Chapter 1 Scientific Thinking

Question 1

Why Take This Course?

Answer 1

Develops scientific skills:
• Think critically about research 
• Design and conduct experiments 
• Analyse experimental results 
• Clearly and concisely present scientific results, communication skills

Question 2

Where we learn - Ways of Knowing (hint 3)

Answer 2

authority, reason, and empiricism (direct experience)

Question 3

Authority

Answer 3

Whenever we accept the validity of information from a source that we judge to be an expert, then we are relying on authority as a source of our knowledge.

• authorities can be wrong
• aspect of the attitude of a critical thinker is the willingness to question authority
• anyone we trust who we think is more knowledgeable than us
• might intentionally mislead you (mechanic with cars)

Question 4

Reason - a priori method

Answer 4

We sometimes arrive at conclusions by using logic and reason
a priori method - A way of knowing, proposed by Charles Peirce, in which a person develops a belief by reasoning and reaching an agreement with others who are convinced of the merits of the reasoned argument.
-you have to be careful it is best to have empirical evidence too, so you avoid faulty logic
-A priori knowledge is that which is independent of experience. The knowledge that comes before the facts

Question 5

Empirical

Answer 5

• empiricism—the process of learning things through direct observation or experience, and reflection on those experiences.
• however, our experiences can be influenced by a number of “social cognition biases.” One of these biases is the confirmation bias

Question 6

confirmation bias

Answer 6

a tendency to seek and pay special attention to information that supports one’s beliefs, while ignoring information that contradicts a belief
-often combines with another preconception called belief perseverance

Question 7

belief perseverance

Answer 7

Unwillingness to consider evidence that contradicts a strongly held view; similar to Peirce’s principle of tenacity.
Belief perseverance, also known as belief persistence, is the inability of people to change their own beliefs even upon receiving new information or facts that contradict or refute that belief. In other words, belief perseverance is the tendency of individuals to hold on to their beliefs even when they should not.

Question 8

Another social cognition bias is called the availability heuristic

Answer 8

it occurs when we experience unusual or very memorable events and then overestimate how often such events typically occur
ex - (“Don’t change answers—go with your first instinct!”)

Question 9

Science

Answer 9

A way of knowing characterized by the attempt to apply objective, empirical methods when searching for the causes of natural events.

Question 10

A method of Science

Answer 10

Its procedures allow us to know “real things, whose characters are entirely independent of our opinions about them”

Question 11

researchers assume determinism and discoverability

Answer 11

Determinism simply means that events, including psychological ones, have causes, and discoverability means that by using agreed‐upon scientific methods, these causes can be discovered with some degree of confidence. In psychology, we ultimately would like to know what causes behaviour (determinism), and it is with the tools of science that we can discover those causes (discoverability).

Question 12

Statistical determinism

or probabilistic determinism

Answer 12

An assumption made by research psychologists that behavioural events can be predicted with a probability greater than chance.

Question 13

systematic observations

Answer 13

(a) precise definitions of the phenomena being measured, (b) reliable and valid measuring tools that yield useful and interpretable data, (c) generally accepted research methodologies, and (d) a system of logic for drawing conclusions and fitting those conclusions into general theories.

Question 14

Objectivity

Answer 14

Said to exist when observations can be verified by more than one observer.
-science produces knowledge that is public knowledge. This process of repeating a study to determine if its results occur reliably is called “replication”

Question 15

Introspection

Answer 15

The method used in the early years of psychological science in which an individual would complete a task and then describe the events occurring in consciousness while performing the task.

Question 16

Data-Driven

Answer 16

Describes the belief of research psychologists that conclusions about behavior should be supported by data collected scientifically.
- psychologists expect conclusions about behavior to be supported by evidence gathered through some systematic procedure.

