Research Methods - Chapter 1 Notes

Objectives:
- Describe flaws and biases in thinking.
- Identify limitations of anecdotal evidence.
- Explain how the scientific method overcomes biases.
- Describe qualities of a good scientist.
- Differentiate between basic and applied research.
- Explain the importance of understanding the scientific method for consumers.
- Describe career skills acquired through learning the scientific method.

Real-life Information Seeking: People constantly seek information about others to make decisions and guide interactions.
Strategies: The quality of strategies used to gather information varies.
Example: Choosing a Roommate
- Stereotypical ideas vs. individual traits.
- Neatness vs. messiness.
- What is the best strategy?
Steve Jobs' Motto: Think Different
- How does this apply to understanding the world?

Definition: Mental shortcuts to navigate the world.
Examples:
- Calculating a restaurant tip.
- Estimating cash for a trip.
- Estimating time for assignments.
Failure: Heuristics can lead to failures (e.g., underestimating homework time).

Definition: Judging likelihood based on readily available instances.
Example: Fear of Shark Attacks
- Fear of swimming in the ocean due to potential shark attacks (influenced by media like the movie Jaws).
- Fear of flying vs. driving (despite more car crash fatalities).

Definition: Judging likelihood based on resemblance to a typical example.
Example: Legally Blonde
- Elle Woods not taken seriously due to not conforming to lawyer stereotypes.
- Bias in thinking about the world.

Awareness: People are often unaware of using heuristics and their limitations.

Daniel Kahneman: Thinking, Fast and Slow.
Two Systems of Thinking:
- Slow, deliberate, and rational.
- Automatic, quick decisions via mental shortcuts (heuristics).
- Heuristics act as mental "rabbits," guiding us but can lead to biases.

Better-than-Average Effect: Overestimating skills compared to others.
- In a class, not everyone can be above average.
- $50\%$ will be above, and $50\%$ below the median.
Overconfidence Phenomenon: Overly confident in judgments.
- Students overestimating exam readiness.
- Being surprised by lower-than-expected grades.
- Overconfidence hinders learning.
- Example: Believing a bad relationship will improve.
Hindsight Bias: "Knew it all along" effect after learning the outcome.
- Example: "Knew Trump would win in 2024."
Confirmation Bias: Seeking only confirming evidence.
Focusing Effect: Emphasizing some information while undervaluing others.
- Algorithms in social media amplify these biases.

Looking Within: Gaining knowledge by looking within yourself.
Limitations: Others might know you better than you know yourself.
Impact: Limits ability to evaluate veracity of beliefs.
Definition: Introspection is reflecting on our own thoughts and experiences to find the relative relevant evidence.
What you see is all there is Phenomenon: A failure to see the limitations of our immediate experience, making it difficult to predict alternative outcomes.
Pleasure Paradox: Analyzing positive experiences can diminish enjoyment.

Overvaluing: Overvaluing personal experiences.
Person-Who Statistics: Refuting arguments with single contradictory cases.
- "College is not necessary; look at Bill Gates and Steve Jobs."
- "My relative lived to 99 even though he smoked and drank."
Hindrance: Hinders accurate understanding.
Scientific Method: Helps overcome bias.
Law of Small Numbers:* Extreme outcomes are more likely when considering small numbers of cases.
Outliers: Cases distinct from the majority.
Strategy: Remove emotions from decision-making and use a rule-based approach.

Skeptical: Questioning spurious claims, obvious statements, and conventional wisdom.
Open-Minded: Willing to pursue unpopular ideas.
Objective: Avoiding personal biases.
Empiricism: Gaining knowledge through systematic observation and measurement.
- Empirical research is gaining our knowledge with the use of systematic observation, experience, and measurement.
- Non-empirical research is gaining knowledge through non systematic methods such as an examination of personal experiences and opinions kind of falls into that introspection idea.
Creativity: Requires novel approaches to avoid participant bias. We need to be creative in how we ask the questions in order to get really objective answers.
Communication: Sharing findings through conferences and journals.
Replication: Reproducing studies to verify findings and allowing for replication. This is the process of recreating another person's study to see if these findings are actually reputable or the same.

Basic Research: Expanding knowledge and developing theories.
Applied Research: Solving practical problems and examining real-world implications.
Synergistic Relationship:* There's a relationship between basic and applied research.

Benefits: Allows for better decision-making in health and purchases.
Pseudoscience: Being able to spot pseudoscience.
Science Denialism: Refusal to acknowledge scientific findings. Also science deniers use flick to counteract denialism.

Project Management: Planning, creativity, time management, and organization.
Problem Solving: Identifying and defining problems, generating alternatives, and implementing solutions.
Critical Thinking: Evaluating, applying, analyzing, and synthesizing information.
Analytical Strategies: Summarizing findings and interpreting numerical information (infographics).
Communication Skills: Clear, direct, and succinct writing.