What is Psychology

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What is Psychology?
According to the APA, psychology is defined
as Psychology is the study of the mind and
behavior. The discipline embraces all aspects of
the human experience--from the functions of the
brain to the actions of nations, from child
development to care for the aged. In every
conceivable setting from scientific research
centers to mental health care services, the
understanding of behavior is the enterprise of
psychologists. Divisions of the APA
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Lecture Overview

• Close Encounters with the Strange
• On knowledge, belief, and evidence
• Conducting a Scientific Investigation
• Theoretical Development
• Variables
• Research Designs

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Close Encounters with the Strange
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Belief Sampler

• of Americans
• 48
• 35
• 56
• 42
• 72
• 25
• 45

Phenomenon ESP Telepathy the Devil Possession by
Devil Angels Astrology UFOs have visited Earth
Source Gallup poll survey, 1996
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Belief Sampler

• of Biology/Life Sciences
• High School Teachers Believing
• 43
• 20
• 19
• 20
• 16
• 30
• 26
• 22

Phenomenon Story of Flood and Noahs Ark is
true Communication with dead possible Dinosaurs
and humans lived at same time Black magic
real Atlantis existed Creation Science should be
taught Some races more intelligent than
others Ghosts are real
Source Rothman, 1988
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Are the claims reasonable?

• Possible criteria that you could use to evaluate
  the claims
• Is it logically possible?
• But, just because something is logically possible
  doesnt mean that its real.
• Is it physically possible?
• But, just because something is physically
  possible doesnt mean that its real.

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Are the claims reasonable?

• Possible criteria that you could use to evaluate
  the claims (cont.)
• Has it been conclusively refuted?
• But, just because a claim hasnt been
  conclusively refuted doesnt mean its true.
• Conversely, just because a claim hasnt been
  conclusively proven doesnt mean that its false.
• Arguments of this sort commit the fallacy of
• Appeal to ignorance.
• A claims truth is established by the amount of
  evidence in its favor, not by the lack of
  evidence against it (or for it).

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On evidenceFolklore or tradition accept it.

• Groups of people can be wrong for the same
  reasons that individuals are wrong (e.g., Man in
  the moon, bloodletting, witch trials).
• Folklore and tradition can provide leads as to
  why a particular phenomenon may occur, but to
  specify precisely why it occurs (or whether a
  practice is even reliable) you need controlled
  tests.

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On evidence I saw it with my own eyes.

• Is it Seeing is believing, or Believing is
  seeing?
• Our beliefs do not always have a direct
  one-to-one correspondence with external reality.
• E.g., Perceptual Construction (Color constancies)
  Expectancies and Beliefs (pareidolia), Selective
  Attention (lunar effect, Forer effect),
  Self-fulfilling prophecies
• It is reasonable to accept personal experience as
  reliable evidence if theres no reason to doubt
  its reliability.

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Looking for clarity in vagueness
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On evidenceAn expert claims its true.

• Experts can be wrong. (Remember continental drift
  theory? How about phrenology?) Consensus, in the
  absence of compelling evidence, is never
  sufficient justification for believing in
  anything.
• An expert is qualified in a particular field. Be
  aware of Dr.s with degrees outside of the area
  they claim to have expertise. (E.g., Backster and
  the Secret Life of Plants)

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On evidenceA scientific study substantiates

• Scientific Method
• Propose theoretical explanation for phenomenon
• Deduce (or induce) specific hypotheses that must
  be true if the theory is true
• Test the hypotheses with empirical data.
• Peer Review and Replication
• Assumption Objective reality exists.
• Relativism (reality depends on our thoughts about
  it) versus realism (reality has nothing to do
  with our thoughts about it)

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Conducting a Scientific Study

• Theoretical Development
• Research Designs
• Variables

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Generalized View of Scientific Method

• -Theories are systematic statements of principles
  that explain natural phenomenon.
• -Theories and empirical research are connected by
  hypotheses--testable propositions logically
  derived from theories.

• -State theory
• -Derive specific predictions from theory
• -Determine research design
• -Run pilot study then the actual study
• -Run descriptive statistics on data
• -Run inferential statistics on data to test
  predictions
• -Revise theory

• Empirical research involves the measurement of
  observable events.

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Variables

• Variables are elements in studies that are
  manipulated, compared, and/or controlled.
• Variables are any characteristic or quality that
  differs in degree or kind and can be measured.

Variables possess values or levels--these are the
dimensions on which they vary. e.g., Gender, TV
Viewing Duration, Hair Color
Independent Variable (IV) -Variable
systematically altered or manipulated -Conditions
of the IV are referred to as levels or
treatments -Other names for IV experimental or
predictor variable
Dependent Variable (DV) -Variable that is
affected by the manipulation of the IV. -Other
names for DV Outcome, response, or criterion
variable
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Operational Definitions

• Variables are specified by their operational
  definitions.
• Psychological constructs (e.g., aggression,
  intelligence, learning) must be defined in terms
  that are observable and measurable.
• Purpose To enhance the replicablility of the
  study.

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Operational DefinitionsLatrinalia

• Location
• Building (1, 2, 38)
• Gender
• Primary Content
• Heterosexual Sex and Relationships
• Homosexual Sex and Relationships
• Politics
• Religion
• School
• Sororities and Fraternities
• Names
• Places
• Drugs
• Nonsense
• Misc

Form Words Drawing Drawing and
Words Poetry Other Affective Tone Pos,
Neutral, Neg, Mixed, Other Responses to other
graffitti Yes, No or Cannot Say
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Overview of Research Designs

• Non-Experimental
• Correlational Research (e.g. observational,
  archival, questionnaires, interviews, personal
  documents)
• Experimental Research Designs
• True (Randomized) Experiments
• Quasi-Experiments

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Correlational ResearchLaughter

• Gender differences in laughter (Bachorowski et
  al.)
• Type of Laughter Women Men
• Sing-song (voiced) 50 33
• Grunt (exhaling through mouth) 25 33
• Snort (inhaling through nose) 25 33
• When do we laugh? (Provine et al.)
• 80 in social situations
• 46 more speaker laughs compared to listener
• People laugh more at male speakers
• Laughter rarely interrupts speech

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Correlational ObservationsBirth Control by the
Toaster Method
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Randomized Experiment

• Get a handle on cause and effect
• The case of Pelagra and J. Goldberger
• Control and Random Assignment are defining
  features of an experiment.

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Validity

• Internal Validity
• Degree to which IV produced the change observed
  in the DV
• External Validity
• Degree to which we can generalize or apply the
  results outside of the original study