Unit 1 Flashcards
The scientific method and its role in Psychology
What are the different ways of knowing?
Authority
Use of Reason
Empiricism
Cognitive Biases
Scientific Method
What is “authority” as a way of knowing?
Accepting the validity of information from a source considered an expert (e.g., children accepting their parents’ knowledge)
How does “Use of Reason” work as a way of knowing? What is an example?
arriving at conclusions by using logic and reason
-> e.g.: All humans are mortal. John is a human. Therefore, John is mortal.
What is “empiricism” in ways of knowing?
Learning through direct observations and experiences.
-> involves asking empirical questions to gain knowledge (e.g., What are the effects of stress on health?).
What is an issue with Empiricism that can occur?
experiences and interpretations can be influenced by social cognition biases
What is confirmation bias?
tendency to seek and pay attention to information that supports one’s belief, while ignoring information that contradicts a belief
What is Belief Perseverance?
tendency to hold on to a belief, even in the face of evidence that would convince most people that the belief is false
What is Availability heuristic?
when we experience unusual or very memorable events and then overestimate how often such events typically occur
-> mental shortcut to make decisions or judgements based on how easily examples come to mind
What is “Science” in ways of knowing?
It involves a number of interrelated assumptions and characteristics
What are the key characteristics of science in understanding behavior?
Determinism
Discoverability
Systematic Observations
Public Knowledge
Data-Based Conclusions
Empirical Questions
Falsifiable Theories
What is Determinism and Discoverability in Science?
- Determinism: all events have causes (including psychological ones)
- Discoverability: we can discover the causes by using agreed-upon scientific methods
-> we would like to know what causes behavior (determinism) and it is with the tools of science that we can discover those causes (discoverability)
What does it mean that science makes systematic observations?
A) precise definitions of the phenomena being measured B) reliable and valid measuring tools
C) generally accepted research methodologies
D) a system of logic for drawing conclusions and fitting those conclusions into general theories.
What does it mean that science produces data-based conclusions?
Scientists are data driven. Conclusions are reached based on facts, observations and data gathered from experiments, research or studies.
-> do not rely on guesses or opinions
-> they analyze the data they collect and use it to make decisions or form conclusions
What are tentative conclusions?
conclusions drawn from data are always tentative, subject to revision based on future research
-> the conclusions are not final! - reflect the evolving nature of scientific knowledge
What are Empirical questions?
those that can be answered through the systematic observations and techniques that characterize scientific methodology.
What does it mean that theories can be falsified?
results can come out different than expected.
How did the discipline of psychology start?
Philosophers, writers, poets, and even salesman are interested in the nature of
human thought and action
-> started in second half of nineteenth century
How did psychology become a scientific discipline?
Knowledge should be gained empirically (i.e. through experience), with a method that uses careful observation and experiments to gather facts and evidence
What are the goals of research in psychology?
Describe
Predict
Explain
Apply
What does each goal of research in psychology mean?
Describe: provide good description, identify regularly occurring sequences of events
Predict: say that behavior follows law - regular and predictable relationships exist
Explain: explain some behavior is to know what caused it to happen
Apply: various ways of applying principles of behavior learned through research
What is Epistemology?
the theory of knowledge
Which sources of information can actually bring knowledge?
Perception
Reason
Introspection
Human Memory
Testimony
What is the Procedure for conduction an investigation that relies upon experimentation and systematic observation rather than theoretical speculation?
Observation, Induction, Deduction, Testing, Evaluation
What is Experimental Psychology?
The approach adopted is essentially scientific
-> theory needs to fit the facts of behavior derived from systematic observations carried out under carefully controlled conditions
What are 3 methods of the empirical method?
Inductive
Deductive
Hypothetico-deductive
What is the Inductive method?
Experience is the starting point to generate knowledge. It begins with a research question and the collection of empirical data, which are used to generate hypotheses and theories.
-> It builds generalizations from specific instances.
-> based on observation
What is the deductive method?
Begins with theory-driven hypotheses (general laws), which guide data collection and analysis. Logical consequences are deduced and applied to reality.
-> General principles to reach specific conclusions.
What is the adductive method?
Starts with incomplete set of observations (‘surprising facts’ or ‘puzzles’). The researcher seeks to choose the ‘best’ or likeliest possible explanation
-> formation of hypothesis/diagnosis
-> evaluating hypothesis (which explanation is the most plausible one)
What is the difference between adductive method and hypothetico-deductive method?
- Abductive method: about generating the best explanations for observations
- Hypothetico-deductive method: about testing those explanations through specific predictions
What is the difference between the former and the latter?
former: about forming hypotheses from data
latter: focused on validating or invalidating those hypotheses through structured testing
What is the general structure of research process?
Make an observation
Ask a question
Form a hypothesis that answers the question
Make a prediction based on the hypothesis
Do an experiment to test the prediction
Analyze the results
-> correct: report results
-> incorrect: try again forming a hypothesis that answers the question
What is the empirical method?
systematic and standardized
What are the 2 types of research studies?
Empirical studies
Theoretical studies or reviews
What are the 3 ways of research in Empirical studies?
- Non-experimental or descriptive methods
- Experimental methods
- Differences between both methods
What are the 3 ways of research in Theoretical studies or reviews?
- Theoretical studies
- Systematic reviews
- Meta-analysis
What are non-experimental methods?
researcher does not control the variables - final results may be due to unknown variables
-> refers to research techniques where researcher does NOT manipulate variables or conditions but rather observes and analyzes them as they naturally occur
What are types of studies with non-experimental methods?
