1. EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Alla Chavarga
Tuesdays 9:00-11:20am 2412J
or 6:10-8:30pm 432-IA
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

2. Theory in Psychology CHAPTER 6 The nature of theory Theory and data
Lecture Outline
The nature of theory
Theory and data
Attributes of good theories
The story of Clever Hans

3. THE NATURE OF THEORY
Theory: Summarizes, organizes, explains, provides basis for predictions regarding a particular phenomenon
Includes constructs  hypothetical factors not observed directly; involved in the attempt at explanation e.g., cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1957)
The relationship between theory and data
Hypotheses deduced from theory; reasoning from general statements to make predictions (hypotheses)
Outcomes/data provide or fail to provide inductive support for theory
(Theories are never “true”; more like “working truths” or “true until proven false”)

4. THE NATURE OF THEORY Attributes of good theories 01 02 03 Productivity
Good theories produce much research and advance our knowledge 01
Falsification
Good theories can be shown to be wrong 02
Parsimony
Good theories are concise and provide a simple explanation for results 03

5. THE NATURE OF THEORY Clever Hans: The story
Wilhelm Von Osten believed that horses would prove to be as intelligent as people if only they were given a proper education
Spent 4 years tutoring Hans using a method from German schools
Hans could answer questions about history, arithmetic, etc even in languages he could not understand. Hoof tapping.
Oskar Pfungst : psychologist

6. Clever Hans
Wilhelm van Osten and his horse, Hans. Germany, beginning of 20th century.

7. Misunderstandings about theories:
THE NATURE OF THEORY
Misunderstandings about theories:
“It’s not a fact; it’s only a theory.”
“It’s just a theory; there’s no proof.”
“Here’s my theory about that.”

8. Exam 1 50 Multiple-choice questions Know your EMPLID#
10 of these are graph questions: you should know how to look at a graph and determine which effects are likely there
Countdown timer
Example-based vs. definition-based questions

9. Exam 1
You measure your cat’s temperature using a thermometer. The first time, it reads 50-degrees F, then a second later it reads 200-degrees F and a second later 0 degrees F. Your thermometer is:
Reliable and valid
Reliable and invalid
Unreliable and valid
Unreliable and invalid
Your friend is convinced that the Earth is flat, so she sends you 50+ articles all discussing evidence from a flat-earth perspective. She doesn’t even bother to read the many more articles that exist discussing evidence for a round earth. This is an example of:
Availability heuristic
Confirmation bias
Belief perseverance
schema