What are the three criteria for scientific research?
- Systematic Empiricism- rely on systematically obtained observations to draw conclusions about the world
- Public Verification- Findings must be observed replicated and verified by other researchers
- Solvable Problems- Must study questions that are potentially answerable through systematic empiricism
What is research?
- asking important questions
- refraining the question into testable hypothesis
- learning about what others’ have found
- collecting data
- analyzing results/ statistics
- finding the “answer”
Why is psychology a science?
- Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes.
- The same methods that are used for biology, chemistry, and physics can be applied to study behavior, thought emotion, and psychological processes.
What are two types of research?
- Basic research- conducted to understand psychological processes without regard for whether or not the knowledge is immediately applicable
- Applied research- conducted to find solutions for problems rather than to enhance general knowledge about psychological processes
What are the goals of behavioral research?
- Describing behavior
- Predicting behavior
- Explaining behavior
Describing behavior
• for example..
- what type of cereal certain people buy
- voting preferences
- changing in behavior across the lifespan
- patterns of aggression among chimpanzees
Predicting behavior
• For example…
- Who will do well in a particular job
- what personalities put people at risk for criminal behavior
- factors that predict happiness
Explaining behavior
- Research goes beyond what happened to see why it happened
* most behavior researchers view explanations as the primary goal of science
Behavioral science and commonsense
• Psychologist some time to study things we already know
-for example, repetition helps us remember.
• commonsense can be both a tool and hindrance
-repetition helps us remember, but under what circumstances? For what type of learning is repetition best used? Etc.
What is pseudoscience?
• Pseudoscience claims of evidence that masquerade as science but violate the basic criteria of scientific investigation
Theories and models
- Theory- is a set of propositions that attempts to specify the interrelationships among a set of concepts.
- Model- attempts to describe how concepts are related (but not why)
What is cognitive load theory?
This theory suggests that learning happens best under conditions that are aligned with human cognitive architecture such as limited working memory.
Formulating a hypothesis- deduction
• Process of reasoning from general proposition (theory) to specific implications of that proposition (hypothesis)
Ex- if CLT is true, students will learn less overwhelmed with stimuli.
Formulating hypothesis- induction
• Abstracting a hypothesis from a collection of facts
-this kind of hypothesis is an empirical generalization.
What is conceptual definition?
- Much like a definition that one would find in dictionary
* fuzzy a precise scientific communication
What is operational definition?
•Specifies precisely how concept is measured or manipulated in a particular study.
What is a variable?
• And attribute that can very across individuals
-example of variables : fear, motivation, height, gender.
What are the types of variables?
• Independent variable -A variable in an experiment that is manipulated by the researcher
-variable that predicts a dependent variable
-A variable any quasi-experiment when participants are assigned based on the characteristic(quasi-independent variable)
• dependent variable-A variable that is measured or observed an individual
What is logical impossibility of proof!
• Confirming a hypothesis with research findings does not necessarily mean the hypothesis is correct.
What is practical and possibility of disproof?
• Failing to find research support for his processes does not necessarily mean that the theory is incorrect
How does science progress?
- Series gay marriage was accumulated supporting evidence from several studies.
- all ideas must pass through a scientific filter if they are to become widely excepted by the field.
What is descriptive research?
• Describes the behaviors, thoughts, or feelings of a particular group of individuals
- presidential or congressional approval rating
- developmental changes in behavior over time
- marketing studies of consumer preferences
- incidence of particular mental disorder
What is correlational research?
• Investigates the relationship between two or more variables
-is self-esteem related to how shy people are?
What is Experimental research?
• Can determine whether certain variables cause changes in behavior, thoughts, or emotion.
-experiments involve the manipulation of at least one variable and control of extraneous influences so that causal effect on the dependent variable can be isolated.
