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PSYCHOLOGY (9th Edition) David Myers PowerPoint Slides Aneeq Ahmad Henderson State University Worth Publishers, © 2010.

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Presentation on theme: "PSYCHOLOGY (9th Edition) David Myers PowerPoint Slides Aneeq Ahmad Henderson State University Worth Publishers, © 2010."— Presentation transcript:


2 Thinking Critically With Psychological Science Chapter 1

3 The Need for Psychological Science?  Did We Know It All Along? Hindsight Bias  Overconfidence  The Scientific Attitude  Critical Thinking

4 How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions?  The Scientific Method  Description  Correlation  Experimentation

5 Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life  Describing Data  Making Inferences Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology

6 Why Do Psychology? 1.How can we differentiate between uniformed opinions and examined conclusions? 2.The science of psychology helps make these examined conclusions, which leads to our understanding of how people feel, think, and act as they do!

7 What About Intuition & Common Sense? Many people believe that intuition and common sense are enough to bring forth answers regarding human nature. Intuition and common sense may aid queries, but they are not free of error.

8 Limits of Intuition Personal interviewers may rely too much on their “gut feelings” when meeting with job applicants. Taxi/ Getty Images

9 Hindsight Bias is the “I-knew-it-all-along” phenomenon. After learning the outcome of an event, many people believe they could have predicted that very outcome. We only knew the stocks would plummet after they actually did plummet. Hindsight Bias

10 Overconfidence Sometimes we think we know more than we actually know. Anagram BARGEGRABE ENTRYETYRN WATERWREAT How long do you think it would take to unscramble these anagrams? People said it would take about 10 seconds, yet on average they took about 3 minutes (Goranson, 1978).

11 Point to Remember Hindsight bias and over confidence often lead us to overestimate our intuition. But scientific inquiry can help us sift reality from illusion. Question: What are the main components of the scientific attitude?

12 The Scientific Attitude The scientific attitude is composed of curiosity (passion for exploration), skepticism (doubting and questioning) and humility (ability to accept responsibility when wrong). The three attitudes help make modern science possible. No matter how sensible or crazy an idea sounds, the critical thinker’s question is Does it work? When put to the test, can its predictions be confirmed?

13 Critical Thinking Critical thinking does not accept arguments and conclusions blindly. It examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions. The Amazing Randi Courtesy of the James Randi Education Foundation

14 How Do Psychologists Ask & Answer Questions? Psychologists, like all scientists, use the scientific method to construct theories that organize, summarize and simplify observations. How do theories advance psychological science?

15 A theory is an explanation that integrates principles and organizes and predicts behavior or events. For example, low self-esteem contributes to depression. Theory

16 A hypothesis is a testable prediction, often prompted by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject or revise the theory. People with low self-esteem are apt to feel more depressed. Hypothesis

17 Research would require us to administer tests of self-esteem and depression. Individuals who score low on a self-esteem test and high on a depression test would confirm our hypothesis. Research Observations

18 Research Process

19 How do psychologist observe and describe behavior? By using individual case studies, surveys among random samples of a population, and naturalistic observations. The starting point of any science is description.

20 Description Case Study A technique in which one person is studied in depth to reveal underlying behavioral principles. Is language uniquely human? Susan Kuklin/ Photo Researchers

21 Survey A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes, opinions or behaviors of people usually done by questioning a representative, random sample of people.

22 Survey Wording can change the results of a survey. Q: Should cigarette ads and pornography be allowed on television? (not allowed vs. forbid) Wording Effects

23 Survey Random Sampling If each member of a population has an equal chance of inclusion into a sample, it is called a random sample (unbiased). If the survey sample is biased, its results are not valid. The fastest way to know about the marble color ratio is to blindly transfer a few into a smaller jar and count them.

24 Survey Method A research technique that questions a sample of people to collect information about their attitudes or behaviors Research method that relies on self-reports; uses surveys, questionnaires, interviews. Usually a very efficient and inexpensive method

25 Naturalistic Observation Observing and recording the behavior of animals in the wild and recording self-seating patterns in a multiracial school lunch room constitute naturalistic observation. Ask Ms Q about your assignment… Courtesy of Gilda Morelli

26 Natural Observation Professor Wainwright’s painstaking field research to decode the language of bears comes to a sudden and horrific end

27 Descriptive Methods Case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation describe behaviors. What are positive and negative correlations, and why do they enable prediction but not cause-effect explanation? Summary

28 Correlation When one trait or behavior accompanies another, we say the two correlate. Correlation coefficient Indicates direction of relationship (positive or negative) Indicates strength of relationship (0.00 to 1.00) r = Correlation Coefficient is a statistical measure of the relationship between two variables.

29 Perfect positive correlation (+1.00) Scatterplot is a graph comprised of points that are generated by values of two variables. The slope of the points depicts the direction, while the amount of scatter depicts the strength of the relationship. Scatterplots

30 No relationship (0.00) Perfect negative correlation (-1.00) The Scatterplot on the left shows a negative correlation, while the one on the right shows no relationship between the two variables. Scatterplots

31 Insight into Negative Correlation

32 Data Data showing height and temperament in people.

33 Scatterplot The Scatterplot below shows the relationship between height and temperament in people. There is a moderate positive correlation of

34 or Correlation and Causation Correlation does not mean causation!

