Thinking Critically with Psychology

Limits of Intuition and Common Sense Hindsight Bias tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon Overconfidence we tend to think we know more than we do

---------------------------- The tendency to search for and use information that supports our preconceptions and ignore information that refutes our ideas EX. Astrology Clever Hans

Critical Thinking-The Scientific Attitude thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions Characterized by __________ ____________ Humility

Basic Terminology Hypothesis a testable prediction Expresses a relationship between two_________ “If…then…” Research never proves a hypothesis is right, rather it either ________or ___________a hypothesis

Basic Terminology Theory Attempt to explain phenomena (subject of observation) and allows researchers to generate testable____________.

The Scientific Method theories lead to generate or refine research and observations lead to hypothesis theories

Basic Terminology __________________ a precise definition of a term in a hypothesis Specifies how the phenomena in question are to be__________ Example- intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

Basic Terminology ____________ repeating the essence of a research study to see whether the basic finding _____________to other subjects and circumstances usually with different subjects in different situations

Basic Terminology ____________– Things that can differ or vary among the participants Remember, A hypothesis expresses the relationship between two variables If A… Then B…

Basic Terminology ___________ Variable – The factor or variable that is being manipulated by the experimenter ________ Variable – The measurable factor that may change as a result of these manipulations If (IV)…then (DV)…

Basic Terminology __________– Anyone or anything that could possibly be selected to be in the sample _________ – Individuals on which the research will be conducted; subgroup of the population __________– Process by which subjects are selected ____________ – The sample selected must be represent the larger population

Basic Terminology ________ Sample a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion Psychologists use the term random differently than laypeople Random selection is best done using a computer, a table of random numbers, or picking names out of a hat

Research Strategies 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

Ways Psychologists Conduct Research _________ ______________ _______________

__________ Research Any research that observes and records. What is going on in this picture? We cannot say exactly, but we can describe what we see. Thus we have….. __________ Research Any research that observes and records. Does not talk about relationships, it just describes.

Types of Descriptive Research The Case Study The Survey Naturalistic Observation

______ Study Detailed description of an individual being studied or treated Freud’s theories are based on case studies Ex. Ratman, Wolfman Genie, The Wild Child

What are Case Studies Strengths and Weaknesses?

The ________ Method Used in both descriptional and correlational research. Use Interview, mail, phone, internet etc… The Good- cheap, anonymous, diverse population, and easy to get random sampling (a sampling that represents your population you want to study).

Why do we sample? One reason is the False Consensus Effect: the tendency to _________ the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Survey Method: The Bad __________________ People Lie or just misinterpret themselves. ___________Effects How accurate would a survey be about the frequency of diarrhea?

___________Observation Observing and recording behavior in natural environment. No control- just an observer. What are the benefits and detriments of Naturalistic Observation?

____________________ Used to find out that people are more likely to laugh in social situations than in solitary situations “There can never be enough said of the power of a shared laugh.”  ~Françoise Sagan

___________ study Study in which one group of subjects is followed and observed (or examined, surveyed, etc.) for an extended period of time (years) Benefit – Same subject group throughout Downfall – Time and expense

_____________ study Study in which a representative cross section of the population is tested or surveyed at one specific time Benefit – Avoids time and expense

____________ Research Detects relationships between variables. Does NOT say that one variable causes another. (Correlation does not =_________.) Correlations may be strong or weak.

Correlational Research Correlations of +1 and -1 are ___________strong -1 is a perfect negative correlation The presence of one thing does not predict the presence of another thing +1 is a perfect positive correlation The presence of one thing predicts the presence of another thing

Correlational Research The number _ denotes the weakest correlation – no correlation Which means that knowing something about one variable tells you nothing about the other

(positive or negative) Correlation Research ________________________________ 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)

Research Strategies ____________ 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

Research Strategies Perfect__________ correlation (+1.00) ____relationship (0.00) correlation (-1.00)

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 Conceive Do not conceive Adopt Do not adopt disconfirming evidence confirming

Experimental Research Explores _____________relationships. Constipation Eating too many bananas causes

Experimental Vocabulary _____________Variable: factor that is manipulated _________ Variable: factor that is measured _________ Group: Group exposed to IV _______ Group: Group not exposed to IV, used for comparing results __________ (Extraneous) Variables: Differences between the experimental group and the control group other than the IV’s

Experimental Vocabulary ___________ – process by which subjects are put into a group, experimental or control __________ Assignment – The subject has an equal chance of being placed into any group It controls for subject-relevant confounding variables

Experimental Vocabulary ____________ bias – unconscious tendency for researchers to treat members of the experimental and control groups differently influencing the results ________ characteristics – (Subject Bias) – Cues about the purpose of the study ________ desirability – tendency to try to give politically correct answers __________ effect – the mere act of selecting a group has been known to effect the performance of that group __________: inert substance that is in place of IV in Control Group

Experimental Vocabulary _____________– Neither the researcher or the subjects know about the nature of the IV Helps eliminate experimenter bias ____________ study – Only the subjects do not know which group they have been assigned _______________ design - Using subjects as their own control group ________________ – Assigning half the subjects to one of the treatments first and the other half of the subjects to the other treatment first

Steps in Designing an Experiment Hypothesis Pick Population: Random Selection then Random Assignment. Operationalize the Variables Identify Independent and Dependent Variables. Look for Extraneous Variables Type of Experiment: Blind, Double Blind etc.. Gather Data Analyze Results

Statistics ___________ statistics – describes a set of data, summarizes information about the sample studied ____________ – measures the relationship between two variables ____________ statistics – Determines whether or not findings can be applied to the larger population from which the sample was selected

Descriptive Statistics ____ the most frequently occurring score in a distribution the arithmetic average of a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores ________ the middle score in a distribution half the scores are above it and half are below it

Statistical Reasoning A ________________Distribution 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 90 475 710 70 Mode Median Mean One Family Income per family in thousands of dollars

Statistical Reasoning _______ the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution __________ Deviation a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean Z- Scores – measures the distance of a score from the mean in units of standard deviations Scores below the mean have negative z-scores Scores above the mean have positive z-scores

Statistical Reasoning ____________________ a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance P value – The smaller the p value, the more significant the results .05 is the cutoff for statistically significant results .05 means that a 5% chance exists that the results occurred by chance

APA Ethical Guidelines Institutional review board (IRB) – reviews proposals for ethical violations and/or procedural errors Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) – Reviews every experiment involving animals for ethics and methodology

Human Research Ethics ____________________– Subjects must know they are involved in research and give their consent Coercion – Participation must be____________ _________________________________– Subjects privacy must be protected _________– Subjects cannot be placed at significant mental or physical risk, decided by the review board _____________procedures – Subjects must be told the purpose of the study

Animal Research Ethics Must have a__________________ Must ________for the animals in a ____________way Must acquire animal subjects________ Must design experimental procedures that employ the _____________amount of suffering feasible