- Observational studies
- Survey studies
- Qualitative studies
What are Observational studies?
researcher observes from a distance without manipulating any variables
What is Survey study?
researcher collects data through questionnaire or interview
-> no manipulation of variables
What are Qualitative studies?
research method used to explore and understand people’s experiences, behaviors, thoughts, and social contexts in depth. It focuses on gathering non- numerical data, often in the form of words (e.g., interviews, observations, or text analysis).
What is the aim of qualitative methods?
to capture the complexity of human behavior
-> focusing on the why and how rather than the what or how much
What are the two types of variables in experimental methods?
- Independent variable (variable that is changed/manipulated)
- Dependent variable (variable affected by the change/what is measured by experimenter)
What is Correlation?
statistical concept that describes the degree to which two variables move in relation to one another
-> is there a relationship between two variables?
What is Positive Correlation, Negative Correlation and No Correlation?
Positive: Both variables move in the same direction
Negative: variables move in opposite directions
No correlation: no consistent relationship between variables
What does correlation NOT imply?
Causation
What does Causation refer to?
a direct cause-and-effect relationship between two variables
-> one variable directly influences the other
What is easier to establish; causation or correlation?
correlation
What are differences between experimental and non-experimental methods?
- Experimental methods involve manipulation of variables and aim to establish causal relationships
- Non-experimental methods focus on observation and description of variables as they naturally occur, without manipulation or control
What does a theoretical study involve?
- Rigorous research of relevant information and sources with high reliability.
- No empirical data collection or experimentation.
- Focuses on building upon existing theories and integrating new perspectives.
What does a systematic review do?
- Answers a defined research question.
- Collects and summarizes all empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria.
- Aims to provide a comprehensive and unbiased synthesis of the available data.
What does meta-analysis do?
- Uses statistical methods to summarize the results of multiple studies.
- Combines data from different research to identify overall trends.
- Provides a more precise estimate of the effect size than individual studies
What is standardization in testing?
- Establishing norms for a test.
- Using uniform procedures during test administration to ensure all participants take the same test under the same conditions. This ensures results are comparable
What is systematic observation?
- A well-ordered, objective method to examine behavior, ensuring reliable data
- Involves specific actions or variables to be recorded uniformly by all observers, aiming for consistent results across different circumstances
Why is formulating a research question important in scientific research?
Research must start with a question or problem that lacks a complete or satisfactory answer within the scientific community. This foundation guides the investigation and helps focus the research efforts.
What is the FINER criteria for a good research question?
F - Feasible
I - Interesting
N - Novel
E - Ethical
R - Relevant
How can a poorly formulated research question impact a study?
may affect the choice of study design, potentially lead to futile situations and, thus, hamper the chance of determining anything of clinical significance, which will then affect the potential for publication
What guides the research process by suggesting the steps and procedures to be taken?
objectives and hypotheses
What is the matter of formulating objectives and hypotheses?
matter of specifying what we expect to check (objective) and what we think will happen (hypotheses)
What is a prediction (or hypothesis)?
a statement that a change in one thing (the independent variable or IV) will produce a change in another thing (the dependent variable or DV)
Where do we collect all data from in behavioral sciences?
from people
What are examples for different instruments for data collection?
questionnaires, behavioral experimentation, neuroimaging, etc…
What do most research designs include?
the application of statistical techniques on the data obtained. These are selected according to the design
What do we do to interpretive and communicate the results?
A description is made of the results obtained in terms of the objectives and the hypotheses put forward. The research report is prepared and attempted to be published in scientific journals
What is the structure of a scientific report according to the American Psychiatric Association?
The title, author, abstract, keywords
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion/Conclusion
References
What does the Main text contain?
IMRAD
Introduction - Why
Methods - How
Results and - What
Discussion - So What
What is included in the Introduction?
Description of concept being researched
Description of previous work or research
Description of research problem
Objectives and hypotheses
-> what we know, what we don’t know, why we did the study
What does methods include? Why is it important? What are examples?
exactly how the research was conducted
-> for the reproduction of the experiment and assessment of alternative methods that might produce different results
- Subsections of the method section:
✓ Participants
✓ Material
✓ Design
✓ Procedure
✓ Data analysis
In Methods of scientific articles, what do we explain by referring to participants?
- Number of participants
- Demographic characteristics (age, sex, ethnic group, etc.)
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria (diagnosis, clinical variables, sensory impairment, etc.)
- Informed consent
What do we write about the Material in Methods?
Materials, Measures, Questionnaires, Assessment batteries, Equipment, Stimuli
What do we write about Design in Methods?
- type of design used in experiment
- independent variables
- dependent variables
- control variables
- extraneous variable
What do we include in Procedure in Methods?
Provide information about the setting where the intervention or manipulation was
delivered
-> number of sessions, time between sessions; instructions giving etc.
What do we include in data analysis in methods?
- How measurements were made
- What calculations were performed
- Statistical tests done to analyze data
What do we include in the Results? What is important?
- summarize collected data, relevant analysis performed on those data
- data must be reported in sufficient detail to justify conclusions
- Figures are used to support results description
What do we include in the Discussion/Conclusion?
- examine, interpret results and draw conclusions from our results
- comparison of our results with previous research
- limitations of study
- implications for professional practice
- future lines of research
What do we include in the References?
all the articles, books, chapters, questionnaires, documents, etc. which have been used to write our paper
What are the most used citation styles in health science?
APA style, Vancouver, harvard
