Chapter 1

Research Methods Course

A course that helps students develop critical and analytic thinking skills, learn how to conduct psychological research, and become informed and critical consumers of information.

Informed Consumer of Information

A person who can critically read and evaluate various sources of information, including popular magazines, newspapers, and scientific journals.

Intuitive Approach

A method of acquiring knowledge that does not provide a mechanism to help separate accurate from inaccurate knowledge.

Intuition

A source of knowledge based on gut feelings or instincts, often without formal reasoning.

Authority

A source of knowledge that relies on the expertise or opinion of someone recognized as knowledgeable in a specific field.

Empiricism

A source of knowledge based on observation and experience.

Rationalism

An approach to gaining knowledge that involves using reasoning to acquire knowledge.

Scientific Approach

An approach that is based on the notion that the origin of all knowledge is from our senses.

Induction

A reasoning process where a specific situation leads to a general understanding of behavior.

Deduction

A reasoning process that involves drawing specific conclusions from general principles.

Hypothesis Testing

The process of making inferences based on observations and testing those inferences.

Naturalism

A philosophical viewpoint that everything arises from natural properties and causes.

Hoaxing

A method that is not useful when forming a hypothesis.

Bystander Effect

A social psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present.

Kitty Genovese

A case that prompted research into the bystander effect due to the circumstances of her murder.

Dizziness and Nutrition

An inference made by Tom that dizziness was due to a lack of nutrition based on his personal experience.

Critical Thinking Skills

Skills developed through a research methods course that enable students to analyze and evaluate information effectively.

Consumer of Scientific Literature

A person who can understand and evaluate scientific findings and claims.

Relying on Authority

Accepting information from an expert without further research or questioning.

Designing a Study

A process where consulting the expertise of an authority can be beneficial.

Interpreting Data

A process where consulting the expertise of an authority can aid in understanding results.

Hypothesis Development

Developing a hypothesis based on an established theory

Theory of Aggression

Developing a theory of aggression based on your observation of children

Deduction in Hypothesis

Deducing that video games will contribute to a specific child's aggression

Intuition-Based Theory

Developing a theory based on intuition

Social Facilitation

The presence of others influences performance

Hypothesis on Running Performance

Suzy hypothesized that a person would run faster when running in a group of people than when running alone

Reasoning Process

In forming her hypothesis, Suzy used deduction

Social Learning Theory

States that 'we learn from others'

Children Learning Manners

An example of deduction in reasoning

Logical Positivism

A philosophical approach that influenced the development of the scientific method through verification by experience or observation

Falsificationism

Karl Popper's deductive approach to science focused on attempting to disprove hypotheses

Testing a Hypothesis

Dr. Stokley wants to collect factual information and evidence to test his hypothesis

Hybrid Approach to Hypothesis Testing

Includes both logical positivism and falsification

Empirical Approach

Taking an empirical approach in science is known as naturalism

Foundational Epistemology

Naturalism rejects foundational epistemology which assumes knowledge is a matter of deductive reasoning

Behaviorists

Psychologists known for their beliefs regarding how behavior or responses are acquired and changed

Paradigm in Psychology

A set of beliefs regarding the way behavior is acquired and changed

Biological Causes of Disorders

One general approach to studying abnormal behavior focusing on biological causes

Conceptual Framework

Includes a set of assumptions that enable psychologists to interpret different mental disorders

Normal Science

According to Kuhn, science reflects two types of activities: normal science and revolutionary science

Revolutionary science

A period where current beliefs and practices are questioned and replaced by another set of beliefs.

Creative, systematic, skeptical

Qualities a scientist must possess.

Feyerabend

Argued there is no such thing as the method of science.

Science

Identified aims, methods, and standards for achieving knowledge.

Determinism

The assumption that there are lawful, deterministic relations between behavior and its causes.

Discoverability

The belief that all forms of behavior have causes that are potentially knowable.

Controllability

NOT a basic assumption underlying scientific research.

Uniformity in nature

Developing theories, laws, and generalizations to help our understanding of human behavior.

