1. Science and Psychology
Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

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Dr. Cutting: M 11-12, W 2-3 Degarmo 435D
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Announcements

3. Exercise: How do we know?
Write down two things that you “know”.
Write down HOW you “know” those things.
Exercise: How do we know?

4. Compare the logic of these two examples:
Empiricism
Scientific Method
Our focus
Experience
Observation
Type of knowledge
Objective
Subjective
having existence outside of a person’s mind (“real”)
existing in a person’s mind
Persuasion
Rationalism
Deduction
Logical reasoning
Analysis
Ways of knowing
Authority
Instruction
Regulation (rules & laws)
Tenacity
Faith
Intuition
Acceptance
Method of authority
a person relies on information or answers from an expert in the subject area
Problems
people sometimes assume that a person’s status as an authority in one area transfers into some other area (e.g. athletes eating cereals are not nutrition experts)
authorities can be biased (e.g. psychodynamic vs. behavioral psychologists)
answers from an expert may represent subjective opinion rather than true expert knowledge
expert’s statements are often accepted without question
just being called an expert does not make someone an expert 
The method of intuition
information is accepted as true because it “feels right”; you rely on your intuition
Problem
reliability
there is not mechanism for separating accurate from inaccurate knowledge
The method of tenacity
information is accepted as true because it has always been believed or because superstition supports it (e.g. black cats and “opposites attract”)
accuracy
difficult to correct in the face of evidence 
The rational method
involves seeking answers by logical reasoning
uses arguments consisting of premises and conclusions
if the premise statements are true and the logic is sound, then the conclusion is guaranteed to be correct
Example:
     All 3-year-old children are afraid of the dark.
     Amy is a 3-year-old girl.
 Therefore, Amy is afraid of the dark.
unless the premise statements are absolutely true, we cannot draw any conclusions about Amy
people are not particularly good at logical reasoning 
Compare the logic of these two examples: 
Example 1 
All psychologists are human. 
Some humans wear glasses. 
Therefore, some psychologists wear glasses 
Example 2 
All apples are fruits. 
Some fruits are oranges. 
Therefore, some apples are oranges 
The method of empiricism
uses observation or direct sensory experience to obtain knowledge
we can not necessarily believe everything we see (e.g. illusions)
misinterpretation of observation
your perceptions can be drastically altered by prior knowledge, expectations, feelings and beliefs 
Methods of Inquiry

5. Methods of Inquiry The Scientific Method
A method used to test and analyze claims about behavior
Uses systematic observation and experimentation
4 Cannons of the Scientific method:
Empiricism, Determinism, Parsimony, Testability
A 6 step process (your book breaks it into 7
slightly different steps)
Methods of Inquiry

6. Scientific Method Step 1: Observation (Empiricism)
Pay attention to the world around you, look for generalizations
write down two generalizations that you have observed about people’s behavior
Two classes of generalizations
Descriptive generalizations – just describe how it is/what was seen, how frequent, without making predictions
Cause and effect generalizations – makes predictions about the observed relationship between two (or more) things.
(Determinism: phenomenon have identifiable causes)
Scientific Method

7. Scientific Method Step 2: Develop a theory or hypothesis
Identify the variables associated with your observations
Variables
The characteristics of the behavior and the surrounding context
An explanation for the observed behavior(s)
How are the variables related to one another?
May be based on past research, common sense, intuition, logic, etc.
Scientific Method

8. Scientific Method Step 3: Generate a testable prediction
Testability: Need to specify how your hypothesis can be tested through observation.
The relevant variables must be defined and observable.
Falsification is at the heart of the scientific method
Scientists don’t try to prove a theory, but rather set out to refute (“disprove”) theories
Refutable hypotheses - must be stated in a way that allows the potential for it to be wrong
Karl Popper wiki
Scientific Method

9. Scientific Method Step 4: Make systematic observations
Observational and experimental methods
Which variables will we examine?
How do we measure these variables?
Which variables can we systematically manipulate?
What variables need to be controlled?
Were (from whom) will we collect the observations?
Scientific Method

10. Scientific Method Step 5: Evaluate your evidence Refutes theory
Supports theory (not “proves the theory”)
Leads to the revision of the theory
Consider alternative theories
There are always alternative explanations
Parsimony: Simple explanations are preferred over more complex ones
Scientific Method

11. Scientific Method Step 6: Repeat new hypotheses systematic
predictions
systematic
observations
systematic
observations
predictions
hypotheses
observations
Scientific Method

12. Psychology as a science
Write down the names of three scientists
What field of science do they belong to?
Write down the name of a famous psychologist
Dr. Sigmund Freud
Dr. Phil (McGraw)
Do they represent the standard psychologist?
NO!
Psychology is a diverse discipline
ISU’s Psych Dept has 6 different groups
APA has 54 different divisions of psychology
Psychology as a science

13. Psychology as a science
What is science?
What are the goals of science?
Is psychology a science?
Yes
Studies the full range of human behavior using scientific methods
Applications derived from this knowledge is scientifically based
Psychology as a science

14. Psychology as a science
Psychology’s goals are similar to the goals of the physical sciences (e.g., physics and chemistry)
Psychologists are concerned with the behavior of people (and animals) rather than the physical world.
How is psychology different from the physical sciences?
Human (and animal) behavior is typically much more variable than most physical systems.
Statistical control
Methodological control
Often the thing of interest requires indirect measurement (and thus underlying assumptions)
Psychology as a science

15. 5 Goals of psychology Description of behavior Prediction of behavior
Describe events, what changes what might affect change, what might be related to what, etc.
Prediction of behavior
Given X what will likely happen
Control of behavior
For the purpose of interventions (e.g., how do we prevent violence in schools)
Causes of behavior
Sometimes predictions aren’t enough, want to know how the X and the outcome are related
Develop specific theories
Explanation of behavior
A complete theory of the how’s and why’s
Simplest
Complex
5 Goals of psychology

16. Next time Developing your research ideas Reviewing the literature
Moving from ideas to hypotheses
Chapter 2
Next time