Midterm 1 - Lecture 1 (CH1)

Question 1

Definition of Psychology:

Answer 1

The scientific study of the mind, brain, and behaviour

Question 2

2 ways we can explain behaviour:

Answer 2

1. Scientific Method
2. “Un-scientific” Non-Data-Driven Methods

Question 3

Scientific Method - Critical Thinking:

Answer 3

• Critical Thinking: the ability and willingness to evaluate the truth and/or completion of one’s knowledge, to seek evidence before declaring something truth, to evaluate that evidence before accepting/rejecting it
• Not the only way of knowing, but it’s a common way of psychology

Question 4

What do quantitative research methods give us?

Answer 4

A common language and set of tools to guide & encourage critical thinking

Question 5

Critical Thinking - Scientific Skepticism:

Answer 5

• Keep an open mind to all claims
• Accept only claims that have been tested (properly & in many different ways)
• Re-evaluate claims when presented with new evidence (keep on keeping an open mind)

Question 6

“Unscientific” (4 non-data-driven methods)

Answer 6

• Folk wisdom (“eating salt to have boys”)
• Common Sense (“if it’s raining, bring an umbrella”)
• Authority (Experts)
• Intuition: A thing that no one knows or considers likely from an instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning

Question 7

The only unifying characteristic of modern psychology is…

Answer 7

the quest to understand behavior by using the methods of science

Question 8

The defining feature [of psychology] is

Answer 8

That it is the data-based scientific study of behavior”

Question 9

3 Key Characteristics of Science (SUMMARY)

LECTURE

Answer 9

• Systematic Empiricism
• Production of Public Knowledge (or Communality & Organized Skepticism)
• Search for Solvable Problems (or Empirically Solvable Problems/Disinterestedness?)

Question 10

Systematic Empiricism (3 Key Characteristics of Science)

Answer 10

• Majorly interested in the relationships between observations which can tell us about how the world works
• Only if systemically organized
• However, they might be things we can’t observe at all (EX: is there a god? - how can you measure this?)

Question 11

Production of Public Knowledge/Communality (3 Key Characteristics of Science)

Answer 11

• Good scientific research needs to be transparently (truthfully) reported to the scientific public
• Full disclosure of methods, data, & results
• Must have other independent researchers
  attempt same/similar studies (replication)
• Exact Replication (testing to produce similar results)
• Conceptual Replication (testing if hypotheses can generalize to different groups, contexts, etc.)

Question 12

Empirically Solvable Problems

Answer 12

• Science relies on empirical observation
• Therefore, can only deal with problems that have potential empirical solutions (in gathering data that can prove one’s assertion is true or false)
• Theories/hypotheses must be testable (falsifiable) using empirical observations
  (EX: not “is there a God”, but “how does the idea of God affect human behaviour?”

Question 13

What is Pseudo-Science?

Answer 13

A body of knowledge, methodology, belief, or practice that is claimed to be scientific or made to appear scientific, but does not adhere to the scientific method. Often used to sell a product, services, or therapies

Question 14

How can we identify Pseudo-Science? (7)

Answer 14

• Exaggerated claims without strong evidence
• Overreliance on anecdotal evidence
• Psychobabble – sounds scientific
• Claims of scientific proof but no link to actual research
• Absence of adequate peer review
• Lack of self-correction
• Unfalsifiable claims

Question 15

What is falsifiability?

Answer 15

Falsifiability: the logical possibility that an assertion/claim could be shown to be false by a particular observation or physical experiment.

Question 16

Does “falsifiable” imply PROVE right/wrong?

Answer 16

NO! If something is “falsifiable” does not mean it is false; rather, it means that if the statement/claim were false, then its falsehood could be demonstrated/proved

Question 17

Unfalsifiable Claims

Answer 17

Unfalsifiable claim: A claim for which NO evidence can be provided to prove the claim false (even if it is false); Does not mean a hypothesis is surely false

Question 18

Why do we need science?

Answer 18

• To question our assumptions and pursue truth through systemic observation
• Provides us with ways to gather evidence, which can shape our beliefs about answers to curious questions

Question 19

Why study research methods (4 reasons)?