Question 17

Objectivity criterion

Answer 17

Objectivity criterion this is research that is precisely enough described to be replicated is said to satisfy the objectivity criterion
-Science produces data-based conclusions

Question 18

Science Produce Tentative Conclusions

Answer 18

science is a self‐correcting enterprise and its conclusions are not absolute, yet there is the confidence that research will eventually get one ever closer to the truth.
-findings subject to outcomes of future research

Question 19

Empirical questions

Answer 19

are those that can be answered through the systematic observations and techniques that characterize scientific methodology.
-They are questions that are precise enough to allow specific predictions to be made

Question 20

Empirical question into hypothesis into a theory

Answer 20

early step in the process is to reshape the empirical question into a hypothesis, which is a prediction about the study’s outcome

• hypothesis is your best guess about the answer to your empirical question
• empirical questions are just that, questions, whereas hypotheses are statements about what scientists think may occur in a particular situation.
• hypotheses sometimes develop as logical deductions from a theory, which is a set of statements that summarize what is known about some phenomena and propose working explanations for those

Question 21

Falsification

Answer 21

good theory is that it must be precise enough so that it can be refuted, at least in principle. This concept is often referred to as falsification = that emphasizes putting theories to the test by trying to disprove or falsify them.
-theories must generate hypotheses producing research results that could come out as the hypothesis predicts (i.e., support the hypothesis and increase confidence in the theory) or could come out differently (i.e., fail to support the hypothesis and raise questions about the theory).

Question 22

pseudoscience

Answer 22

is applied to any field of inquiry that appears to use scientific methods and tries hard to give that impression, but is actually based on inadequate, unscientific methods and makes claims that are generally false or, at best, overly simplistic.

• they rely primarily on anecdotal and testimonial evidence, they sidestep the all‐important falsification criterion, and they take complex phenomena (e.g., character, personality) and try to convince you these phenomena can be understood by relying on simple‐to‐understand concepts
• Associates with True Science - tries to appear legitimate
• Relies on Anecdotal Evidence
• effort justification
• Sidesteps of falsification requirement
• Reduce Complex Phenomena to Overly Simplistic Concepts

Question 23

Anecdotal Evidence

Answer 23

Evidence from a single case that illustrates a phenomenon; when relied on exclusively, as in pseudoscience, faulty conclusions can easily be drawn.
-The problem occurs when one relies heavily on anecdotes or makes more of them than is warranted. The difficulty is that anecdotal evidence is selective; examples that don’t fit are ignored (you might recognize this as another example of a confirmation bias).

Question 24

Effort Justification

Answer 24

After expending a large amount of time or effort to obtain some goal, people giving the effort feel pressured to convince themselves the effort was worthwhile, even if the resulting outcome is less positive than expected. – leons theory of cognitive dissonance

Question 25

Sidesteps of falsification requirement

Answer 25

• Barnum Effect, also called Forer Effect, in psychology, the phenomenon that occurs when individuals believe that personality descriptions apply specifically to them (more so than to other people), despite the fact that the description is actually filled with information that applies to everyone.
• theory that explains all possible outcomes fails as a theory because it can never make specific predictions

Question 26

Reduce Complex Phenomena to Overly Simplistic Concepts

Answer 26

pseudoscience is characterized by (a) a false association with true science, (b) a misuse of the rules of evidence by relying excessively on anecdotal data, (c) a lack of specificity that avoids a true test of the theory, and (d) an oversimplification of complex processes

Question 27

Goals of Research in Psychology (hint 4)

Answer 27

Description - A goal of psychological science in which behaviors are accurately classified or sequences of environmental stimuli and behavioral events are accurately listed.
ex: Observational Research
Prediction - A goal of psychological science in which statements about the future occurrence of a behavioral event are made, usually with some probability.
ex: Correctional Research (Relationship)
Explanation - A goal of science in which the causes of events are sought.
ex: Experimental Research - cause and effect (causation)
Application - A goal of science in which basic principles discovered through scientific methods are applied in order to solve problems.
ex: translational research A form of research that is done for both a better understanding of a particular phenomenon as well as for its application to promote physical and psychological well‐being.