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Myers’ PSYCHOLOGY
(6th Ed)
Chapter 1 Thinking Critically with Psychological Science
James A. McCubbin, PhDClemson UniversityWorth Publishers
“What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.”
Thinking Critically with Psychological Science
Critical Thinking Thinking that does not blindly
accept arguments and conclusions examines assumptions discerns hidden values evaluates evidence
Limits of Intuition and Common Sense
Hindsight Bias (20/20 hindsight vision)
tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it
the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenonOverconfidence
we tend to think we know more than we do (more confident than correct)
History is Living Proof
“We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on there way out.” Decca Records, 1962, Beatles Recording Contract
“Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” Popular Mechanics, 1949
“The telephone may be appropriate for our American cousins, but not here, because we have an adequate supply of message boys.” British expert group evaluating the telephone
The Scientific Attitude
Curiosity– a passion to explore and understand without misleading or being mislead
Skeptical, but not cynical (open, but not gullibleWilling to question any truth claim, asking for
clarity in definition, consistency in logic, adequacy of evidence “Paul Kurtz”
Humility– ability to reject one’s own ideas
Smart Thinking=Critical Thinking
Research Strategies
Theory an explanation using an integrated
set of principles that organizes and predicts observations
Hypothesis a testable predictionoften implied by a theory
The Scientific Method
generate or refine
research and observations
lead to
hypothesis
theories
Research Strategies
Operational Definitiona statement of procedures
(operations) used to define research variables
Example- intelligence may be operationally defined
as what an intelligence test measures
Research Strategies
Replicationrepeating the essence of a research study to
see whether the basic finding generalizes to other subjects and circumstances
usually with different subjects in different situations
Case Studyan observation technique in which one
person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
Research Strategies
Surveytechnique for ascertaining the self-
reported attitudes or behaviors of peopleusually by questioning a representative,
random sample of themFalse Consensus Effect
tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors
Research Strategies
Populationall the cases in a group, from which
samples may be drawn for a studyRandom Sample
a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Research Strategies
If marbles of two colors are mixed well in the large jar, the fastest way to know their ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller one and count them
Research Strategies
Naturalistic Observationobserving and recording behavior in
naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
Research StrategiesCorrelation Coefficient
a statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together and thus how well either factor predicts the other
Correlation coefficient
Indicates directionof relationship
(positive or negative)
Indicates strengthof relationship(0.00 to 1.00)
r = +.37
Research Strategies
Scatterplota graphed cluster of dots, each of which
represents the values of two variablesthe slope of the points suggests the
direction of the relationshipthe amount of scatter suggests the
strength of the correlation little scatter indicates high correlation
also called a scattergram or scatter diagram
Research Strategies
Perfect positivecorrelation (+1.00)
No relationship (0.00) Perfect negativecorrelation (-1.00)
Research Strategies
Scatterplot of Height and Temperament
55 60 65 70 75 80 85
959085807570656055504540353025
Temperamentscores
Height in inches
Research StrategiesHeight and Temperament of 20 Men
123456789
10
11121314151617181920
80636179746962757760
64767166737063716870
75666090604242608139
48697257637530578439
SubjectHeight in
Inches Temperament SubjectHeight in
Inches Temperament
Research StrategiesThree Possible Cause-Effect Relationships
(1)Low self-esteem
Depression
(2)Depression
Low self-esteem
Low self-esteem
Depression
(3)Distressing events
or biologicalpredisposition
could cause
could cause
could cause
or
or
and
Illusory Correlation
Illusory Correlationthe
perception of a relationship where none exists
Conceive Do not conceive
Adopt
Do notadopt
disconfirming evidence
confirming evidence
disconfirming evidence
confirming evidence
Random Sequences
Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.
Research Strategies
Experiment the investigator manipulates one or more
factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) while controlling other relevant factors by random assignment of subjects
by random assignment of participants the experiment controls other relevant factors
Research Strategies
Double-blind Procedureboth the subject and the research staff are
ignorant (blind) about whether the subject has received the treatment or a placebo
commonly used in drug-evaluation studiesPlacebo
an inert substance or condition that may be administered instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects believed to characterize the active agent
Research Strategies
Experimental Conditionthe condition of an experiment that
exposes subjects to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
Control Conditionthe condition of an experiment that
contrasts with the experimental treatment serves as a comparison for evaluating the
effect of the treatment
Research Strategies
Random Assignmentassigning subjects to experimental and control conditions by chance
minimizes pre-existing differences between those assigned to the different groups
Research Strategies
Independent Variable the experimental factor that is manipulatedthe variable whose effect is being studied
Dependent Variable the experimental factor that may change in
response to manipulations of the independent variable
in psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process
Research Strategies
Comparing Research MethodsResearch Method Basic Purpose How Conducted What is
Manipulated
Descriptive To observe and Case studies, surveys, Nothing record behavior and naturalistic
observations
Correlational To detect naturally Computing statistical Nothing occuring relationships; association, sometimes to assess how well among survey one variable predicts responses
Experimental To explore cause Manipulating one or Independent and effect more factors and using variable(s)
random assignmentto eliminate preexistingdifferences among subjects
Research Strategies
Design of the subliminal tapes experiment
Subliminal tape content
Self-esteem Memory
Memory
Self-esteem
Tape label
Statistical Reasoning
Our Brand Brand BrandBrand X Y Z
100%
99
98
97
96
95
Percentagestill functioningafter 10 years
Brand of truck
Statistical Reasoning
Our Brand Brand Brand Brand X Y Z
100%
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Percentagestill functioningafter 10 years
Brand of truck
Statistical ReasoningMode
the most frequently occurring score in a distribution
Meanthe arithmetic average of a distributionobtained by adding the scores and then dividing
by the number of scoresMedian
the middle score in a distributionhalf the scores are above it and half are below it
Statistical ReasoningA Skewed Distribution
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 90 475 710
70
Mode Median Mean
One Family Income per family in thousands of dollars
Statistical ReasoningRange
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution
Standard Deviationa computed measure of how much scores
vary around the meanStatistical Significance
a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance
Does Behavior Depend on One’s Culture?
Culturethe enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next