Chapter 1: The Why's and How's in Scientific Method in Psychological Research

Research is so important because it is the foundation of Psychology as a field, and also…

• Deepens understanding of behavior

• Effective treatments

• Helps industrial-organizational psychologists assist organizations

• Helps professionals address everyday life issues

• Helps for better interpretation of research results reported by media

How do we “know” things?

• Intuition (common sense)

• Deduction (reasoning and general knowledge)

• Authority (media)

• Observation (gaining knowledge yourself)

About behavioral research:

• It is the best way to acquire accurate information about behavior

• Research does not yield results

• Conflicting observations are IMPORTANT part of understanding behavior

Goal of Psychological research:

Describe, explain, predict, control

Hypothesis

Null hypothesis

(H₀) when there is no effect, difference, or relationship between variables being tested

Alternative Hypothesis

(H₁ or Ha) when there is an effect, difference, or relationship between variables being tested.

Research Designs

Naturalistic observation

Survey

IRB (Institutional Review Board)

approves research to be conducted

Independent variable

The variable researcher has control over, manipulates; is the “cause”

Dependent variable

the result, outcome, effect, from the conducted manipulation (independent).

Primary Facets of the Scientific Method:

Empiricism

Determinism

Parsimony

Testability

Empiricism

• Gaining knowledge through systematic observation

• Scientific method

• Important to replicate observations

Determinism

All phenomena occur naturally with identifiable causes
Studies conducted to understand factors that cause certain behaviours
Assumption: behaviors have a specific cause or set of causes

Parsimony

Simplest answer is always the best answer.

Testability