B-2.3 seconds C-27.7 seconds D+2.3 seconds

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Three volunteers in Source 6 were slower with another person nearby. How should the research team handle these results?

    AReport them with the rest, since they show individual differences BRemove them, since they did not fit the hypothesis the team was testing CReplace them with three new volunteers who are more likely to be faster DAverage them separately and report only the faster volunteers' mean

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    A team wants to know whether Triplett's finding holds beyond his sample. Which planned change tests that most directly?

    AUse the same 40 children again with a newer stop-watch BGive every participant more practice trials before the races CTest only the fastest volunteers so the times are more precise DRecruit consenting volunteers of several ages and places

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Explain why Triplett's laboratory method (Source 3, paragraph 1) tests the dynamogenic theory more directly than the race records in Source 2 can. Quote each source.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    In Source 4, paragraph 3, the first-to-second-trial gain was 5.6 seconds for Group A (alone, then race) and 2.52 seconds for Group B (alone, then alone). Explain why Triplett compares these two numbers and estimate the effect of competition.

    Show model answer

17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Conduct a further analysis of Source 6. Compute the mean difference for volunteers 1-6 (alone first) and for volunteers 7-12 (together first). Explain what the gap between the two means suggests and why the coin toss order matters.

    Show model answer

18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 7 is a flawed interpretation of Source 6. Identify four errors and explain each in one sentence.

    Show model answer

19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Plan, on paper only, a replication of Triplett's study with high school volunteers. Give the hypothesis, the two conditions, how the order of trials will be counterbalanced, the dependent variable, one design feature borrowed from Source 3, and the permissions you would need.

    Show model answer

20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Source 5, paragraph 4 concludes that "succeeding trials alone are not really non-competitive trials." How does this affect the interpretation of Triplett's results, and what change to the method would address it?

    Show model answer

These standards connect to D2.Psy.3.9-12: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), The College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History (Silver Spring, MD: NCSS, 2013). NCSS was not involved in the production of this lesson and does not endorse it.