EXPE PSYCH - LESSON 1

• experimental psychology - a method of studying psychological phenomena and processes
• experimental psychology - experimental method in psychology attempts to account for the activities of animals (including humans) and the functional organization of mental processes by manipulating variables that may give rise to behavior
• experimental psychology - primarily concerned with discovering laws that describe manipulable relationships
• experimental psychology - connotes all areas of psychology that use the experimental method
• Psychology is the science of behavior. As psychologists, we take a scientific approach to understanding behavior, and our knowledge about psychological processes is based on scientific evidence accumulated through research
• The word science comes from the Latin word scientia, which means knowledge
• what are the two meanings of scientia?

  content, process
• Content – the content of science is what we know, such as the facts we learn in our psychology or chemistry courses
• Process – an activity that includes the systematic ways in which we go about gathering data, noting relationships, and offering explanations
• Whether the data come from laboratory experiments, real-world settings, or therapy sessions, all psychologists use scientific criteria to evaluate their data
• Commonsense Psychology – nonscientific data gathering that shapes our expectations and beliefs and directs our behavior towards others
• the need for scientific methodology?

  commonsense psychology
• Beliefs tend to become stable because we rarely, if ever, test them
• Confirmation bias – confirmatory instances of behavior which involves the tendency of overlooking instances that might disconfirm our beliefs
• Research has shown that we are more likely to believe information if it comes from certain kinds of individuals: People who are popular, attractive high in status, seemingly expert, or who appear highly confident are more powerful sources of information that others are
• But other people are not our sole source of data about psychological processes. We gather a lot of information about behavior from our own observations and interactions with others and the conclusions we draw from them.
• nonscientific interference - all commonsense psychologists are trait theorists at least when it comes to explaining the behavior of others. When we understand other people’s behavior, there is a strong bias to overlook situational data in favor of data that substantiate trait explanations.
• Our ability to make accurate predictions about someone’s trait increases with the length of acquaintanceship. We are generally more accurate when we know someone well than when we judge a stranger.
• what are the characteristics of modern science?

  scientific mentality

  gathering empirical data

  seeking general principles

  good thinking

  self-correction

  publicizing results

  replication
• scientific mentality - psychologist’s goal of prediction rests on a simple, but important, assumption: Behavior must follow a natural order; therefore, it can be predicted.
• This elementary assumption lies at the heart of what Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) called the scientific mentality. He postulated that faith in an organized universe is essential to science
• The psychologist’s goal of prediction rests on a simple, but important, assumption: Behavior must follow a natural order; therefore, it can be predicted.
• Aristotle assumed that order exists in the universe, and he set about describing that order in a systematic way by collecting empirical data that is, data that are observable or experienced.
• Modern scientists go beyond cataloging observations to proposing general principles, laws or theories that will explain them. When these principles have the generality to apply to all situations, they are called laws.
• Theory – an interim explanation that is testable to gather information to state a general law.
• Theories pull together, or unify, diverse sets of scientific facts into an organizing scheme, such as a general principle or set of rules, that can be used to predict new examples of behavior.
• Testing predictions stemming from a theory has been the cornerstone of psychological science.
• good thinking - central feature of the scientific method
• good thinking - The approach to the collection and interpretation of data should be systematic, objective, and rational. It avoids letting private beliefs or attitudes.
• Good thinking includes being open to new ideas even when they contradict our prior beliefs or attitudes.
• Another important aspect of good thinking is the principle of parsimony (Occam’s razor).
• What Occam had in mind was simplicity, precision, and clarity of thought. Avoid making unnecessary assumptions to support an argument or explanation.
• When two explanations are equally defensible, the simplest explanation is preferred until it is ruled out by conflicting data.
• self-correction - The content of science changes as we acquire new scientific information, and old information is reevaluated in light of new facts
• Changes in scientific explanations and theories are an extremely important part of scientific progress.
• Because of its dynamic nature, modern science has become a highly public activity. Scientists meet frequently through professional and special interest groups and attend professional conferences to exchange information about their current work.
• This continuous exchange of information is vital to the scientific process. It would do little good for scientists to work in isolation.
• replication - We should be able to repeat our procedures and get the same results again if we have gathered data objectively and if we have followed good thinking.
• Findings that are obtainable by only one researcher have very limited scientific value.
• what are the four major objectives of research?

  description, prediction, explanation, control