SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF
BEHAVIOR
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Explain the reasons for taking a research
methods course
Describe the scientific approach to learning
about behavior, and contrast it with
pseudoscientific research
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Define and give examples of the four goals of
scientific research:
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description
prediction
determination of cause
explanation of behavior
Define and describe basic and applied research
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Increasingly important in public policy and
judicial decisions
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Supreme court decisions & developmental
psychology
Eyewitness testimony
Important when developing and assessing the
effectiveness of goal-oriented programs
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Informed citizens increasingly need knowledge
of research methods for everyday decisions
Many occupations require the use of research
findings
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Limitations of Intuition
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Intuition relies unquestioningly on personal
judgment
Involves cognitive and motivational biases
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Erroneous conclusions about cause and effect
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Example: Illusory correlation
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Examples of Authority
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News media
Books
Government officials
Religious figures
Political pundits
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Limitations of Authority
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Many accept statements based on faith in the
authority
Scientific approach rejects this notion and requires
much more evidence before conclusions can be
drawn
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Skepticism, Science, and the Empirical
Approach
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Empiricism
Falsifiability
Peer review
Integrating Intuition, Skepticism, and
Authority
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Observations accurately reported to others
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Search for discovery and verification of ideas
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Open exchange and competition among ideas
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Peer review of research
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Characteristics of pseudoscience
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Hypotheses generated are not typically testable
If scientific tests are reported, methodology is not scientific
and validity of data is questionable
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Ex: facilitated communication with autistic children
Supportive evidence is anecdotal and does not cite
scientific references
Claims ignore conflicting evidence
Claims tend to be vague, and appeal to pre-conceived ideas
Claims are never revised
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Describe Behavior
Predict Behavior
Determine the Causes of Behavior
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Temporal precedence
Covariation of the cause and effect
Alternative explanations
Explanation of Behavior
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Basic Research
 Attempts to answer fundamental questions
about the nature of behavior
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Theoretical issues often concern basic
phenomena, such as cognition, emotion,
motivation, learning, psychobiology,
personality development, and social behavior
Typical of research conducted at
universities
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Applied Research
Conducted to address issues in which there
are practical problems and potential
solutions
 Program evaluation
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Typical of the research conducted in
industry
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Comparing Basic and Applied Research
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Neither is considered superior to the other
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Applied research is often guided by theories and
findings of basic research
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Findings in applied settings often require
modification of existing theories and spur more
basic research
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Basic research is crucial to public policy
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.