1. Research Methods Unit 2/Chapter 2 (A)
A.P. Psychology
Ms. Saint-Paul

2. DO Now Name three Basic and three Applied research Subfields?
List and define the 7 Approaches ?
Who is the father of Psychology?
What is structuralism?
What is Functionalism?
Who is John Locke? And what is his theory?
What is empiricism?
Explain the level of Analysis?

3. Essential Question
How do psychologists use scientific methods to investigate questions about human thought and human/animal behavior? How do they analyze their findings to determine if the results are significant?

4. The Need for Scientific Research in Psychology
Hindsight Bias:
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
The “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon
E.g. “Monday Morning Quarterbacking”

5. The Need for Scientific Research in Psychology
Overconfidence:
The tendency to believe that one knows more than he/she actually does
Leads to error and misjudgment

6. The Need for Scientific Research in Psychology
How much time do you think it will take you to unscramble these anagrams?
People said it would take
10 seconds, but on average
it took about 3 minutes
Anagram
WREAT
WATER
ETYRN
ENTRY
GRABE
BARGE

7. The Scientific Attitude
Curiosity (Passion for exploration)
Skepticism (Doubting and questioning)
Humility (Ability to accept responsibility when wrong)
Psychological researchers must also think critically
The Scientific Attitude

8. Critical Thinking Smart thinking”
does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions
Four elements:
Examine assumptions
Discern hidden values
Evaluate evidence
Assess conclusions

9. The Scientific Method

10. The Scientific Method Operational Definition:
A statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables
E.g. Intelligence may be defined by one’s IQ.
Replication:
Ability to repeat a research study, with different participants in different situations
Determine whether basic findings extend beyond a single research study

11. Review
Why is it important for psychologists to conduct scientific research?
What is hindsight bias? Provide an example.
What are the 3 main components of the scientific attitude?
What are the steps of the scientific method?