@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Chapter 1 What is Science What is 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

Topics 1.Science as a Way of Knowing 2.The Scientific Approach 3.Early Approaches 4.Studying Behavior and Experience 5.Behavior: A Road Into the Subjective Experience of Research Participants 6.The People Who Perform Science

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing Science: merely one way of examining human processes Other channels of understanding behavior: – Art, philosophy, religion, and literature Science helps us to know if our ideas about the world are wrong

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) Tenacity – Acceptance of a belief based on the idea that “we have always known it to be this way” – Example: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” – Problems Accuracy of statement may never have been evaluated No means for correcting erroneous ideas – Extension of childish behavior

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) Authority – Acceptance based on authority – Example: parents directing a child’s behavior – Brings a stability that allows for consistency – Problem: authority can be incorrect Example: accepting the view that the earth was the center of the universe

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) Reason – Basic method of philosophy – Often takes the form of a logical syllogism – Example: “All men can’t count; Dick is a man; therefore, Dick can’t count” – Potential problem: original assumption must be correct

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) Common sense – Appeals to direct experience – Based on past experiences and perceptions of the world – However, experiences and perceptions may be limited Example: optical illusions, cognitive illusions – May prevent us from understanding new areas

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) Alfred North Whitehead (1925) suggested two methods for the “purification of ideas” – Dispassionately observing by means of bodily senses – Using reason to compare various theoretical conceptualizations based on experience

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) First method – Direct extension of the commonsense approach – Science is open to anyone’s direct experience Second method – Direct application of the principles of logic – Logic is combined with experience

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) Isaac Newton’s rules of reasoning in science: – Law of parsimony – Assumption that there exists a unity to the physical universe in which we live – Possibility of generalizing from experiments – Acceptance of empirical data over opinion

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) Key characteristics of psychological science according to Alan Kazdin (2003b): – Parsimony – Consider rival alternative explanations of findings – Replication is central to doing good science – Consider results with great care and apply appropriate logic to the situation

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Science as a Way of Knowing (cont’d.) We have a long history of relying on magic and superstition as ways to guide our decisions Pseudoscience: phenomenon of presenting information as if it is based on science when it is not We need a means for testing our ideas We need ways of knowing if we are wrong

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning The Scientific Approach

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning The Scientific Approach Major characteristic of science: reliance on information that is verifiable through experience Once you know the methods of science, you can: – Evaluate science as a method of knowing about the world – Decide whether science is the way you choose to understand the world

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning The Scientific Approach (cont’d.) Croesus: king of Lydia, 560 to 546 BC – Beginnings of a scientific approach to experience – However, he had not learned the: Role of chance in science Nature of the language of science

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning The Scientific Approach (cont’d.) Galen: physician, second century AD – Went past observation – Began to ask “I wonder what will happen if I do this?” – Performed what we now would call a single-case experiment Ignaz Semmelweis: physician, 150 years ago – Findings shaped modern medical practice

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning The Scientific Approach (cont’d.) These three stories show the beginnings of a scientific approach to human problems Croesus devised a test – An evaluation of the sources to decide which one he would use to direct his behavior Galen sought evidence of a causal relationship by examining the woman directly – Went beyond the opinions of available authorities

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning The Scientific Approach (cont’d.) Semmelweis observed patients with a definite purpose in mind – Sought to determine what was unique to his patients – Used logic and common sense to design tests – Began with a problem and followed it through to the end

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Studying Behavior and Experience

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Studying Behavior and Experience Empiricism – Process of relying on sensory experience to verify ideas about reality – Combined with the scientific method, has been a productive approach for psychology We study topics on a variety of levels – Cognitive, emotional, physiological, molecular

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Studying Behavior and Experience (cont’d.) Two worlds in our study of behavior and experience – Objective, physical world – Subjective world of personal psychological experience The challenge: to explore and understand scientifically the behaviors as well as the experiences of ourselves and others

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Studying Behavior and Experience (cont’d.) Table 1-1

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Studying Behavior and Experience (cont’d.) Cell 1 – Represents that with which we are all immediately acquainted – Private experience of being who we are and living in our world Cell 2 – Represents the inner world of all beings other than ourselves – We can ask, “What does it feel like to be you?”

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Studying Behavior and Experience (cont’d.) Cell 3 – Represents our outward behavior: “How do I appear in the eyes of others?” Cell 4 – Represents the behaviors of other people or animals that anyone can directly observe, measure, or objectify – Traditional domain of psychological research throughout the 20th century

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Behavior: A Road Into the Subjective Experience of Research Participants

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Behavior: A Road into the Subjective Experience Marker variable: an event that occurs along with the process we are studying Blindsight: phenomenon in which people who are normally blind can correctly identify the locations of particular patterns in experimental situations Synesthesia: perceiving with a different sense than would usually be the case

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning The People Who Perform Science

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning The People Who Perform Science All people of the world are represented in the history of science Women have been an integral part of psychology since its beginning as a science We perform science with the support of other scientists Human sensitivity of scientists adds life and spirit to the scientific enterprise

@ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Summary We use various ways of accepting or rejecting ideas: tenacity, authority, reason, common sense, and science Science combines experience, reason, and a desire to answer questions about reality Psychology is interested in the study of outer appearances as well as inner experiences We use behavior to make inferences concerning the inner worlds of organisms