Chapter 1: Research in the
Behavioral Sciences
History of Behavioral Research
• Aristotle and Buddha questioned human nature and
why people behave in certain ways
Scientific psychology emerged in late 19th century:
• Wilhelm Wundt established the first Psychology
research lab in Leipzig (1875)
• William James established first USA lab at Harvard
• Stanley Hall founded Child Psychology in America
• Edward Titchner brought Wundt’s ideas to the USA.
Goals of Behavioral Research
Describing behavior: Describing patterns of
behaviors, thought, or emotions. Procedures
researchers use to define, classify, catalogue,
or categorize events and their relationships.

Survey research (opinion polls), prevalence
research, describing how events are related to each
other (e.g. How do cognitive abilities change as
people grow older?)
Predicting behavior: Describing events and their
relationships often provides basis for
prediction.
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Prediction allows us to anticipate events and
identify predictors of target behavior.

Do stressful life events lead to increased physical
illness?

Using test grades to predict job performance
Explaining behavior: To explain the events that
have been described and to understand why
behavior occurs in order to understand it.

Hypothetical example: As you get older your
cognitive abilities decrease. Why: because of
changes in the brain (slower connections,
degeneration etc.)

Watching violent TV leads to aggressiveness. Why:
modeling, desensitized to violence, watching TV
violence leads to belief that aggression is normal
response.
Three conditions to make a causal inferences
1. Temporal precedence (time-order relationship):
the cause must precede the effect. TV viewing
occurred first and then aggression occurred.
2.
Covariation of the cause and effect: when cause
is present, the effect occurs; when cause is not
present the effect does not occur. When the
cause changes the effect must also change.
3.
Alternative explanations: nothing other than the
causal variable can be responsible for the effect.
There should be no other plausible explanation.
Types of Research
1.
Basic research: To answer questions about the
nature of human behavior and to understand
psychological processes.
•
Goal is to increase knowledge. Is not dependent
on whether or not knowledge is immediately
applicable or to solve a particular problem.

Is memory better for words or nonwords?
2. Applied research: To address issues of practical
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problems and to find solutions to problems.
Research is focused in everyday problems
Research is designed to optimize development or
solve a problem
Multidisciplinary collaboration
Workplace research: Do people work better
(more productive) with better lighting?
Special populations: Do children with autism read
better when they have pictures in books?
Evaluation research: effect of a program (or
intervention) on behavior. Does attending AADAC
reduce drinking?
The Scientific Approach
Three characteristics:
• Systematic Empiricism: Rely on observations that
are structured so they can draw valid conclusions.
Conduct a controlled study in which participants are
randomly assigned to conditions.
• Public Verification: Other researchers must be able
to replicate, verify, and observe findings.
• Solvable Problems: Researchers must study
questions that are answerable.
Theories and Hypothesis Testing
Theory: A set of propositions that attempt to
specify how and why concepts are related
• Theories organize and explain a variety of facts
or descriptions of behaviors and they help to
generate new knowledge.
• Scientific theories must be supported by
empirical findings to be valid.
 Viewing violence is associated aggressive
behavior.
Hypothesis: A tentative idea or question about
something that may be true.
• A specific proposition that logically follows from a
theory.
Deduction: deriving a hypothesis from a theory.
• Reasoning from a general proposition (theory) to
a specific implication of that proposition
(hypothesis).
 Viewing violent TV programs during childhood
increases aggressive behaviors.
Induction: deriving hypotheses from facts.
• Empirical generalizations
Good Theories and Hypotheses
• Falsifiability: hypotheses should be constructed
in a way that they can be found false.
• Methodological pluralism: using many different
methods and designs to test theories.
• Strategy of strong inference: simultaneously
test opposing predictions or hypotheses of two
theories.
Defining Variables
Conceptual definition: specific definition like in a
dictionary.
 Tired: fatigued, feeling sleepy
Operation definition: defines a concept by
defining how it is measured and manipulated
in a study.
 Tired: Sleep deprived for 24 hours
Proof and Disproof of Theories
• Theories can not be proved. If you support a
hypothesis it does not mean the theory is
proven. A hypothesis may be supported even if
the theory is not true.
• Disproof of a theory is logical. If a hypothesis
(derived from a theory) is not supported, then
the theory should be false.
• But, a hypothesis may not be supported due to
methodological faults (measurement error)
even when the theory is true.
Four Categories of Behavioral Research
1. Descriptive research: describes behaviors,
thoughts, or feelings of a particular group.

opinion polls, behavior descriptions
2. Correlation research: examines the relation
among variables.

Is there a relation between a person’s level
of happiness and their energy level?
3. Experimental research: examines whether
changes in a manipulated variable
(independent variable) result in changes in
another variable (dependent variable)
4. Quasi-experimental research: research in
which you can not manipulate the
independent variable.
• Usually the independent variable occurs
naturally (e.g. gender, special population).