How do we know things? The Scientific Method Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

Announcements Why is this page upside down? Does the course webpage show up in ReggieNet? Quiz 1 is due Friday Aug 22st @ midnight Anybody try quiz 1 yet? Does it work okay? Lab news This week labs are in their usual places, next week they will be meeting in the library. Milner 213C computer classroom Announcements

The Science of Mythbusting Accept the myth or Test the myth Testable hypotheses – is the phenomenon something that can be observed and tested Method – what is best way to make the observations to be tested? Control groups – comparisons are key Replication – are you more likely to believe something that happens once, or happens multiple times The Science of Mythbusting

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

Methods of Inquiry Type of knowledge Ways of knowing Our focus Objective Subjective having existence outside of a person’s mind (“real”) existing in a person’s mind Empiricism Observation Scientific Method Persuasion Rationalism Deduction Analysis Ways of knowing Authority Instruction Regulation (rules & laws) Tenacity Faith Intuition Acceptance Reality is not this clear cut: Psychology uses objective techniques to examine what are often subjective things, so there are often some underlying assumptions that you need to keep in mind (later in the course: indirect measures, operational definitions) Method of authority a person relies on information or answers from an expert in the subject area Problems people sometimes assume that a person’s status as an authority in one area transfers into some other area (e.g. athletes eating cereals are not nutrition experts) authorities can be biased (e.g. psychodynamic vs. behavioral psychologists) answers from an expert may represent subjective opinion rather than true expert knowledge expert’s statements are often accepted without question just being called an expert does not make someone an expert    The method of intuition information is accepted as true because it “feels right”; you rely on your intuition Problem reliability there is not mechanism for separating accurate from inaccurate knowledge The method of tenacity information is accepted as true because it has always been believed or because superstition supports it (e.g. black cats and “opposites attract”) accuracy difficult to correct in the face of evidence  The rational method involves seeking answers by logical reasoning uses arguments consisting of premises and conclusions if the premise statements are true and the logic is sound, then the conclusion is guaranteed to be correct Example:      All 3-year-old children are afraid of the dark.      Amy is a 3-year-old girl.  Therefore, Amy is afraid of the dark. unless the premise statements are absolutely true, we cannot draw any conclusions about Amy people are not particularly good at logical reasoning  Compare the logic of these two examples:  Example 1  All psychologists are human.  Some humans wear glasses.  Therefore, some psychologists wear glasses  Example 2  All apples are fruits.  Some fruits are oranges.  Therefore, some apples are oranges  The method of empiricism uses observation or direct sensory experience to obtain knowledge we can not necessarily believe everything we see (e.g. illusions) misinterpretation of observation your perceptions can be drastically altered by prior knowledge, expectations, feelings and beliefs  Methods of Inquiry

Methods of Inquiry 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 (your book breaks it into 7 slightly different steps, Figure 2.1) Methods of Inquiry

Scientific Method 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, how frequent, 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

Scientific Method Step 2: Develop a theory or hypothesis Identify the variables associated with your observations Variables The characteristics of the behavior and the surrounding context 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

Scientific Method Step 3: Generate a testable prediction Testability: Need to specify how your hypothesis can be tested through observation. 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 Karl Popper wiki Scientific Method

Scientific Method 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

Scientific Method 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

Scientific Method Step 6: Repeat new hypotheses systematic predictions systematic observations systematic observations predictions hypotheses observations Scientific Method

Next time Psychology as a science Developing your research ideas Reviewing the literature Moving from ideas to hypotheses Chapter 2 Next time