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Astrology and the Scientific Method 

Astrology and the Scientific Method . Use the scientific method to explore astrology . Do you know much about your astrological sign?. Yes No. How often do you check your horoscope?. Daily Frequently Every-so-often Never. How much do you believe in the accuracy of horoscopes?. A lot

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Astrology and the Scientific Method 

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  1. Astrology and the Scientific Method  Use the scientific method to explore astrology

  2. Do you know much about your astrological sign? • Yes • No

  3. How often do you check your horoscope? • Daily • Frequently • Every-so-often • Never

  4. How much do you believe in the accuracy of horoscopes? • A lot • A moderate amount • Very little • Not at all

  5. The Scientific Attitude The scientific attitude is composed of curiosity (passion for exploration), skepticism (doubting and questioning) and humility (ability to accept responsibility when wrong).

  6. How Do Psychologists Ask & Answer Questions? Psychologists, like all scientists, use the scientific method to construct theories that organize, summarize and simplify observations.

  7. Theory A theory isan explanation that integrates principles and organizes and predicts behavior or events. For example, low self-esteem contributes to depression.

  8. Hypothesis A hypothesis is a testable prediction, often prompted by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject or revise the theory. People with low self-esteem are apt to feel more depressed.

  9. Research Observations Research would require us to administer tests of self-esteem and depression. Individuals who score low on a self-esteem test and high on a depression test would confirm our hypothesis.

  10. Research Process

  11. Astrology • How might we, as psychologists, research the accuracy of astrology?

  12. Description Case Study A technique in which one person is studied in depth to reveal underlying behavioral principles. Susan Kuklin/ Photo Researchers Is language uniquely human?

  13. Survey A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes, opinions or behaviors of people usually done by questioning a representative, random sample of people. http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org

  14. Survey Wording Effects Wording can change the results of a survey. Q: Should cigarette ads and pornography be allowed on television? (not allowed vs. forbid)

  15. Survey Random Sampling If each member of a population has an equal chance of inclusion into a sample, it is called a random sample (unbiased). If the survey sample is biased, its results are not valid. The fastest way to know about the marble color ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller jar and count them.

  16. Naturalistic Observation Observing and recording the behavior of animals in the wild and recording self-seating patterns in a multiracial school lunch room constitute naturalistic observation. Courtesy of Gilda Morelli

  17. Naturalistic observations are conducted in order to: • A. describe behavior. • B. explain behavior. • C. predict behavior. • D. control behavior.

  18. Descriptive Methods Summary Case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation describe behaviors.

  19. Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative) Correlation coefficient Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00) Correlation When one trait or behavior accompanies another, we say the two correlate. Correlation Coefficient is a statistical measure of the relationship between two variables. r = + 0.37

  20. Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship between variables? • positive .05 • negative .25 • positive .75 • negative .95

  21. Correlation and Causation Correlation does not mean causation! or

  22. Do not conceive Conceive Adopt Confirming evidence Disconfirming evidence Do not adopt Disconfirming evidence Confirming evidence Illusory Correlation The perception of a relationship where no relationship actually exists. Parents conceive children after adoption. Michael Newman Jr./ Photo Edit

  23. Order in Random Events Given random data, we look for order and meaningful patterns. Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.

  24. Order in Random Events Given large numbers of random outcomes, a few are likely to express order. Jerry Telfer/ San Francisco Chronicle Angelo and Maria Gallina won two California lottery games on the same day.

  25. A significant disadvantage of the correlational approach is that it: • does not provide evidence of cause and effect. • cannot be used to examine relationships between variables that exist naturally. • does not aid in the process of prediction. • does not provide information about how two variables are related.

  26. Experimentation Exploring Cause and Effect Like other sciences, experimentation is the backbone of psychological research. Experiments isolate causes and their effects.

  27. Exploring Cause & Effect Many factors influence our behavior. Experiments (1)manipulate factors that interest us, while other factors are kept under (2) control. Effects generated by manipulated factors isolate cause and effect relationships.

  28. Evaluating Therapies Double-blind Procedure In evaluating drug therapies, patients and experimenter’s assistants should remain unaware of which patients had the real treatment and which patients had the placebo treatment.

  29. Evaluating Therapies Random Assignment Assigning participants to experimental (breast-fed) and control (formula-fed) conditions by random assignment minimizes pre-existing differences between the two groups.

  30. Which of the following is the best way to generate a random sample of students for a research study? • A. mail out a questionnaire that students could voluntarily complete and return • B. stand by the door of the library and ask people who pass by to answer your questions • C. offer extra credit for students in a particular classroom who choose to participate • D. use a table of random numbers to pick participants from a student listing

  31. Independent Variable An independent variable is a factor manipulated by the experimenter. The effect of the independent variable is the focus of the study. For example, when examining the effects of breast feeding upon intelligence, breast feeding is the independent variable.

  32. Dependent Variable A dependent variable is a factor that may change in response to an independent variable. In psychology, it is usually a behavior or a mental process. For example, in our study on the effect of breast feeding upon intelligence, intelligence is the dependent variable.

  33. Dr. Anderson conducts an experiment to see whether exposure to helpful models leads to helping behavior in young children. Of the forty girls and boys in his study, half are exposed to helpful models while the other half watch the same models not engaged in helping behavior. In this experiment, the dependent variable is: • A. the gender of the children. • B. helpful or non-helpful models. • C. the age of the children. • D. helping behavior.

  34. Experimentation A summary of steps during experimentation.

  35. Comparison Below is a comparison of different research methods.

  36. Astrology and the Scientific Method • Generate hypotheses based on assumptions you believe astrologers make about human behavior

  37. Astrology and the Scientific Method • Are personality types are associated with particular zodiac signs? • Handouts • Aries (March 21–April 19)       • Taurus (April 20–May 20)        • Gemini (May 21–June 21)        • Cancer (June 22–July 22) • Leo (July 23–August 22) • Virgo (August 23–September 22)         • Libra (September 23–October 22) • Scorpio (October 23–November 21) • Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) • Capricorn (December 22–January 19) • Aquarius (January 20 –February 18) • Pisces (February 19–March 20)

  38. Astrology and the Scientific Method • E          Aries (March 21–April 19)       • B          Taurus (April 20–May 20)        • C         Gemini (May 21–June 21)        • A         Cancer (June 22–July 22) • F          Leo (July 23–August 22) • D         Virgo (August 23–September 22) 

  39. Astrology and the Scientific Method • K         Libra (September 23–October 22) • H         Scorpio (October 23–November 21) • I           Sagittarius (November 22–December 21) • L          Capricorn (December 22–January 19) • J           Aquarius (January 20 –February 18) • G         Pisces (February 19–March 20)

  40. Did you pick the right profile? • Yes • No

  41. Astrology and the Scientific Method • Are personality types are associated with particular zodiac signs? • Birthdate or zodiac sign = independent variable • Choice of personality profile = dependent variable • If the hypothesis is correct, the number of correct matches should exceed the number of incorrect matches. Ideally, there would be no incorrect responses. • On the basis of chance alone, 16.6 percent of the responses should be correct (given that everyone had a 1 in 6 chance of selecting a correct profile)

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