Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY

(7th Ed)

Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

James A. McCubbin, PhD Clemson University Worth Publishers

The Need for Psychological Science

Psychologists, like all scientists, use the scientific method to construct theories that organize observations and imply testable hypotheses

The Need for Psychological Science

  Hindsight Bias   we tend to believe, after learning an outcome, that we would have foreseen it the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon Overconfidence  we tend to think we know more than we do

The Need for Psychological Science

The Amazing Randi--Skeptic  Critical Thinking  thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions  examines assumptions  discerns hidden values  evaluates evidence

The Need for Psychological Science

  Theory  an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations Hypothesis   a testable prediction often implied by a theory

The Need for Psychological Science

The Need for Psychological Science

 Operational Definition   a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables Example  intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

The Need for Psychological Science

 Replication   repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding generalizes to other participants and circumstances usually with different participants in different situations

Description

Psychologists describe behavior using case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation

Description

Case Study  Psychologists study one or more individuals in great depth in the hope of revealing things true of us all Is language uniquely human?

Description

  Survey   technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people usually by questioning a representative, random sample of people Random Sample  a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

Description

  False Consensus Effect  tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors Population  all the cases in a group, from which samples may be drawn for a study

Description

Description

 If marbles of two colors are mixed well in the large jar, the fastest way to know their ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller one and count them

Description

 Naturalistic Observation  observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

Correlation



Correlation Coefficient



a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well either factor predicts the other Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative) Correlation coefficient r = +.37

Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00)

Correlation

 Scatterplot     a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables the slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the correlation  little scatter indicates high correlation also called a scattergram or scatter diagram

Correlation

Perfect positive correlation (+1.00) No relationship (0.00) Perfect negative correlation (-1.00)

Scatterplots, showing patterns of correlations

Correlation

Subject

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Height and Temperament of 20 Men

Height in Inches

80 63 61 79 74 69 62 75 77 60

Temperament

75 66 60 90 60 42 42 60 81 39

Subject

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Height in Inches

64 76 71 66 73 70 63 71 68 70

Temperament

48 69 72 57 63 75 30 57 84 39

Correlation

Temperament scores 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 Height in inches

Scatterplot of Height and Temperament

Correlation

Three Possible Cause-Effect Relationships

could cause (1) Low self-esteem Depression or (2) Depression could cause Low self-esteem or Low self-esteem (3) Distressing events or biological predisposition could cause and Depression

Illusory Correlation

 Illusory Correlation  the perception of a relationship where none exists

Adopt Do not adopt Conceive confirming evidence disconfirming evidence Do not conceive disconfirming evidence confirming evidence

Two Random Sequences

 Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.

Experimentation

 Experiment   an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors

Experimentation

  Placebo  an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent Double-blind Procedure   both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo commonly used in drug-evaluation studies

Experimentation

  Experimental Condition  the condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable Control Condition   the condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental treatment serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment

Experimentation

 Random Assignment  assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance  minimizes pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups

Experimentation

  Independent Variable   the experimental factor that is manipulated the variable whose effect is being studied Dependent Variable   the experimental factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process

Experimentation

Research Strategies

Tape label Subliminal tape content Self-esteem Memory Self-esteem

 Design of the subliminal tapes experiment

Memory

Statistical Reasoning

Percentage still functioning after 10 years 100% 99 98 97 96 95 Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z Brand of truck

Statistical Reasoning

Percentage still functioning after 10 years 100% 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z Brand of truck

Statistical Reasoning

   Mode  the most frequently occurring score in a distribution Mean   the arithmetic average of a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores Median   the middle score in a distribution half the scores are above it and half are below it

Statistical Reasoning

A Skewed Distribution 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Mode Median One Family

90 475 70

Mean Income per family in thousands of dollars

710

Statistical Reasoning

   Range  the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution Standard Deviation  a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean Statistical Significance  a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

Stats Stuff

 Descriptive Statistics  used to describe the basic features of the data in a study . They provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures  Inferential Statistics  used to describe systems of procedures that can be used to draw conclusions from datasets arising from systems affected by random variation, such as observational errors, random sampling, or random experimentation

Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology

Can laboratory experiments illuminate everyday life?

Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology

Does behavior depend on ones culture?

 Culture- the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology

Does behavior vary with gender?

Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology

Why do psychologists study animals?

Is it ethical to experiment on animals?

Is it ethical to experiment on people?

Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology

Is psychology free of value judgments?

Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology

Is psychology potentially dangerous?