Introduction to Scientific Thinking Chapter 1 Introduction to Scientific Thinking

Course Syllabus & Mechanics COURSE WEBSITE: http://psychfiles.net Recommended Texts: Assignments: Completed CITI Certification Pair-led class discussion on readings “My Favorite Experiment” – 15 minute presentation Research Proposal (written) Presentation of Proposal (~30min) Privitera, Gregory J. Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd Ed) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Ed)

Chapter Outline How do we come to know things? Science as a method of knowing The scientific method The goals of science Approaches in acquiring knowledge

How do we come to know things? There are several nonscientific ways of knowing. Four common nonscientific ways of knowing are: Intuition Authority Rationalism Empiricism

How do we come to know things? Intuition – Method of knowing based largely on an individual’s hunch or feeling that something is correct Ex. Students may use their intuition to choose a major that fits their interests Disadvantage: No definitive basis for the belief Intuition has some value in science Researchers can use intuition to some extent when developing a research hypothesis In science, researchers’ intuition is then tested using the scientific method

How do we come to know things? Authority – Method of knowing accepted as fact because it was stated by an expert or respected source in a particular subject area Ex. Health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) often create regulations that most Americans will trust without ever questioning them Disadvantage: Knowledge is often accepted without question Authority has value in science

How do we come to know things? Rationalism – Method of knowing that requires the use of reasoning and logic Ex. If a spouse is unfaithful to a partner, the partner may reason that the spouse does not love him or her Disadvantage: Often leads to erroneous conclusions Rationalism has some value in science Researchers can use rationalism to develop research hypotheses, then subject their hypothesis to the rigor of the scientific method

How do we come to know things? Empiricism – Method of knowing based on one’s experiences or observations Reflects the adage “seeing is believing”

How do we come to know things? Social Cognition Biases Belief perseverance – the tendency to hold onto a belief, even in the face of contradictory evidence. Confirmation bias – the tendency to seek out information only in support of belief, ignoring contradictory information Availability heuristic – tendency to overestimate the frequency with which unusual or memorable events occur

How to correct for bias. One way to correct for empiricism is to operationally define variables observed Defined in terms of how the observed variable is measured such that other researchers could observe that variable in the same way

Science as a Method of Knowing Science is specifically the acquisition of knowledge using the scientific method The most reliable way to develop a belief; independent of pre-existing bias and opinion Assumptions Determinism – All events have causes; statistical determinism Discoverability – through systematic observation, these causes can be found

The Scientific Method Step 1: Identify a Problem – The research process begins when you identify a problem to be investigated, or a problem that can be resolved in some way by making observations (1) Determine an area of interest (2) Review the literature (3) Identify new ideas in your area of interest (4) Develop a research hypothesis Research hypothesis: Specific, testable claim or prediction about what you expect to observe given a set of circumstances

The Scientific Method Step 2: Develop a research plan – The development of a research plan, or a strategy for testing a research hypothesis, is needed to complete steps 3 and 4 of the scientific process (1) Define the variables being tested Variable: Any variable that can change or vary across observations Operational definition: Defines how each variable is measured

The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method Step 2: Develop a research plan continued (2) Identify participants or subjects and determine how to sample them Population: Set of all individuals, items, or data of interest about which scientists will generalize Sample: Set of selected individuals, items, or data taken from a population of interest (3) Select a research strategy or design The plan will largely depend on how variables are defined (4) Evaluate ethics and obtain institutional approval to conduct research

The Scientific Method Step 3: Conduct the study The goal of step 3 is to execute a research plan by actually conducting the study Step 4: Analyze and evaluate the data (1) Analyze and evaluate the data as they relate to the research hypothesis Data (plural): Measurements or observations that are typically numeric (2) Summarize data and report the research results Data are often reported in tables or graphically Statistical outcomes are reported by specifically using guidelines identified by the American Psychological Association (APA)

