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| Research that is conducted from a theory or phenomenon as a goal to discover general information about it but not apply it to real-world situations. |
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| Research that is conducted from a theory and then applied to real-world situations and problems. |
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| The tendency to try and prove information you think is true. |
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| "False science." A set of ideas based on theories that are presented as scientific but have no true scientific evidence or basis. |
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| Anecdotes Do Not Make Science (Shermer, M. 1997) |
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Problem with Pseudoscientific Thinking:
Anecdotes are told by fallible human storytellers and physical evidence is needed. |
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| Scientific Language Does Not Make A Science |
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Problem with Pseudoscientific Thinking:
Scientific jargon in order to sound more intelligent means nothing if there's no evidence. |
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| Bold Statements Do Not Make Claims True |
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Problem with Pseudoscientific Thinking:
Something is pseudoscientific is enormous claims are made for its power and veracity but there's no supportive evidence. Ex: L. Ron Hubbard |
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| Heresy Does Not Equal Correctness |
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| Truth is ridiculed, then violently opposed, then accepted as self-evident, but "all truth" does not pass through these stages. Just because it is ridiculed now it does not mean that it is true. It may be ridiculed because there actualy is no way it could be accurate. |
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| The person making the claim has the burden of making their claim seem more accurate and true than a claim that is already held to be correct. This may only be proven through evidence. |
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| Rumors Do Not Equal Reality |
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| Stories and rumors get passed on as true from person to person but they aren't. |
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| Unexplained Is Not Inexplicable |
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| Many people think if they can't explain it themselves than it's false |
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| Failures Are Rationalized |
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| The value of negative findings-failures cannot be overemphasized. They're ususally not wanted or published but failures are how we get closer to the truth. |
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| After this, therefore beacuse of this. The fact that two events follow each other in sequence does not mean they are connected casually. Correlation does not mean causation. |
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| A conjuncture of two or more events with apparent design. The human mind seeks relationships between events and often finds them when they are not present. |
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| We forget most of the insignificant coincidences and remember the meaningful ones. We must remember the larger context in which a seemngly unusual event occurs. |
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| List the 11 terms laid out by Shermer as problems with pseudoscientific thinking |
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Definition
1. Anecdotes Do Not Make Science
2. Scientific Language Does Not Make A Science
3. Bold Statements Do Not Make Claims True
4. Heresy Does Not Equal Correctness
5. Burden of Proof
6. Rumors Do Not Equal Reality
7. Unexplained is Not Inexplicable
8. Failures Are Rationalized
9. After-the-Fact Reasoning
10. Coincidence
11, Representativeness |
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Definition
Method of Authority
The Rational Method
The Scientific Method |
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| When you use some source that you consider authoritative on the issue in question (consulting books, television, religious leaders, scientists) |
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| Rene Décartes' rationalism: Valid conclusions could be drawn through pure reason. The search for "self-evident truths," statements that must be true because to assume otherwise would be to contradict logic. |
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1. Observing a phenomenon
2. Formulating tenative explanations or statements of cause and effect (theory and hypothesis)
3. Futher observing or experimenting to rule out alternative explanations
4. Refinig and retesting the explanations |
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| Steps of the Research Process |
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Definition
1. Developing a research idea and hypothesis
2. Choosing a research design
3. Choosing subjects
4. Deciding on what to observe and appropriate measures
5. Conducting your study
6. Analyzing your results
7. Reporting your results
8. Starting the whole process over again |
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| Defines the relationships between its variables and constants in a set of mathematical formulas. Given specific numerical inputs, the quantitative theory generates specific numerical outputs. |
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| Any theory that is not quantitative. Generally described verbally rather than in measurement. |
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| Good Theories Must Have... |
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1. Need an idea that can be scientifically teste
2. Must be able to test ethically
3. Must be able to operationalize the variables
4. Ask important questions that have practical value |
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| A strategy of looking for confirmation of the theory's predictions. A positive outcome supports the theory. |
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| You must determine whether outcomes not expected according to the theory do or do not occur. If A is true and the theory is correct, then B will not be true and a certain outcome will not occur. Thus, if B is true, that outcome does occur, then A is false and the theory is erroneous. A positive result will disconfirm the prediction. |
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| You should develop several alternative explanations for a phenomenon. Each of these alternatives should give rise to testable predictions. To test the alternatives, you try to devise experients whose out comes can cupport oly one or a few alternatives while ruling out the others. You then design the next experiement to deided among the remaining alternatives. You continue this process until there is only one alternative remaining. |
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| Past research, published and unpublished, participating in research, attending conferences |
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| Casual observation and questioning in the real world. I see someone do this, so I wonder why... |
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| A set of assumptions about the causes of behavior and the rules that specify how those causes act |
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| Resoning that goes from the general to the specific. Forms the foundation of the rational method of inquiry. Someone who thinks exists. I think. I exist. |
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| Source containing the full research report, including all details necessary to duplicate the study. |
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| Summarizes info from a primary source |
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| Metzoff's Critical Reading of Psychological Literature |
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| Interactive Reading and Knowledge of Research Design |
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| Neither too little or too much sensory stimulation is optimal. People with a high optimal level were predicted to be more stressed than those with a low optimal level by the deprivation of extrernal stimuli. |
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| Types of Research Designs |
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| Non-experimental, Experimental, Quasi-experimental, Observational, Archival, Qualitative |
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| No Independant Variable is manipulated. A disadvantage is that you can't say X causes Y. The most common non-experimental design is correlational. Useful when it's unethical to manipulate a variable. |
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| Establishes causal relationship and the IV is manipulated. |
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| The extent to which the variation of the dependent variable is only caused by the variation to the independent variable. Ranndom Assignment is necessary. |
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| Threats to Internal Validity |
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| Artificiality: Environment is not in the real world but rather in a psych lab. College Sophomore Problem, History, Maturation, Pre-testing sensitization, Instrumentation, Statistical regression, Biased selection of subjects, experimental mortality |
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| Are the study results able to apply to the target population and the real world? |
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| The extent to which the situation mimicks the real word event |
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| The extent to which the study situation is psychologically engaging for the participants |
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| Particpiants might alter their behavior if they know they're being monitored or if they believe that something in particular is being measured |
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| Looking back on past actions and thoughts and answering questions about them |
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| Looking at future thoughts and actions and saying would you be likely to do this in the future |
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| Participants are not involved in the measurement or aware of the measurement |
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| How we measure abstract concepts in psychology. |
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| The ability to produce similar results when repeated measurements are made. Test-Retest, parallel forms, split-half reliability, internal consistency |
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| Reliability Issue: Mood at the time of the test changes |
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| Validity Error: social desirability |
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| The extent to which a test measures what you want it to measure. Face Validity, Convergent Validity, and Discriminant Validity |
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| Do the items appear to measure the construct of interest? |
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| Is the measure you're using similar to other theoretically similar measures? |
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| Correlate someone's score on what we're measuring with other things that measure different constructs. So self-esteem and social desirability should be uncorrelated |
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| When participants realize they are being studied, they change their behavior |
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| If it's not feasible to tell the truth then...You have to be told about extreme stress, you can't witholf info in order to get more P's, you can't deceive about aspects that would affect willingness to particpate |
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