Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY (6th Ed)

1. Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY (6th Ed) Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science James A. McCubbin, PhD Clemson University Worth Publishers

2. Thinking Critically with Psychological Science • Critical Thinking • thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions • examines assumptions • discerns hidden values • evaluates evidence

3. Limits of Intuition and Common Sense • Hindsight Bias • tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it • the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon • Overconfidence • we tend to think we know more than we do

4. The Scientific Attitude • Curiosity– a passion to explore and understand without misleading or being mislead • Skeptical, but not cynical (open, but not gullible • Willing to question any truth claim, asking for clarity in definition, consistency in logic, adequacy of evidence “Paul Kurtz” • Humility– ability to reject one’s own ideas Smart Thinking=Critical Thinking

5. Research Strategies • Theory • an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations • Hypothesis • a testable prediction • often implied by a theory

6. theories lead to generate or refine research and observations hypothesis The Scientific Method

7. Research Strategies • Operational Definition • a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables • Example- • intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

8. Research Strategies • Replication • repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other subjects and circumstances • usually with different subjects in different situations • Case Study • an observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

9. Research Strategies • Survey • technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people • usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them • False Consensus Effect • tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors

10. Research Strategies • Population • all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study • Random Sample • a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

11. Research Strategies • If marbles of two colors are mixed well in the large jar, the fastest way to know their ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller one and count them

12. Research Strategies • Naturalistic Observation • observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

13. Research Strategies • Correlation Coefficient • a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together and thus how well either factor predicts the other Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative) Correlation coefficient r = +.37 Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00)

14. Research Strategies • Scatterplot • a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables • the slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship • the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation • little scatter indicates high correlation • also called a scattergram or scatter diagram

15. Perfect positive correlation (+1.00) No relationship (0.00) Perfect negative correlation (-1.00) Research Strategies

16. 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 Temperament scores Height in inches Research Strategies • Scatterplot of Height and Temperament 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

17. Height and Temperament of 20 Men Height in Inches Height in Inches Temperament Temperament Subject Subject 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 80 63 61 79 74 69 62 75 77 60 75 66 60 90 60 42 42 60 81 39 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 64 76 71 66 73 70 63 71 68 70 48 69 72 57 63 75 30 57 84 39 Research Strategies

18. Research Strategies • Three Possible Cause-Effect Relationships could cause (1) Low self-esteem Depression or (2) Depression could cause Low self-esteem or Low self-esteem (3) Distressing events or biological predisposition could cause and Depression

19. Conceive Do not conceive confirming evidence disconfirming evidence Adopt disconfirming evidence confirming evidence Do not adopt Illusory Correlation • Illusory Correlation • the perception of a relationship where none exists

20. Random Sequences • Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.

21. Research Strategies • Experiment • the investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) while controlling other relevant factors by random assignment of subjects • by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors

22. Research Strategies • Double-blind Procedure • both the subject and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the subject has received the treatment or a placebo • commonly used in drug-evaluation studies • Placebo • an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent

23. Research Strategies • Experimental Condition • the condition of an experiment that exposes subjects to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable • Control Condition • the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental treatment • serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

24. Research Strategies • Random Assignment • assigning subjects to experimental and control conditions by chance • minimizes pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups

25. Research Strategies • Independent Variable • the experimental factor that is manipulated • the variable whose effect is being studied • Dependent Variable • the experimental factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable • in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process

26. Research Strategies Comparing Research Methods Research Method Basic Purpose How Conducted What is Manipulated Descriptive To observe and Case studies, surveys, Nothing record behavior and naturalistic observations Correlational To detect naturally Computing statistical Nothing occuring relationships; association, sometimes to assess how well among survey one variable predicts responses Experimental To explore cause Manipulating one or Independent and effect more factors and using variable(s) random assignment to eliminate preexisting differences among subjects

27. Subliminal tape content Self-esteem Memory Tape label Self-esteem Memory Research Strategies • Design of the subliminal tapes experiment

28. 100% 99 98 97 96 95 Percentage still functioning after 10 years Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z Brand of truck Statistical Reasoning

29. 100% 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percentage still functioning after 10 years Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z Brand of truck Statistical Reasoning

30. Statistical Reasoning • Mode • the most frequently occurring score in a distribution • Mean • the arithmetic average of a distribution • obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores • Median • the middle score in a distribution • half the scores are above it and half are below it

31. 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 90 475 710 70 Mode Median Mean One Family Income per family in thousands of dollars Statistical Reasoning • A Skewed Distribution

32. Statistical Reasoning • Range • the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution • Standard Deviation • a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean • Statistical Significance • a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

33. Does Behavior Depend on One’s Culture? • Culture • the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next