Questions

1
Questions

• You may not double-dip in regards to the
  HSP/REC requirement
• Must specify class when signing up
• Cozby as an e-book?
• Different section with different instructor

2
The History of Human Understanding

• Metaphysical Systems
• Attributing behavior or experiences to
  nonphysical forces such as spirits or deities
• Violates scientists established physical laws

3
The History of Human Understanding

• Animism
• Belief that natural phenomena
• are alive and influence behavior
• Possession of animal parts
• endows the owner with psychological
  aspects of the animal
• Wind, sun, and rain have temperaments
• Plato the universe is alive and has a soul
• Aristotle gravity reflects the desire of
  physical objects to return to mother earth

4
The History of Human Understanding

• Mythology and religion
• Deities of spiritual rather than physical
  existence
• More sophisticated explanations than animism
• Non-physical forces influence behavior
• Important science cant determine whether right
  or wrong just different than science
• Difference set of assumptions
• Both attempt to explain behavior

5
The History of Human Understanding

• Astrology
• Human behavior is determined by the activity of
  celestial bodies
• Relegated to mere entertainment

6
The History of Human Understanding

• Philosophy
• Study of knowledge and behavior through logic,
  intuition, and observation
• Early philosophers were influenced by popular
  beliefs
• Descartes accepted notion that nerves were hollow
  tubes that animal spirits were carried through

7
The History of Human Understanding

• Physiology and Physical Sciences
• Study of the functions of the interrelations
  between different
• parts of the brain and body
• The scientific method is used in physiology
• Physiologists taught psychologists
  the value of careful, systematic
  experimentation through
• observation.

8
CHAPTER 1

• SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF BEHAVIOR

9
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Explain the reasons for understanding research
  methods
• Describe the scientific approach to learning
  about behavior, and contrast it with
  pseudoscientific research

10
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Learn about the four goals of scientific
  research description, prediction, determination
  of cause, and explanation of behavior
• Define basic and applied research

11
The Science of Psychology

• Freud modern psychology
• Modern psychological methods
• Why is the scientific method important?
• Systematic Empiricism
• Public Knowledge
• Replication
• Peer Review (beware if bypassed)
• Answerable Questions

12
The Science of Psychology

• The Scientific Method

13
The Science of Psychology

• Answerable Questions Testable Theories
• Testable is always changing
• But why do we need all this? Isnt it
  commonsense?
• Many commonsense beliefs have been tested
  (teenage employment, aggression self-esteem,
  10 of our brain)

14
USES OF RESEARCH METHODS

• Increasingly important in public policy and
  judicial decisions
• Homework Assignment
• Important when developing and assessing the
  effectiveness of goal oriented programs

15
THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

• Limitations of Intuition
• Intuition relies unquestioningly on personal
  judgment
• Reflect our need to impose order
• Eg. Bad things happen in 3s
• Involves cognitive and motivational biases
• Erroneous conclusions about cause and effect
• Example Illusory correlation

16
THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

• Allows you to be skeptical of authority
• Examples of Authority
• News media
• Books
• Government officials
• Internet

17
THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

• Skepticism, Science, and the Empirical Approach
• Empiricism
• Falsifiability
• Peer review
• Integrating Intuition, Skepticism, and Authority

18
Elements of Goodsteins Evolved Theory of Science

• Observations accurately reported to others
• Search for discovery and verification of ideas
• Open exchange and competition among ideas
• Peer review of research

19
GOALS OF SCIENCE

• Description of Behavior
• Prediction of Behavior (Ex. Eating test
  performance)
• Determining the Causes of Behavior
• Temporal precedence
• Covariation of the cause and effect
• Alternative explanations
• Explanation of Behavior

20
BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

• Basic Research
• Fundamental questions about the nature of
  behavior
• - Theoretical issues often concern basic
  phenomena such as cognition, emotion, motivation,
  learning, psychobiology, personality development,
  and social behavior.

21
BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

• Applied Research
• Conducted to address issues in which there are
  practical problems and potential solutions.
• Program evaluation

22
BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

• Comparing Basic and Applied Research
• Neither is considered superior to the other
• Applied research is often guided by theories and
  findings of basic research
• Findings in applied settings often require
  modification of existing theories and spur more
  basic research