EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Alla Chavarga Tuesdays 9:00-11:20am 2412J or 6:10-8:30pm 2412J Email: alla.chavarga@gmail.com LABS: MW 6:10-9:45pm 3106J Kravitz MW 6:10-9:45pm 4109J Ergun TR 11:30-3:05pm 3106J Fein TR 11:30-3:05pm 4109J Hazan
PSYC3450: EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 01 WRITE THIS DOWN: psychfiles.net 02 Syllabus Review All course content including syllabus and lecture slides on website 03 Course Format Lecture vs Lab 04 Required Textbook OER : https://crumplab.github.io/ResearchMethods/
Introduction to Scientific Thinking CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Scientific Thinking Lecture Outline Why take this course? How do we come to know things? Science as a way of knowing Psychological Science vs. Pseudoscience Goals of Research
Learn how to do research in psychology WHY TAKE THIS COURSE? Process vs. Content Learn how to do research in psychology Informed & critical consumption of information Responsibility as a clinician How to get intro Grad School 101
HOW DO WE COME TO KNOW THINGS? I KNOW THREE THINGS: Empiricism The process of learning things through direct observation or experience and reflecting on those experiences. Authority Correlation is not causation. What are some problems with empiricism? We can only know the things with which we’ve had direct experience. Reason/Rationality Socrates has ten fingers. Experience / Empiricism The sun will come up tomorrow.
Social Cognition Biases Belief perseverance – the tendency to hold onto a belief, even in the face of contradictory evidence Confirmation bias – tendency to seek out information only in support of belief, ignoring contradictory information Availability heuristic – the tendency to overestimate the frequency with which unusual or memorable events occur
SCIENCE AS A WAY OF KNOWING The scientific method is the most reliable method to develop a belief, independent of pre-existing bias and information. THEORY HYPOTHESIS EXPERIMENT CONCLUSION All events have causes. Statistical Determinism Determinism Through systematic observation, these causes can be found. Discoverability
SCIENCE AS A WAY OF KNOWING 01 Hypothesis Theory – a set of statements that summarize what is known about some phenomenon and propose working explanations for those phenomena. 02 03 Falsification https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRdAe3UAIVs
1 4 2 5 3 SCIENCE AS A WAY OF KNOWING Scientific methods are characterized by objectivity. 1 Science produces tentative conclusions. 4 Scientific results need to be publicly verified and replicated. 2 5 Science asks answerable questions. 3 Scientists are data-driven.
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. 01 Anecdotal evidence 02 Effort justification 03 Sidesteps disproof
GOALS OF RESEARCH Description Prediction Explanation Application Why do we do it? And what’s the result?