Answer 19

• Understanding research methods can help you become an informed consumer of news, health care, products, and services
• Can give you an edge for careers
• Can help you be an informed and engaging citizen and participate in debates regarding public policy
• Helps you evaluate programs in your community that you might want to participate in or even implement

Question 20

What are the 3 methods of acquiring knowledge?

Answer 20

1. Intuition
2. Authority
3. The Scientific Method

Question 21

Intuition (Methods of acquiring knowledge)

Answer 21

• Using anecdotal evidence to draw general conclusions
• Otherwise, immediately accepting your opinion - or another’s - as the universally right answer (justifying your own answers)
• EX: “love arrives when one isn’t seeking it”

Question 22

Cons of using intuition (Methods of acquiring knowledge)

Answer 22

• Many cognitive and motivational biases affect our perceptions, meaning we can arrive at incorrect conclusions
• Illusory Correlation: when two events occur closely in time, drawing our attention - thus causing us to conclude a false “cause & effect” between them (falling in love example - if someone were to stop looking for love, and end up not finding any love in the process (contradicting the belief), we don’t notice this inconsistency)
• Also likely to occur when we’re highly motivated to belief a certain relationship is true

Question 23

Authority (Methods of acquiring knowledge)

Answer 23

• When we make a decision based on authority, we place our trust in someone else who we think knows more than we do (EX: being younger, and trusting parents to know what’s best; as adults, we trust professionals - doctors, scientists, even pop culture: news, books, government officials
• Such blind trust can be problematic
  (EX: many healthcare workers are prone to drawing incorrect conclusions from statistics regarding health)
• The scientific approach rejects the notion that one can accept on faith the statements of any authority

Question 24

The Scientific Method (Methods of acquiring knowledge)

Answer 24

• Scientific method of acquiring knowledge acknowledges that both intuition and authority can be useful for INITIAL ideas about behaviour
• However, it does not accept these ideas as truth without FURTHER EVIDENCE; Scientific Skepticism

Question 25

Scientific Skepticism (Scientific Method)

Answer 25

• Scientific skepticism: recognition that our own ideas are just as likely to be wrong as anyone else’s, and question any pronouncements of truth, regardless of the prestige or authority associated with the source
• Even towards other scientists; everyone’s human at the end of the day

Question 26

How do we gain knowledge about the world in a valid way?

Answer 26

• Empiricism: gaining knowledge based on structured, systematic observations of the world
• A scientist develops a hypothesis, collects relative data, and evaluates whether the data is consistent or inconsistent with this hypothesis

Question 27

4 universally agreed upon norms that characterize scientific inquiry (also discussed in lecture with diff. terms):

(TEXT)

Answer 27

• Universalism
• Communality
• Disinterestedness
• Organized Skepticism

Question 28

Universalism - TEXT (4 universally agreed upon norms that characterize scientific inquiry)

Answer 28

• Universalism: scientific observations are systematic and structured, and evaluated objectively using the accepted methods of the discipline
• EX: by relying on empiricism, two groups can reach two different conclusions - the research from both sides can be evaluated objectively by others

Question 29

Communality - TEXT (4 universally agreed upon norms that characterize scientific inquiry)

Answer 29

• Communality: methods and results are to be shared openly
• Lets people replicate studies to validate results; help ensure that the effects being reported are not the result of chance
• The many results of studies can be combined into meta-analyses, which can examine the overall effect

Question 30

Disinterestedness - TEXT (4 universally agreed upon norms that characterize scientific inquiry)

Answer 30

• Disinterestedness: ideally, scientists should be making observations that will help them discover accurate things about the world
• Motivated by an honest and careful quest for truth, not just by fame, ego, or personal gain

Question 31

Organized Skepticism - TEXT (4 universally agreed upon norms that characterize scientific inquiry)

Answer 31

• Organized Skepticism: all new evidence and theories should be evaluated based on scientific merit, even those that challenge one’s own work or prior beliefs
• Science exists in a “free market”
• Researchers should still be critical of work, even if it supports their ideas
• Closely associated with peer reviewing - especially before publishing new work