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ALL PSYC232 notes from week 1 to 3

Psychological Science Overview

  • Purpose: Understanding how and why people think, feel, and behave through systematic evidence accumulation.

Key Objectives

  • Model of Psychological Science: Understand both inductive and deductive approaches.

  • Goals of Science: Identify and apply different scientific goals in psychological research.

  • Nature of Science: Realize that science never proves anything definitively.

Epistemology

  • Definition: The study of knowledge; questions include:

    • "What do we want to know?"

    • "How do we know what we know?"

    • "What do we do with what we know?"

  • Karl Popper's View: Emphasized the need for falsifiability in scientific theories.

    • Non-falsifiable theories (e.g., Freud's theories) are not scientific.

Methodological Processes

Deductive Process

  • Starts with a theory, forms a hypothesis, then gathers data to test the hypothesis.

    • Example: If a broad idea is established, refine it into a specific testable hypothesis.

Inductive Process

  • Begins with data collection to identify patterns and form theories.

    • Example: Understanding burnout among nurses through qualitative data.

Goals of Psychological Science

  1. Describing phenomena (e.g., pedestrian crossing study).

    • Example finding: 1/3 of cars did not stop for pedestrians.

  2. Predicting behavior (e.g., higher social class predicts unethical behavior).

  3. Explaining emotional responses (e.g., understanding embarrassment as a functional emotion).

  4. Controlling outcomes (e.g., using research to prevent depression through interventions).

Research Design Methods

  • Types of Designs:

    1. Questionnaire/Survey

    2. Naturalistic Observation

    3. Experimental Designs

    4. Case Studies

Null Hypothesis (H0) Testing

  • H0: No difference in aggression between ruminators and those distracted.

  • Alternative Hypothesis (H1): Higher aggression in ruminators.

  • Key Insight: We can never prove hypotheses definitively; each study contributes to the broader understanding of knowledge.

Summary of Scientific Foundations

  • Falsifiability is crucial to Popper’s scientific method.

  • Psychological science employs both deductive and inductive methodologies to formulate and test theories.

  • Goals include: description, prediction, explanation, and control.

  • Employ various research designs while acknowledging the limitations of null hypothesis testing.

Lecture 2: Measurement in Psychology

Objectives

  • Understand operationalization of variables.

  • Use descriptive statistics for sampling.

  • Ensure reliability and validity of psychological measurements.

Operationalization

  • Definition: The process of turning concepts into measurable entities.

    • Example: How to measure constructs like obedience to authority or political ideology.

Measurement Scale Types

  1. Nominal: Categorical data; measured by mode.

  2. Ordinal: Ranking without meaningful distances; measured by median.

  3. Interval: Equal distances but no true zero; can assess means.

  4. Ratio: True zero point; means can be evaluated and compared.

Reliability and Validity in Measurements

  • Reliability: Consistency of a measure over time.

    • Includes item, test-retest, and observer reliability factors.

  • Validity: Accuracy of a measure; includes construct, internal, external, and statistical validity.

Key Concepts in Survey Design

  • Potential Response Biases:

    • Demand characteristics and social desirability.

    • Acquiescence bias (tendency to agree).

    • Priming effects (impact previous questions have on subsequent responses).

Dealing with Biases

  • Double-blind measures, confidentiality assurances, and test restructuring to improve data integrity.

Lecture 3: Ethical Considerations in Research

Core Ethical Principles

  1. Respect/Autonomy: Participants must make autonomous decisions about their involvement.

  2. Beneficence: Balance benefits against potential risks in research.

  3. Justice: Fair distribution of risks and benefits among participants.

Ethical Application in Studies

  • Participants should be informed, and ethical guidelines should align with societal values and laws.

Conclusion

  • Each component of psychological research, including epistemology, methodology, measurement, and ethics, is interwoven in creating a comprehensive understanding of human behavior.