PSY301- Research Psychology: Exam 1

Demarcation

act of fixing a boundary or limits of something

problem of demarcation

what differentiates science from pseudoscience?

-astronomy vs astrology

-chemistry vs alchemy

-psychology vs parapsychology

who was Karl Popper?

One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the classical inductivist views on the scientific method in favor of empirical falsification.

what is a marxist

supporter of political and economic theories of karl marx

who is karl marx

He worked primarily in the realm of political philosophy and was a famous advocate for communism

what do Marx and Freud have in common

neither can be falsified

what does it mean to be falsified

a theory must specify a set of circumstances under which theory is disproven

-ex: the earth is the center of the solar system

“risky” predictions

easy to see if it doesn’t happen

what does it mean to be able to “kill” a theory

accept when it has been killed; “maybe this is wrong”

is revision accepted or not accepted

it is accepted

what determines how you see your universe

your own bias

Barnum effect

when individuals believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them, “something for everyone”, any bias you may have makes it easier to read (horoscopes/ zodiac sign)

locus of control

an individual's perception about the underlying main causes of events in his/her life

high in locus of control

“i am in control of my fate”

low in locus of control

“it just wasn’t in the cards”

who was James Randi

professional magician in “mid reading”

• said “if you can prove the supernatural, i’ll give you 1 million dollars”… they couldnt

Tenacity

acceptance of knowledge uncritically and unwillingness to change beliefs- someone who just wont quit until they reach their goals

authority

acceptance of knowledge because it comes from an authority or expert, a “higher- up”

a priori method

knowledge from logic based on premises (previously) that are subject to possible change

scientific approach

knowledge based on empirically derived data

is psychology a science

it is a “soft science”, can be a toss up on the different answers people give. Psychology can be a science if its done scientifically

“the whole is greater than…

the sum of its parts”

what science is not:

whatever scientists say, whatever appears in peer- reviewed research, whatever the scientific “consensus” is

falsifiable

able to be proved as false

objective

clearly specified and well defined

data driven

conclusions are based on the data

replicable

repeat research to see if same results occur

public

research is made public, so others can scrutinize it

characteristics/ parts of research

falsifiability, objective, data-driven, replicable, public

(Follow Other DumDums Really Poorly)

Why do we do research

describe, predict, replicate

example of description

“whose more at risk for mood disorders?” (women are)

example of explanation

“why are women more at risk for mood disorders?”

explanation of prediction

MSU will look at highschool GPA to determine what their college GPA will be

replication crisis

overtime, its been known for it to be hard for researchers to replicate findings and procedures

extraordinary claims require…

extraordinary evidence

the file drawer problem

selective reporting of scientific findings, researchers tend to publish positive results more readily than negative

argument of authority

a form of argument in which the opinion of an influential figure is used as evidence to support an argument

Milgram experiment

examined people's willingness to obey authority. Participants in the study were instructed to administer electric shocks to a learner, even when that obedience caused harm to the learner.

Stanley Milgram

American social psychologist, best known for his controversial experiments on obedience

beneficence

acting in the best interest of the individual (patient); providing benefit

non-maleficence

avoiding and doing no harm to the individual

fidelity and responsibility

Take responsibility for your actions and maintain an open professional relationship with others

integrity

dont lie, be honest to the best of your ability

justice

be fair and impartial

respect for peoples rights and dignity

respect the dignity and worth of all people

APA ethical guidelines

• beneficence and non-maleficence

• fidelity and responsibility

• integrity

• justice

• respect for peoples rights and dignity

unethical studies

tuskagee syphilis study, little albert study, nazi experimentation concentration camp prisoners

research fraud

falsifying data, plagiarism, not reporting details of study, indesclosed conlicts of interest

informed consent

you need to tell participants what the research involves so they can decide if they want to participate

voluntary participation

people must be free to decline to participate and to withdraw from a study

debriefing

need to inform participants after their participation if you have deceived them, which is called dehoaxing (reverse any effects of the deception)

anonymity

ideally, you should take steps such that nobody knows whether a person participated in research

confidentiality

if participation is not anonymous, you should make sure that nobody outside the research can identify a given persons data

coercion

you should avoid putting pressure on people to participate in your study

plagiarism

in developing and writing up your research, you should not claim credit for ideas that belong to others

types of deception

implicit, technical, role, participant views

implicit deception

participants complete tasks for a purpose of which they are unaware

technical deception

misrepresentation of equipment

role deception

misrepresentation of the role of another individual in testing session