chapter 2 psychology

• Scientific research is a critical tool for successfully navigating our complex world
• Without scientific research, we would be forced to rely solely on intuition, other people's authority, and blind luck
• The hallmark of scientific research is that there is evidence to support a claim
• Scientific knowledge is empirical: It is grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can be observed time and time again, regardless of who is observing
• Trying to determine which theories are and are not accepted by the scientific community can be difficult, especially in an area of research as broad as psychology
• We should strive to think critically about the information we encounter by exercising a degree of healthy skepticism
• Decisions based on information from research have significant consequences, especially in politics and public policy
• Research is what makes the difference between facts and opinions
• Facts are observable realities, and opinions are personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate
• In the scientific community, facts can be established only using evidence collected through empirical research
• Notable researchers in psychology

  • Margaret Floy Washburn - first woman to earn a PhD in psychology, focused on animal behavior and cognition
  • Mary Whiton Calkins - preeminent first-generation American psychologist, opposed the behaviorist movement, conducted significant research into memory, established one of the earliest experimental psychology labs in the US
  • Francis Sumner - first African American to receive a PhD in psychology in 1920, dissertation focused on issues of race and intelligence
• Notable researchers in psychology

  • Margaret Floy Washburn
  • Mary Whiton Calkins
  • Francis Sumner
  • Inez Beverly Prosser
• Margaret Floy Washburn


  • First woman to earn a PhD in psychology
  • Research focused on animal behavior and cognition
• Mary Whiton Calkins


  • Preeminent first-generation American psychologist
  • Opposed the behaviorist movement
  • Conducted significant research into memory
  • Established one of the earliest experimental psychology labs in the United States
• Francis Sumner


  • First African American to receive a PhD in psychology in 1920
  • Dissertation focused on issues related to psychoanalysis
  • Research interests in racial bias and educational justice
  • One of the founders of Howard University's department of psychology
  • Referred to as the "Father of Black Psychology"
• Inez Beverly Prosser


  • First African American woman to receive a PhD in psychology
  • Research highlighted issues related to education in segregated versus integrated schools
  • Influential in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling
• The establishment of psychology's scientific roots occurred first in Europe and the United States
• Researchers from around the world began to establish their own laboratories and research programs
• Horatio Piñero


  • Established some of the first experimental psychology laboratories in South America at two institutions in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Gunamudian David Boaz and Narendra Nath Sen Gupta


  • Established the first independent departments of psychology at the University of Madras and the University of Calcutta in India
• When the American Psychological Association (APA) was first founded in 1892, all of the members were White males
• By 1905, Mary Whiton Calkins was elected as the first female president of the APA
• By 1946, nearly one-quarter of American psychologists were female
• Psychology became a popular degree option for students enrolled in the nation's historically Black higher education institutions, increasing the number of Black Americans who went on to become psychologists
• There is reason to hope that the diversity of the field will increasingly match the larger population, and that the research contributions made by the psychologists of the future will better serve people of all backgrounds
• Scientific method


  The process by which scientific knowledge is advanced, involving testing ideas (theories and hypotheses) against the real world (empirical observations)
• Deductive reasoning


  Ideas are tested in the real world
• Inductive reasoning


  Real-world observations lead to new ideas
• Deductive and inductive reasoning are inseparable, like inhaling and exhaling, but different research approaches place different emphasis on the deductive and inductive aspects
• Deductive reasoning


  1. Start with a generalization (hypothesis)

  2. Use it to reach logical conclusions about the real world

  3. If the hypothesis is correct, the conclusions should also be correct
• Inductive reasoning


  1. Use empirical observations to construct broad generalizations

  2. Conclusions may or may not be correct, regardless of the observations
• Theory


  A well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena
• Hypothesis


  A testable prediction about how the world will behave if an idea is correct, often worded as an if-then statement
• Hypotheses bridge the gap between the realm of ideas and the real world
• As specific hypotheses are tested, theories are modified and refined to reflect and incorporate the results
• Falsifiability


  A scientific hypothesis must be capable of being shown to be incorrect
• Freud's theories are widely taught despite lacking falsifiability because of their historical significance
• The James-Lange theory generates falsifiable hypotheses that can be empirically tested
• Scientific research's dependence on falsifiability allows for great confidence in the information it produces
• Typically, by the time information is accepted by the scientific community, it has been tested repeatedly