Chap 1 Introduction to Experimental Psychology

The Need for Scientific Methodology The Characteristics of Modern Science The Objectives of Psychological Science The Tools of Psychological Science Scientific Explanation in Psychological Science The Organization of the Text

How are science, methodology, and data interrelated?

Science connotes Science connotes content and process. Methodology  consists  consists of the scientific techniques we use to collect and evaluate data. Data are Data are the facts we gather using scientific methods.

The Need for Scientific Methodology

How are science, methodology, and data interrelated?

Science connotes Science connotes content and process. Methodology  consists  consists of the scientific techniques we use to collect and evaluate data. Data are Data are the facts we gather using scientific methods.

The Need for Scientific Methodology

What is commonsense psychology?

Heider called nonscientific data gathering commonsense psychology . This approach uses nonscientific sources of data and nonscientific inference.  An everyday example example is believing that that “opposites attract.”

The Need for Scientific Methodology

What is commonsense psychology? Commonsense psychology is the kind of everyday nonscientific gathering that shapes our expectations and beliefs and directs our behavior toward others.  As commonsense psychologists, the person’s ability to gather data in a systematic and impartial way is constrained by two factors: !. sources of psychological information ". our inferential strategies

Explain nonscientific inference.

Sources of psychological information # the data we gather as commonsense psychologists come from sources that seem credible and trustworthy$ friends relatives people with authority Nonscientific inference is the nonscientific use of information to explain or predict behavior. The gambler%s fallacy overuse of trait explanations stereotyping and overconfidence bias illustrate this problem.

The Need for Scientific Methodology

What is the gamblers fallacy?

&n the gambler’s fallacy  people misuse data to estimate the probability of an event like when a slot machine will pay off.

The Need for Scientific Methodology

Why is the o!er"se of trait explanations a problem?

'hen we overuse trait explanations to explain others( behavior we often make unwarranted dispositional attributions and underuse situational information. This bias can reduce the accuracy of our explanations and predictions.

The Need for Scientific Methodology

How can stereotyping mislead "s?

&n stereotyping  we falsely assume that specific behaviors cluster together. )or example since &mei is a *hinese$American student she must study !+ hours a day and excel at math. &n reality she failed calculus. ,tereotypes ignore individual differences.

The Need for Scientific Methodology

Why is o!erconfidence bias a problem?

&n overconfidence bias, we feel more confident about our conclusions than is warranted by available data. This form of nonscientific inference can result in erroneous conclusions when we don%t recogni-e the limitations of supporting data.

The Need for Scientific Methodology

Why is the scientific mentality important?

Characteristics of Modern Science !. Alfred orth 'hitehead%s scientific mentality assumes that behavior follows a natural order and can be predicted. This assumption is essential to science. There is no point to using the scientific method to gather and analy-e data if there is no implicit order. The principle of determinism is applied when we believe that the causes of human behavior can be researched.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

What ma$es data empirical?

". Gathering Empirical Data /ata are empirical  when observed or experienced preferably in a systematic and orderly way. 0alileo%s empirical approach was superior to Aristotle%s commonsense method. 0alileo correctly concluded that light ob1ects fall as rapidly as heavy ones in a vacuum.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

What is a law?

3 See!ing General "rinciples  A la#  consists of statements generally expressed as equations with few variables that have overwhelming empirical support. 2aws like the 2aws of Thermodynamics are useful in the physical sciences.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

What is a theory?

 A theory  is an interim explanation3 a set of related statements used explain and predict phenomena. Theories integrate diverse data explain behavior and predict new instances of behavior.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

What is good thin$ing and why is it important?

$ Good thin!ing is critical to the scientific method. 'e engage in good thinking when data collection and interpretation are systematic ob1ective and rational. 45ccam%s 6a-or$ this emphasi-es to the basic premise that entities should not be multiplied without necessity.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

What is parsimony?

The principle of parsimony  is that we prefer the simplest useful explanation. )or example *randall 7!899: showed that a social contagion model of bulimia was more parsimonious than competing explanations.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

% Self&Correction ;odern scientists accept the uncertainty of their own conclusions. *hanges in scientific explanations and theories are an extremely important part of scientific progress.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

' "ublici(ing )esults The number of scientific papers published each year in scientific 1ournals is growing and new  1ournals are constantly being added in speciali-ed disciplines. This continuous exchange of information is vital to the scientific process.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

* )eplication 'e should be able to repeat our procedures and get the same results again if we have gathered data ob1ectively and if we have followed good thinking.

The #haracteristics of Modern Science

%o"r ma&or ob&ecti!es of research cond"cted in 'sychology

+ Description &n psychological science we are referring to a systematic and unbiased account of the observed characteristics of behaviors. 0ood description allow us greater knowledge of behaviors because they provide us with the information about what the behavior will be like.

The (b&ecti!es of 'sychological Science

%o"r ma&or ob&ecti!es of research cond"cted in 'sychology

 "rediction refers to the capacity for knowing in advance when certain behaviors would be expected to occur # to be able to predict them ahead of time # because we have identified other conditions with which the behaviors are linked or associated.

The (b&ecti!es of 'sychological Science

%o"r ma&or ob&ecti!es of research cond"cted in 'sychology

3 E-planation 'hen we have explained a behavior we also understand what causes it to occur.