35 Illusory Correlation What are illusory correlations? The perception of a relationship where no relationship actually exists. Parents conceive children after adoption. Confirming evidence Disconfirming evidence Do not adopt Disconfirming evidence Confirming evidence Adopt Do not conceive Conceive Michael Newman Jr./ Photo Edit

36 Given random data, we look for order and meaningful patterns. Order in Random Events Your chances of being dealt either of these hands is precisely the same: 1 in 2,598,960.

37 Order in Random Events Given large numbers of random outcomes, a few are likely to express order. Angelo and Maria Gallina won two California lottery games on the same day. Jerry Telfer/ San Francisco Chronicle

38 Scientific Bases of Psychology

39 Experimentation How do experiments, powered by random assignment, clarify cause and effect? Like other sciences, experimentation is the backbone of psychological research. Experiments isolate causes and their effects. Exploring Cause and Effect

40 Many factors influence our behavior. Experiments (1) manipulate factors that interest us, while other factors are kept under (2) control. Effects generated by manipulated factors isolate cause and effect relationships. Exploring Cause & Effect

41 In evaluating drug therapies, patients and experimenter’s assistants should remain unaware of which patients had the real treatment and which patients had the placebo treatment. Evaluating Therapies Double-blind Procedure

42 Assigning participants to experimental (breast- fed) and control (formula-fed) conditions by random assignment minimizes pre-existing differences between the two groups. Evaluating Therapies Random Assignment

43 An independent variable is a factor manipulated by the experimenter. The effect of the independent variable is the focus of the study. For example, when examining the effects of breast feeding upon intelligence, breast feeding is the independent variable. Independent Variable

44 A dependent variable is a factor that may change in response to an independent variable. In psychology, it is usually a behavior or a mental process. For example, in our study on the effect of breast feeding upon intelligence, intelligence is the dependent variable. Dependent Variable

45 Confounding Variables Variables (other than the variables that are being studied) that can have an affect on the outcome of the study. Ways to control for Confounding Variables Blind and Double Blind Study

46 Confounding Variable “When Dr. Henderson comes in, everybody play dead.”

47 Experimentation A summary of steps during experimentation.

48 Comparison Below is a comparison of different research methods.

49 Statistical Reasoning Statistical procedures analyze and interpret data allowing us to see what the unaided eye misses. Composition of ethnicity in urban locales

50 Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life Doubt big, round, undocumented numbers as they can be misleading and before long, become public misinformation. Apply simple statistical reasoning in everyday life to think smarter!

51 Describing Data A meaningful description of data is important in research. Misrepresentation may lead to incorrect conclusions.

52 Measures of Central Tendency Mode: The most frequently occurring score in a distribution. Mean: The arithmetic average of scores in a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores that were added together. Median: The middle score in a rank-ordered distribution.

53 Measures of Central Tendency A Skewed Distribution

54 Measures of Variation Range: The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution. Standard Deviation: A computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean.

55 Standard Deviation

56 Normal Curve A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data (normal distribution). Most scores fall near the mean.

57 Illusion of Control 1.Illusory Correlation: the perception of a relationship where no relationship actually exists. 2.Regression Toward the Mean: the tendency for extremes of unusual scores or events to regress toward the average. That chance events are subject to personal control is an illusion of control fed by:

58 Making Inferences A statistical statement of how frequently an obtained result occurred by experimental manipulation or by chance.

59 Making Inferences 1.Representative samples are better than biased samples. 2.Less-variable observations are more reliable than more variable ones. 3.More cases are better than fewer cases. When is an Observed Difference Reliable?

60 Making Inferences When sample averages are reliable and the difference between them is relatively large, we say the difference has statistical significance. It is probably not due to chance variation. For psychologists this difference is measured through alpha level set at 5 percent. When is a Difference Significant?

61 Frequently Asked Questions About Psychology Q1. Can laboratory experiments illuminate everyday life? Ans: Artificial laboratory conditions are created to study behavior in simplistic terms. The goal is to find underlying principles that govern behavior.

62 FAQ Q2. Does behavior depend on one’s culture and gender? Ans: Even when specific attitudes and behaviors vary across cultures, as they often do, the underlying processes are much the same. Biology determines our sex, and culture further bends the genders. However, in many ways woman and man are similarly human. Ami Vitale/ Getty Images

63 FAQ Q3. Why do psychologists study animals, and is it ethical to experiment on animals? Ans: Studying animals gives us the understanding of many behaviors that may have common biology across animals and humans. From animal studies, we have gained insights to devastating and fatal diseases. All researchers who deal with animal research are required to follow ethical guidelines in caring for these animals. D. Shapiro, © Wildlife Conservation Society

64 FAQ Q4. Is it ethical to experiment on people? Ans: Yes. Experiments that do not involve any kind of physical or psychological harm beyond normal levels encountered in daily life may be carried out.

65 FAQ Q5. Is psychology free of value judgments? Ans: No. Psychology emerges from people who subscribe to a set of values and judgments. © Roger Shepard

66 FAQ Q6. Is psychology potentially dangerous? Ans: It can be, but is not when practiced responsibly. The purpose of psychology is to help humanity with problems such as war, hunger, prejudice, crime, family dysfunction, etc.


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