SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF BEHAVIOR © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Explain the reasons for taking a research methods course Describe the scientific approach to learning about behavior, and contrast it with pseudoscientific research © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Define and give examples of the four goals of scientific research: description prediction determination of cause explanation of behavior Define and describe basic and applied research © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Increasingly important in public policy and judicial decisions Supreme court decisions & developmental psychology Eyewitness testimony Important when developing and assessing the effectiveness of goal-oriented programs © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Informed citizens increasingly need knowledge of research methods for everyday decisions Many occupations require the use of research findings © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Limitations of Intuition Intuition relies unquestioningly on personal judgment Involves cognitive and motivational biases Erroneous conclusions about cause and effect Example: Illusory correlation © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

 Examples of Authority  News media  Books  Government officials  Religious figures  Political pundits © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

 Limitations of Authority  Many accept statements based on faith in the authority  Scientific approach rejects this notion and requires much more evidence before conclusions can be drawn © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Skepticism, Science, and the Empirical Approach Empiricism Falsifiability Peer review Integrating Intuition, Skepticism, and Authority © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Observations accurately reported to others + Search for discovery and verification of ideas + Open exchange and competition among ideas + Peer review of research © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

 Characteristics of pseudoscience  Hypotheses generated are not typically testable  If scientific tests are reported, methodology is not scientific and validity of data is questionable  Ex: facilitated communication with autistic children  Supportive evidence is anecdotal and does not cite scientific references  Claims ignore conflicting evidence  Claims tend to be vague, and appeal to pre-conceived ideas  Claims are never revised © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Describe Behavior Predict Behavior Determine the Causes of Behavior Temporal precedence Covariation of the cause and effect Alternative explanations Explanation of Behavior © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Basic Research Attempts to answer fundamental questions about the nature of behavior - Theoretical issues often concern basic phenomena, such as cognition, emotion, motivation, learning, psychobiology, personality development, and social behavior Typical of research conducted at universities © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Applied Research Conducted to address issues in which there are practical problems and potential solutions Program evaluation Typical of the research conducted in industry © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Comparing Basic and Applied Research Neither is considered superior to the other Applied research is often guided by theories and findings of basic research Findings in applied settings often require modification of existing theories and spur more basic research Basic research is crucial to public policy © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.