Lecture 1: Psychology's progress to becoming a Science Flashcards
Naive Realism
- can be defined as the belief that we see the world exactly how it is
- perception & reasoning are very different - cannot rely on our perceptions
- common sense can trick you
Common sense vs. what psychology really is
- people think we read/ analyze people’s mind like a profiler
- Not common sense
- psychology is often puzzling and unintuitive - people are surprising under various circumstances
- uses scientific method to study the mind, brain, and, behaviour
The four goals of psychology:
Describe: What is happening?
Ask Why: Why do people act or think a certain why?
Predict: can we anticipate how people will behave?
Limit: stop harmful behaviours or thoughts.
Levels of Analysis
different ways to study brain, mind, and behaviour
Biological - molecular or neurochemical level - how neurons are reacting in the brain
Psychological - mental or neurological level - how different parts of the brain work together
Social/ Cultural - social or behavioural level - how we were raised, environments/ communities
The Scientific Method
this process rules out bad alternatives and is the best way to make good inferences
Observe: Look to see what needs explaining
Hypothesize: explanation based on what you know/ observe
- regarding the past
Predict: make a prediction for what you expect based on your explanation
-regarding the future
Test: do an experiment to make new observations and test prediction
Modify: modify your hypothesis based on findings
- only if test fails which is okay! it gets you closer and closer to the answer/ rules out bad alternatives
- modify and return to Hypothesize
Repeat: ensure results can be repeated
Challenges for the Scientific Method in Psychology
Multiple determination:
many reasons for someone’s behaviour (ex. video games don’t just cause violent children, perhaps family life, community they grew up in, etc.)
Individual differences:
behaviours change from person to person, and aren’t always consistent ( Child A may play violent video games while Child B experiences physical abuse at home)
Social/cultural influences:
the context of social groups and cultural backgrounds affects behaviours (what is appropriate? what is inappropriate? what is normal behaviour within our society/ group?)
Reasons for the Scientific Method
we use this method to save ourselves from ourselves
Confirmation Bias: we seek evidence that supports what we believe
- nobody wants to be wrong and have many reasons we would want our beliefs or hypothesis to be correct
Belief Perseverance: we stick to our beliefs even when evidence contradicts our beliefs
Theories vs. Hypotheses
Theory: widely encompassing explanation based on large number of completed research studies
- after we conduct scientific method many many times
- generate hypothesis (ex. big bang theory created hypothesis that there must be radiation from that big explosion)
Hypothesis: statement we use to form prediction before research (testing) is done
Pseudoscience
- claims it is scientific, but isn’t
- falls short of scientific evidence
- has no safeguard against confirmation bias and belief perseverance
Signs of Pseudoscience
Exaggerated Claims:
- statements that seem too good to be true; “replace all your medicine with just ONE natural product”
Over-reliance on anecdotes:
- using stories from individual people instead of data from lots of people; “I rub it in everywhere, all the time even while cooking”
- multiple anecdotes does not equal data
- celebrity stories could be included
Lack of reliable & external peer review:
- findings not verified by unbiased experts; “partnered with leading Swedish ophiologists ( sounds legit but they just study snakes), woah sign me up”
- sometimes there’s conflict of interested ex. money, confirmation bias
Proof rather than Evidence:
- countless studies but no data is shown? “trust us, this really works”
Psychobabble:
- using terms that sound fancy but mean nothing
Dangers of Pseudoscience
Opportunity Cost
- what you give up in order to get something else
- energy, money, time
- given two options, what do you give up if you choose one option
- ex. new car vs used car - chose new car n now I have to wait a few moths to get it :(
Erosion of Trust (in Science)
- I was duped by pseudoscience and now I don’t trust anything!
- pseudoscience masquerades as real science
Harm
- the story Candace Newmaker - the loss of life
- side effects of the pseudoscience - long-term damage
- side effects of not using science and wasting time - worsened symptoms
Why we believe in Pseudoscience
Sunk Cost Fallacy
- “I already invested this much, I might as well keep going”
- “I might as well drink the Serpesents since I bought 100 bottles”
Confirmation Bias
- only seek information that agrees with what we believe
Dunning-Kruger Effect - not always the case
- the less you know, the more likely you think you’re an expert
- just because you do a few hours of reading, don’t overestimate your expertise
- the more you know, the less you think you’re an expert
- you’re aware of the amount of unknowns
6 Safeguards against Pseudoscience
Rival Hypothesis - Rule out Rival Hypotheses
- are there alternative explanations for what we observe?
- have you ruled out/ accounted for all other explanations?
Correlation and Causation - Don’t confuse the two!
- when we find that X is related to Y, we cannot take that to mean X causes Y
- only under certain conditions, can we determine causation
- ex. height and weight. generally, more heights tends to mean more weight. does not equal causation
- ex. more ice cream sales and more murders took place. this correlation could be explained by weather, hot weather = more people outside = annoyed
Falsifiability - Testability
- science allows for our ideas to be tested and proven wrong
- in order for a claim to be scientific, it must be possible to disprove/ test it
- am I able to measure something? can I make predictions about it?
Extraordinary Evidence for Extraordinary Claims
- the bigger the claim, the more convincing the evidence must be
Replicability
- has the study been repeated? are there multiple lines of evidence?
- 2 ways replication is achieved
1. Direct Replication
2. Conceptual Replication
Parsimony/ Occam’s Razor
- sometimes, the simple answer is the best answer!
- test the simpler explanations before complexProf. Brandon prefers Newton’s Flaming Laser Sword lol
- the explanations we should focus on are the ones that are testable - choose the alternative that can be examined
Philosophical Roots of Psychology
psychology was a school of philosophy
- most of it done sitting in chairs and thinking about how the brain/ behaviour works
-psychology was also tied with spiritualism (ex. The power of psychics to mind read and spirit mediums)
Structuralism
School of thought concerning basic elements of consciousness
- asks WHAT
- “Periodic table” of mental experiences (the indivisible units)
Introspection
- Wundt’s technique
- process of describing mental experiences while doing something, in as much detail as possible
- describe basic experiences and try not to be too subjective
Limitations
- Subjectivity - Individual differences in perception
- “Imageless thought” - What is your birthday? what is justice? freedom?
- Not enough to just describe our mental experiences
- only really achieves the first goal of psychology: describe
- it doesn’t explain, predict, and limit
