Contents
Chapter 1 The science of psychology 2
1.1 Understanding science 2
1.2 Scientific research in psychology 3
1.3 Science and common sense 4
1.4 science and clinical practice 4
Chapter 2 getting started in research 5
2.1 Basic concepts 5
2.2 generating good search questions 6
2.3 Revi...
Contents
Chapter 1 The science of psychology.....................................................................................2
1.1 Understanding science..................................................................................................2
1.2 Scientific research in psychology..................................................................................3
1.3 Science and common sense.........................................................................................4
1.4 science and clinical practice..........................................................................................4
Chapter 2 getting started in research......................................................................................5
2.1 Basic concepts..............................................................................................................5
2.2 generating good search questions................................................................................6
2.3 Reviewing the research literature..................................................................................7
Chapter 5 psychological measurement...................................................................................9
5.1 understanding psychological measurement..................................................................9
5.2 reliability and validity of measurement.........................................................................10
5.3 Practical strategies for psychological measurement....................................................12
Chapter 6 experimental research.........................................................................................15
6.1 Experiment basics.......................................................................................................15
6.2 Experimental design....................................................................................................17
Chapter 7 Nonexperimental research...................................................................................20
7.1 Overview of Nonexperimental Research.....................................................................20
7.2 Correlational Research...............................................................................................21
7.3 Quasi-Experimental Research....................................................................................22
7.4 Qualitative Research...................................................................................................24
Chapter 8 Complex research designs...................................................................................26
8.1 Multiple Dependent Variables.....................................................................................26
8.2 Multiple Independent Variables...................................................................................27
8.3 Complex Correlational Designs...................................................................................32
Chapter 9 Survey research...................................................................................................34
9.1 Overview of Survey Research.....................................................................................34
9.2 Constructing Survey Questionnaires...........................................................................34
9.3 Conducting Surveys....................................................................................................37
Chapter 13 Inferential Statistics............................................................................................39
13.1 Understanding Null Hypothesis Testing....................................................................39
,Chapter 1 The science of psychology
1.1 Understanding science
Science: a general way of understanding the natural world featuring systematic empiricism,
empirical questions, and public knowledge.
What sciences have in common is a general approach to understanding the natural world.
Psychology is a science because it takes this same general approach to understanding one
aspect of the natural world: human behavior.
Three fundamental features
- Systematic empiricism: learning about the world through careful observation.
- Empirical questions: A question about the way the world actually is that can be
answered by making systematic observations.
- Public knowledge: detailed descriptions of research that are available to other
researchers and the general public, usually through publication in a professional
journal.
Pseudoscience: a set of beliefs or activities that is claimed to be scientific but lacks one or
more of the three features of science.
Falsifiable: an important property of scientific claims. A claim is falsifiable if there is an
observation that would – if it were made – count as evidence against the claim.
Why concern ourselves with pseudoscience?
- Learning about pseudoscience helps bring the fundamental features of science – and
their importance into sharper focus.
- Beliefs are widely held and are promoted on the internet, television and in books and
magazines.
- It can help us identify and evaluate such beliefs and practices when we encounter
them.
- Many pseudosciences purpose to explain some aspect of human behavior and
mental processes.
Cryptozoology: The study of “hidden” creatures like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster,
and the chupacabra.
Pseudoscientific psychotherapies: Past-life regression, rebirthing therapy, and
bioscream therapy, among others.
Homeopathy: The treatment of medical conditions using natural substances that have
been diluted sometimes to the point of no longer being present.
Pyramidology: Odd theories about the origin and function of the Egyptian pyramids
(e.g., that they were built by extraterrestrials) and the idea that pyramids in general have
healing and other special powers.
Key takeaways
, - Science is a general way of understanding the natural world. Its three fundamental
features are systematic empiricism, empirical questions, and public knowledge.
- Psychology is a science because it takes the scientific approach to understanding
human behavior.
- Pseudoscience refers to beliefs and activities that are claimed to be scientific but lack
one or more of the three features of science. It is important to distinguish the
scientific approach to understanding human behavior from the many pseudoscientific
approaches.
1.2 Scientific research in psychology
Scientific research in psychology is generally conducted by people with doctoral degrees
and master’s degrees in psychology and related fields.
Basic research: scientific research that is conducted in primarily for the sake of learning
something new.
Applied research: scientific research that is conducted primarily to solve some practical
problem.
Key takeaways
- Research in psychology can be described by a simple cyclical model. A research
question based on the research literature leads to an empirical study, the results of
which are published and become part of the research literature.
- Scientific research in psychology is conducted mainly by people with doctoral
degrees in psychology and related fields, most of whom are college and university
faculty members. They do so for professional and for personal reasons, as well as to
contribute to scientific knowledge about human behavior.
- Basic research is conducted to learn about human behavior for its own sake, and
applied research is conducted to solve some practical problem. Both are valuable,
and the distinction between the two is not always clear-cut.
, 1.3 Science and common sense
folk psychology: people’s intuitive beliefs about human behavior and mental processes
how can se many of our intuitive beliefs about human behavior be so wrong?
- Forming detailed and accurate beliefs requires powers of observation, Memory, and
analysis to an extent that we do not naturally possess.
- We rely on mental shortcuts
Confirmation bias: the tendency to notice and remember evidence that is consistent with
what we already believe and to ignore evidence that is inconsistent with what we already
believe.
Skepticism: a critical-thinking attitude that involves considering alternative and searching for
evidence before accepting that a belief or claim is true.
Tolerance for uncertainty: a critical-thinking attitude that involves withholding judgement
about whether a belief or claim is true when there is insufficient evidence for it.
Key takeaways
- People’s intuitions about human behavior, also known as folk psychology, often turn
out to be wrong. This is one primary reason that psychology relies on science rather
than common sense.
- Researchers in psychology cultivate certain critical-thinking attitudes. One is
skepticism. They search for evidence and consider alternatives before accepting a
claim about human behavior as true. Another is tolerance for uncertainty. They
withhold judgment about whether a claim is true or not when there is insufficient
evidence to decide.
1.4 science and clinical practice
Clinical practice of psychology: the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders
and related problems. By far the most common and widely known application.
Empirically supported treatments: a treatment for a psychological problem that has been
shown by scientific research to result in greater improvement than no treatment, a placebo,
or some alternative treatment.
Key takeaways
- The clinical practice of psychology—the diagnosis and treatment of psychological
problems—is one important application of the scientific discipline of psychology.
- Scientific research is relevant to clinical practice because it provides detailed and
accurate knowledge about psychological problems and establishes whether
treatments are effective.
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