Myers EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY 5th Ed

1. Myers’ EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (5th Ed) Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science James A. McCubbin, PhD Clemson University Worth Publishers

2. What is Psychology? Psychology the science of behavior and mental processes Nature-Nurture Issue the long-standing controversy over the relative contribution of genes and experience to the development of psychological traits and behaviors

3. What is Psychology?

4. What is Psychology? Basic Research pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base Applied Research scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

5. What is Psychology? Clinical Psychology a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders Psychiatry a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatment as well as psychological therapy

6. Why do Psychology? 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

7. Why do Psychology? Critical Thinking thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions examines assumptions discerns hidden values evaluates evidence assesses conclusions

8. The Scientific Method Theory an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations Hypothesis a testable prediction often implied by a theory

9. The Scientific Method

10. The Scientific Method Operational Definition a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables for example, intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

11. The Scientific Method Replication repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants 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

12. The Scientific Method Survey technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them

13. The Scientific Method Population all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn Random Sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

14. The Scientific Method Naturalistic Observation observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

15. The Scientific Method Correlation Coefficient a statistical measure that indicates the extent to which two factors vary together and thus how well either factor predicts the other

16. Correlation and Causation Three possible cause-effect relations

17. Illusory Correlation the perception of a relationship where none exists Do you believe that previously infertile couples become more likely to conceive a child after adopting a baby?

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

19. The Scientific Method Experiment a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors

20. The Scientific Method 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 Placebo Effect any effect on behavior caused by a placebo

21. The Scientific Method Double-blind Procedure an experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

22. The Scientific Method Experimental Condition the condition of an experiment that exposes participants 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

23. The Scientific Method Random Assignment assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance minimizes preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

24. The Scientific Method Independent Variable the experimental factor that is manipulated the variable whose effect is being studied Dependent Variable the experimental factor that is being measured in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable

25. The Scientific Method

26. The Scientific Method Design of the subliminal tapes experiment

27. The Scientific Method Culture enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people transmitted from one generation to the next

28. What do you see? Our preconceptions can bias our observations and interpretations

29. Studying Psychology SQ3R a study method incorporating five steps: Survey Question Read Rehearse Review