SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF BEHAVIOR

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Explain the reasons for taking a research methods course

Describe the scientific approach to learning about behavior, and contrast it with pseudoscientific research

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Define and give examples of the four goals of scientific research: description prediction determination of cause explanation of behavior

Define and describe basic and applied research

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Increasingly important in public policy and judicial decisions Supreme court decisions & developmental

psychology Eyewitness testimony

Important when developing and assessing the effectiveness of goal-oriented programs

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Informed citizens increasingly need knowledge of research methods for everyday decisions

Many occupations require the use of research findings

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Limitations of Intuition Intuition relies unquestioningly on personal

judgment Involves cognitive and motivational biases

Erroneous conclusions about cause and effect Example: Illusory correlation

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Examples of Authority News media Books Government officials Religious figures Political pundits

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Limitations of Authority Many accept statements based on faith in the

authority Scientific approach rejects this notion and requires

much more evidence before conclusions can be drawn

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Skepticism, Science, and the Empirical Approach Empiricism Falsifiability Peer review

Integrating Intuition, Skepticism, and Authority

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Observations accurately reported to others

+Search for discovery and verification of ideas

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Open exchange and competition among ideas

+

Peer review of research

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Characteristics of pseudoscience Hypotheses generated are not typically testable If scientific tests are reported, methodology is not scientific

and validity of data is questionable Ex: facilitated communication with autistic children

Supportive evidence is anecdotal and does not cite scientific references

Claims ignore conflicting evidence Claims tend to be vague, and appeal to pre-conceived ideas Claims are never revised

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Describe Behavior Predict Behavior Determine the Causes of Behavior

Temporal precedence Covariation of the cause and effect Alternative explanations

Explanation of Behavior

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Basic Research Attempts to answer 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

Typical of research conducted at universities

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Applied Research Conducted to address issues in which there

are practical problems and potential solutions

Program evaluation Typical of the research conducted in

industry

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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

Basic research is crucial to public policy

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