Transcript Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Psychological Research: The Whys and Hows of the Scientific Method Dawn M. McBride The Process of Research in Psychology Second Edition Nature of Knowledge What we know & How we know it? Write two things that you know: How did you learn them? 2 1. 2. Intuition Authority Deduction Observation Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Ways of Knowing • • • • 3 Intuition Deduction Authority Observation Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Ways of Knowing Intuition common sense or “gut feeling” Deduction Reasoning, based on previous knowledge Authority faith, experts Observation what can be grasped with the senses 4 Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Ways of Knowing 5 Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. The Scientific Method Across Disciplines: Primary Canons (rules) of Scientific Method 6 Observations: hallmark scientific method Empiricism Determinism Parsimony Testability Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Canons of the Scientific Method Empiricism Knowledge is derived from observations Methods: What, How, When? Naturalistic, Laboratory, Surveys Determinism Goal: Identify what causes behaviors 7 Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Determinism in psychological research 8 Main interest is on cause-effect relations Prediction (hypotheses based on theory and/or past studies) about what causes behavior Observe behaviors of interest & determine if they are inconsistent with the hypothesis Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Research?: What causes the common cold 9 Canons of the Scientific Method Parsimony Testability *** 10 Prefer simple explanations of behavior easier to study than complex ones more likely to be correct Hypotheses can be falsified through observation Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Canons of the Scientific Method Why is falsifiability so important in psychological science? 11 Whenever researchers can show that an accepted explanation is not supported, it changes the direction of investigation in the area of knowledge, which moves psychological science forward in gaining new knowledge about behavior. Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Cause of Stomach Ulcers and Gastritis: Stress B. Bacteria C. Virus D. All of the Above A. 12 Drs. Marshall & Adams: 2005 Nobel Prize Medicine/Physiology 13 Now we know that the Pylori bacteria is the main cause of stomach ulcers and gastritis This discovery led to a radical change in the treatment of stomach ulcers Dr. Marshall ingested the bacteria to show that it causes gastritis, a precursor of stomach ulcers (pyloris only affects primates) Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 AGE Publications, Inc. Types of Research Basic Applied 14 Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Basic Research 15 The goal is to understand fundamental processes of behavior What is the frequency of clinical depression in the general population? Pavlov: How does the salivary system works in dogs? – Led to operant learning principle What types of social situations cause anxiety? Kandel: 2000 Nobel Physiology/Medicine Studied conditioned and unconditioned stimulus (learningmemory) while observing behavior of single neural cells. 16 Aplysia Californica shell-less sea snail. Reflex causes its siphon and gill to retract when disturbed. Simple animal with large nerve cells. Applied Research 17 The goal is to solve an everyday problem What is the best treatment for depression? How can the reliability of an eyewitness memory be improved? How can anxiety in social situations be reduced? How to cure pneumonia: Antibiotics Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. The Scientific Method Why Care About Research? Much of what we know about effective treatments and counseling techniques comes from research. To know how to interpret the vast amounts of available information produced by researchers 18 Needed to evaluate claims made by others Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. The Scientific Method 19 Common Pitfalls Problem: Assuming that psychology equals practice in a “helping profession”: ignoring or dismissing the scientific aspect of psychology Problem: Positive test bias—design studies that provide supportive evidence of an explanation of behavior without including the possibility for contradictory evidence Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. The Scientific Method 20 Common Pitfalls Problem: Misinterpretation of causation— study of cause and effect relationships requires manipulation, Correlation is not causation Problem: Dismissing basic research because it does not solve a real-world problem right away - high risk/high reward Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc. Step 1: Choosing a research question Step 2: Conducting a literature review Step 3: Developing a hypothesis Steps in the Research Process Step 4: Designing the study Step 5: Conducting the study Step 6: Analyzing the data Step 7: Reporting the results 21 Dawn M. McBride - The Process of Research in Psychology, 2nd Edition © 2013 SAGE Publications, Inc.