Psychology Chapter

Research Methods in the Psychological Sciences Scientific Methods We are all consumers of scientific information

9/28/2011 7:00:00 AM

To be smart consumers, we need to accurately evaluate claims that are purportedly based on the results of careful scientific research Oscar the Cat o o o Uncanny ability to guess when residents can die presided over the deaths do the patients know that Oscar means theyre likely to pass away soon? Does this affect their attitude? What does Oscar do to indicate his prediction? What is Oscars hit rate or false alarm rate? By what sensory modality can he detect that death is near?

Science is a Dynamic Process Step 1: Identify a phenomenon Step 2: Observe the phenomenon, start to define the conditions under which it occurs Step 3: Generate a hypothesis concerning the causes and mechanisms that underlie the phenomenon Science is the only systematic approach to human thought and knowledge that is self-correcting Science is self-correcting expressly because scientific ideas are subjected to experimental test ideas that are not consistent with experimental results are discarded We study methodology because the value of ideas can only be assessed through an understanding of the methods used to establish their [approximate] truth Why is Science the only self-correcting system of human thought? Because of the conceptual interplay between theory and experimental data Why the big emphasis on scientific methods in Psychology?

Experimental psychology tires to confine itself to using the scientific method because science is the only system of human thought that is selfcorrecting

*Correlational Studies do not imply cause and affect, they simply show the relationship between two variables. Becoming a good judge of bad science What do you think of the following claims? Scientists claim that house cats can sense impending earthquakes with greater accuracy than the best seismological equipment Neurologist claims dogs can detect epileptic seizures minutes before they actually