1. This is not fear factor…. WELCOME TO RESEACH METHODS!!!! Lecture 1 – Chapter 1

2. Yerkes-Dodson Law (1908) YOU

3. Psychology Has Many Faces: Science, Academic Discipline, Healing Profession Clinician Researcher Teacher Understand Research Methods

4. Behavioral Neuroscientist… Behavior in relation to the Brain Strong Background in Research Methods! Psychology

5. Understanding Psych Research Understanding Science Research = Science

6. What is science? "the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena." Is that it? Is this what science is? …what’s missing????

7. Who Does It? intellectual activity done by humans satisfies a human desire stems from need to overcome ignorance & fear Groups of humansPassion

8. A scientist: Finds intellectual excitement in creating questions and seeking answers Research brings out the child curiosity in me...

9. Science: a process of inquiry Basic Curiosity “We Ask Questions of Nature And Get Answers” D.E. Moss The process of formulating specific questions and then finding answers …better understanding…

10. Inquiry…Can be hazardous to your health… Questioned Outcome Socrates: Morals & ethicsHemlock Galileo: Church Dogma House Arrest Heliocentric Darwin: CreationRidicule Evolution Nat. Selection

11. VATICAN CITY -- It's official: The Earth revolves around the sun, even for the Vatican. The Roman Catholic Church has admitted erring these past 359 years in formally condemning Galileo for entertaining scientific truths it long denounced as anti-scriptural heresy. Vatican admits Galileo correct by the Los Angeles Times, October 31, 1992

12. Psychology: the science of human & animal behavior Goal: gather an organized body of knowledge Psychological research seeks scientific explanation for behavior

13. 1.Empirical: based on observable evidence 2. Testable: verifiable through direct observation 3. Rational: follow rules of logic, consistent with known facts (not based on assumptions known to be false or beliefs) Top 10…top 3 reason that an explanation is scientific

14. 1. Tenacity: accept explanation because it has been accepted for so long or repeated so often 2. Intuition: feels intuitively true 3. Authority: accepting explanation based in who gives the explanation (respected) Top 10…top 3 reason that an explanation is not scientific

15. Non Scientific: Pseudoscience does not use scientific method… but pretends to… - Leptoprin - 9 out of 10 Dentists… - makeup: reverse the aging process lab coats, actors, anecdotal, testimonies No control/selective (homework #1)

16. Science is based on: Empiricism: Collecting data Rationalism: Formulating Question Skepticism: Interpretation of data Decarte (thinking) reasoning rules of logic Thales (observation) careful observation of nature Documentation - data

17. Scientific explanations strive to be: 1. Parsimonious: offer the least complex explanation that requires the fewest assumptions 2. General: can be applied to more than the original set of circumstances – broad explanatory power 3. Tentative (Skepticism): readily replaced by better explanation Occam’s Razor: “Do not multiply hypotheses unduly” Choose the simplest explanation!!!!

18. EverydayScientific General approachintuitiveempirical Observationcasual, uncontrolledsystematic, controlled Reportingbiased, subjectiveunbiased, objective Conceptsambiguousclear definitions Instrumentsinaccurate, imprecise accurate, precise Measurementnot valid or reliablevalid and reliable Hypothesesuntestabletestable Attitudeuncritical, acceptingcritical, skeptical Characteristics of the scientific method

19. What is Science? 3. Collection of facts? 4. Technology? 5. Finished Product? 2. Objective search for the truth? 1. Immediate solution to practical problem? 6. Grows continuously?

20. What is Science? Immediate solutions: NO! Science proceeds slowly… “Shifts in Paradigms” EX: Classical Conditioning Pavlov vs Garcia NS(CS) +UCS = UCR(CR)

21. “Any natural phenomenon chosen at will may be converted into a conditioned stimulus…any visual stimulus, any desired sound, any odor, and stimulation of any part of the skin” (Pavlov, 1928) Can anything be turned into a CS? “Equipotentiality Hypothesis”

24. What is Science? Search for the Truth: NO! Implies there is one right answer every phenomena …tentative...

25. What is Science? Just a Collection of Facts: NO! Integration of data but also theory driven – relating data to principles (theories)

26. What is Science? Technology: NO! Immediate contribution to human welfare Ex: The Genome Project

27. J. Craig Venter Celera Genomic <> Francis Collins Human Genome Project (NIH) Sequencing of the human genome: “the book if life” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=genomeprj&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Overview&list_uids=9558

28. What is Science? Finished Product: NO! One experiment inevitably leads to other questions…serendipity!

29. Serendipity!!  Electrical Stimulation of frog legs  Contraction of the muscles Followed up with “Animal Electricity” Luigi Galvani (1596-1650) Italian Physician Physicist

31. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors: Iproniazid First antidepressant (1957) - Treatment for TB A flop!…serendipity intervened

32. What is Science? Science Grows Continuously: NO! Science grows awkwardly One direction then another direction.. Science has a history of fads (style that interests many people for a short time) Ex: Schools of Psychology

33. Structuralism: the study of the structure of conscious experience (1832-1920) 50 years  moved psychological study from the domain of philosophy and the natural sciences and began to utilize physiological experimental techniques in the laboratory – SCIENCE

34.  moved psychological study from the domain of just the “mind” to behavior  influence of Darwin - animal research  applied research (practical questions ie., education, training, developmental) Functionalism: Consciousness as well as behavior must serve some sort of purpose – the function of the mind William James (1842-1910) “my thinking is first, last always for the sake of doing” Professor at Harvard Taught first class in experimental Psych in US 50 years

35. Behaviorism: All other schools to mentalistic and to subjective – not observable, not science Focus is on relationship between the environment and behavior John Watson (1878-1957) University of Chicago Johns Hopkins  moved psychological away from the mind – only behavior  transferred all mentalistic content into S-R: “we only think we think”  animal research (Pavlov. Skinner)  Against Freud! 60 years

36. No longer One School of Psychology Biological Psychology Cognitive Psychology Social Psychology Clinical PsychologyNeuropsychology Developmental Psychology

37. Group Discussion #1: Read Goodstein Article “How Science Works” -take notes -answer question via group discussion -present answers as a group in class If you did not read, you will be asked to leave during discussion time