Reality in nature

The basic assumption of science that states when researchers interact with the natural world, it has a primary say in truth.

Control the environment

What research psychologists rely on to isolate the cause of a behavior.

Control in an experimental situation

Involves attempting to change an individual's behavior for their own good.

Falsifiability

The principle that a statement must be able to be proven false to be scientific.

Operationalism

Defining scientific concepts in terms of observable operations.

Mechanistic science

An approach that explains phenomena in terms of mechanical processes.

Organismic science

An approach that considers the organism as a whole.

Skeptical

An attitude of doubting the validity of something.

control

eliminating the influence of extraneous variables so that a cause and effect relationship can be established.

replication

If scientific studies are to be of general use, they should be readily reproducible by others in a procedure known as replication.

operationalization of hunger

a child asking his mother whether supper is ready more than 5 times in a 15 minute period.

best operational definitions of variables

Playing the violent video game Battle Warrior for 2 hours a day for one week will cause men to have negative attitudes toward women as measured by the Hostility Toward Women scale.

multiple operationalism

proposed to overcome the criticism that a single operational definition could not completely define the meaning of a term.

NOT an operational definition of memory

information that is stored in the brain.

characteristics of scientific research

operationalism, control, replication.

holding factors constant

supports the characteristic of scientific research known as control.

matching participants

supports the characteristic of scientific research known as control.

scientists favor operationalizing terms

they minimize ambiguity by requiring empirical referents.

operationalism criticism

Some scientists have criticized the concept of operational definitions as being too strict.

importance of operational definitions

is needed so that all researchers will use the same precise definition of a construct.

generalization in scientific studies

is achieved through replication.

empirical referents

are required to minimize ambiguity in research.

research methods hypothesis

the hypothesis that 'playing violent video games leads men to have negative attitudes toward women' needs operational definitions.

eliminating operational definitions

is not a proposed solution to the criticism of operational definitions.

score on a reading comprehension test

is an operational definition of memory.

number of words recalled

is an operational definition of memory.

number of words read

is an operational definition of memory.

ambiguous research questions

are reduced by operational definitions.

scientific research in psychology

requires clear and precise definitions of the variables that will be tested.

Dr. Haynes

Finds that in her laboratory, bacterium X can be killed with antibiotic Y.

Dr. Swensson

Does not observe the same result as Dr. Haynes in her laboratory.

Plausible explanation for differing results

Dr. Swensson did not use the exact same procedure as Dr. Haynes.

Replication in scientific method

Replications are rarely published.

Reason for lack of replication studies

In reality, replication studies rarely reproduce previous results, and scientists don't want to deal with conflicting data.

Reliability of operational definitions

Indicated by replication.

Operationalizing memory

Both researchers use a reading comprehension test to measure the dependent variable.

Type of replication achieved

Exact replication of research.

Confidence in findings

More confident in the findings of meta-analysis research which combines information from multiple studies.

Technique for combining research studies

Meta-analysis.

Function of theory

Stating a scientist's philosophy about the world is NOT generally seen as a function of theory.

Theories vs. guesses

Theories are actually integrated summaries of facts and findings from empirical research.

Relationship between empirical observation and theory

Both 'a' and 'b' are true - that is, there is constant interaction between theory and empirical observation.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development

Initially based on his observation of children, illustrating that empirical observations generate theories.

Characteristics of good candidates for scientists

Good candidates must have curiosity, patience, and objectivity, but NOT obstinacy.

Control or influence

Illustrates the objective of psychological research where therapists use techniques to reduce anxiety.

Power

Not an objective of scientific research.

Proving a theory is true

Not an objective of science.

Description

The objective of science fulfilled by a psychology professor surveying college students about binge drinking attitudes.

Describe, explain, predict, control

The correct logical order of the objectives of science.

Control in an experiment

Making sure the room temperature, lighting, and noise are the same for all participants.

Extraneous variables

If not controlled, it cannot be known which variable(s) produced the observed results.