Science and Psychology

1. Science and Psychology Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

2. GA office hours: • Desk 1 or 2, Southwest corner of 4th floor (the location could change later in the semester) • Kelly: M 3-4 • Shauna: Tu 2-3 • Jordan: Th 2-3 • Jim: W 11-12 • My office hours: • DeGarmo 435D • M 11-12, Th 9-10, & by appt Announcements

3. Write down two things that you “know”. • Write down HOW you “know” those things. Exercise: How do we know?

4. Our focus Scientific Method Type of knowledge Objective Subjective having existence outside of a person’s mind (“real”) existing in a person’s mind Empiricism (Experience) Rationalism (Logical reasoning) Persuasion Analysis Ways of knowing Authority Instruction Regulation (rules & laws) Tenacity Faith Intuition Acceptance Methods of Inquiry

5. The Scientific Method • A method used to test and analyze claims about behavior • Uses systematic observation and experimentation • 4 Cannons of the Scientific method: • Empiricism, Determinism, Parsimony, Testability • A 6 step process Methods of Inquiry

6. Step 1: Observation (Empiricism) • Pay attention to the world around you, look for generalizations write down two generalizations that you have observed about people’s behavior • Two classes of generalizations • Descriptive generalizations – just describe how it is/what was seen, without making predictions • Cause and effect generalizations – makes predictions about the observed relationship between two (or more) things. • (Determinism: phenomenon have identifiable causes) Scientific Method

7. Variables • The characteristics of the behavior and the surrounding context • Step 2: Develop a theory or hypothesis • Identify the variables associated with your observations • An explanation for the observed behavior(s) • How are the variables related to one another? • May be based on past research, common sense, intuition, logic, etc. Scientific Method

8. Step 3: Generate a testable prediction • Testability: Need to specify how your hypothesis can be tested. • The relevant variables must be defined and observable. • Falsification is at the heart of the scientific method • Scientists don’t try to prove a theory, but rather set out to refute (“disprove”) theories • Refutable hypotheses - must be stated in a way that allows the potential for it to be wrong Scientific Method

9. Step 4: Make systematic observations • Observational and experimental methods • Which variables will we examine? • How do we measure these variables? • Which variables can we systematically manipulate? • What variables need to be controlled? • Were (from whom) will we collect the observations? Scientific Method

10. Step 5: Evaluate your evidence • Refutes theory • Supports theory (not “proves the theory”) • Leads to the revision of the theory • Consider alternative theories • There are always alternative explanations • Parsimony: Simple explanations are preferred over more complex ones Scientific Method

11. new hypotheses systematic observations predictions new hypotheses systematic observations predictions hypotheses • Step 6: Repeat observations Scientific Method

12. Dr. Sigmund Freud Dr. Phil (McGraw) • Write down the names of three scientists • What field of science do they belong to? • Write down the name of a famous psychologist • Do they represent the standard psychologist? • NO! • Psychology is a diverse discipline • ISU’s Psych Dept has 6 different groups • APA has 56 different divisions of psychology Psychology as a science

13. What is science? • What are the goals of science? • Is psychology a science? • Yes • Studies the full range of human behavior using scientific methods • Applications derived from this knowledge is scientifically based Psychology as a science

14. Psychology’s goals are similar to the goals of the physical sciences (e.g., physics and chemistry) • Psychologists are concerned with the behavior of people (and animals) rather than the physical world. • How is psychology different from the physical sciences? • Human (and animal) behavior is typically much more variable than most physical systems. • Statistical control • Methodological control • Often the thing of interest requires indirect measurement (and thus underlying assumptions) Psychology as a science

15. Simplest Complex • Description of behavior • Describe events, what changes what might affect change, what might be related to what, etc. • Prediction of behavior • Given X what will likely happen • Control of behavior • For the purpose of interventions (e.g., how do we prevent violence in schools) • Causes of behavior • Sometimes predictions aren’t enough, want to know how the X and the outcome are related • Develop specific theories • Explanation of behavior • A completetheory of the how’s and why’s 5 Goals of psychology

16. Theory: • An interrelated set of concepts that is used to explain a body of data and to make predictions about the results of future experiments Hypothesis: • Are specific predictions that are derived from theories (more specific than the theories) Theories & Hypotheses

17. Developing your research ideas • Reviewing the literature • Moving from ideas to hypotheses • Chapter 2 Next time