The Scientific Method Step 5: Communicate the results (1) Method of communication Communicating work allows other professionals to review your work, learn what you did, test whether they can replicate results, or use the study to generate new ideas Most typical ways to share results of a study are oral, written, or as a poster (2) Style of communication Written research reports must conform to the style and formatting guidelines provided in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA)

The Scientific Method Step 6: Generate more new ideas When the study is complete, publish the work and allow other researchers the opportunity to review and evaluate findings If support for research is found, refine and expand on existing knowledge If support for research is not found, propose a new idea and begin again Steps 1 to 6 of the scientific process are cyclic, not linear

The Scientific Method: key concepts Scientific methods are characterized by objectivity. Scientists need not be perfect; their results simply need be publicly verified and replicated. Specific, detailed descriptions of method. Scientists are data-driven. Science produces tentative conclusions. Science asks answerable questions. Science develops theories that can be disproven (falsifiability).

Psychological science vs pseudoscience Pseudoscience: any field of inquiry that appears to be scientific but is based on inadequate scientific methods and typically produces false conclusions. May seem convincing! Anecdotal evidence; effort justification Sidesteps disproof

THE epistemology of science & Approaches in Acquiring Knowledge Logical positivism - knowledge results from empirical observation, tightly controlled experiments, and analysis of data. Scientists must be dis-interested observers, generating knowledge for its own sake There is only one correct interpretation of scientific data; scientific knowledge accurately represents the true state of the world. THE epistemology of science & Approaches in Acquiring Knowledge Humanistic perspective - - science should produce knowledge that serves people People are best understood when studied in their natural environments rather than when isolated in laboratories Full understanding of people comes through empathy and intuition rather than logical analysis The same data can be interpreted in many ways. Represents the aspects and interpretations of the true state of the world that best serve the interests of the status quo..

Approaches in Acquiring Knowledge Basic Research – Uses the scientific method to answer questions that address theoretical issues about fundamental processes and underlying mechanisms related to the behaviors and events being studied Applied Research – Uses the scientific method to answer questions concerning practical problems with potential practical solutions

Approaches in Acquiring Knowledge Quantitative Research – Uses the scientific method to record observations as numeric data Most research conducted in the behavioral sciences is quantitative because the data are numeric allowing for a more objective analysis of the observations made in a study Ex. A researcher may define fear as the time (in seconds) it takes to walk through a scary portion of campus. By defining fear as a number (seconds), the analysis is more objective Qualitative Research – Uses the scientific method to make nonnumeric observations, from which conclusions are drawn without the use of statistical analysis Ex. A researcher studying attraction may interview a small group of participants about their experiences with attraction. Each participant is allowed to respond however he or she wants. The researcher will look at how participants described attraction in order to interpret and explain attraction.

Thoughts? Does science need falsifiability? Psychoanalysis, religion, physics? Is this what scientists really do? Try as hard as they can to falsify their most cherished hypotheses and then throw them away immediately? Scientists don't drop their favorite theories when new empirical evidence suggests those theories are wrong. Most science is done within a particular "paradigm" and scientists are resistant to changing paradigms. (Kuhn, 1962) Paradigm shifts: Ptolemaic to Copernican astronomy, the move from Newtonian to Einsteinian physics, the "cognitive revolution" in psychology.

Science is a “stupid religion” Feyerabend’s anarchistic view of science “Any ideology that makes man question inherited beliefs is an aid to enlightenment. A truth that reigns without checks and balances is a tyrant who must be overthrown.” “Consider the role science now plays in education. Scientific "facts” are taught at a very early age and in the very same manner in which religious "facts” were taught only a century ago. There is no attempt to waken the critical abilities of the pupil so that he may be able to see things in perspective.” “Science has now become as oppressive as the ideologies it had once to fight.”

Is the scientist an unbiased observer? “Do ideas come from experience alone, or from experience plus an active experiencer? Is the individual merely the recipient of the ideas, contributing nothing except the tabula rasa upon which experience writes its message, or does the individual in some sense create the ideas through a modification of the stuff of experience?” –Cornelius Benjamin, Philosophy of Science, 1943