Chapter 1
Psychology, Science, and Life
Why are Research Methods Important
Tools for Life?
• Understanding human behavior
• Creating new knowledge
• Preparing for a career in psychology
Why are Research Methods Important
Tools for Life?
Answering important questions
– What is the biological basis of consciousness?
– How are memories stored and retrieved?
– How did cooperative behavior evolve?
– To what extent are genetic variation and personal
health linked?
– What causes schizophrenia?
Scientific and Nonscientific
Knowledge
Way of Knowing
What it entails
Tenacity
Acceptance of knowledge uncritically
and unwillingness to change beliefs
Authority
Acceptance of knowledge because it
comes from an authority or expert
A priori method
Knowledge from logic based on
premises that are subject to possible
change
Knowledge based on empirically
derived data
Scientific approach
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
Tenacity
Simply believing something because you don't
want to give up your belief. It may be obvious
to you, even if not to others.
You have probably discovered that people do
not change their minds easily, concluding that
they are simply being stubborn. But they are
probably thinking exactly the same about you
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
Authority
This way of adopting knowledge removes the
burden from any single person to make
decisions; instead, one would rely on an
expert of some kind.
Authorities and experts are often right, but they
can be wrong.
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
A Priori Method
People might fix their knowledge based on
consensus and reasoned argument, the a
priori approach.
The problem is that reasons for believing
something may change over time, so what
was seen as true in the past may change.
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
The Scientific Method
If we want to know universal truths, the most
valid approach can be through science, which
is objective and self-correcting. Gradually, we
can accumulate knowledge that is valid and
discard ideas that prove to be wrong.
Unfortunately, some questions cannot be
addressed scientifically.
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
Four Characteristics of Scientific Research
Objective—Clearly specified and well defined
Data driven—Conclusions are based on the data
Replicable—Other investigators can repeat the
research to see if the same results occur
Public—The research is made public, in detail, so
others can scrutinize it
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
Concepts and Measurements are
Objective
Research requires that concepts have objective
definitions and measurements that are well
defined and that anybody can apply.
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
Claims Are Data Driven
Research claims must be based on objective
data rather than on the preferences or initial
beliefs of the researcher.
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
Scientific Research is Replicable
Research has to be set up so that others can
repeat a study to see if the same results occur.
A process is scientific if different scientists can
repeat a study, even if the results differ. More
research can identify why there are
discrepancies.
What Constitutes Scientific Knowledge
Scientific Research is Public
After completing research, scientists make their
work public so other scientists can scrutinize it
and create new research based on it.
Culture and Ways of Knowing
Culture
Eastern
Example of Characteristic
Acceptance of contradictory statements
as each having partial truth
Western Search for a single correct answer
Creation of dichotomies (e.g., “It is
either this or that; it can’t be both”)
Not all people accept the same type of logical framework
that people do in Western cultures.
Why We Do Research
• Curiosity and Enjoyment
• Scientific Goals
Scientific Goals of Research
Describing behavior
Explaining Behavior
Predicting Behavior
Controlling Behavior
Why We Do Research
Description
One evening in 1964, a woman named Kitty Genovese
was attacked and murdered while walking home
from work. It was claimed that 38 people saw what
was happening, but nobody helped or called the
police.
Two psychologists (e.g., Latané and Darley, 1970)
wondered why this might happen. Their first step in
understanding this phenomenon was to describe the
behaviors of the bystanders.
Why We Do Research
Explanation
As Darley and Latané noted, when there are more
people around, we are less likely to offer aid.
The researchers called this failure to act diffusion of
responsibility; that is, when others are around, we
can pass blame for our inaction to them, assuming
less (or none) for ourselves.
Why We Do Research
Prediction
We can determine those when helping behavior
is likely to occur.
– Helping occurs as people try to avoid feeling guilty
or if a person is similar to them.
– Helping diminishes if people have been relieved of
guilt.
Why We Do Research
Control
Behaviors in everyday life are seldom controlled by a
single variable, but we can control behavior to a
degree.
We may help others if our mood is positive because we
tend to generalize our good mood to everything
around us
We may help if our mood is negative, but if we think
that helping somebody will improve our mood
The Interaction of Science and Culture
The Role of the Government in Science
A lot of research is funded by the government.
Some research is applied, with possible
applications.
Some research is theoretical, possibly without
future applications.
The Interaction of Science and Culture
Cultural Values and Science
Researchers are part of the culture and often
study issues that are important in life.
Culture helps determine how scientists conduct
their research.
Controversy—Should women serve on
juries?
• Hugo Münsterberg researched the difference
between men and women in the decisionmaking process in groups in the early 1900s.
• He concluded that women should not serve
on juries because of the way they were
influenced in their decision making.
Controversy—Should women serve on
juries?
• Harold Burtt conducted a conceptual
replication of Münsterberg’s study a few years
later.
• Burtt concluded that women were as capable
as men in making decisions.
Controversy—Should women serve on
juries?
• Neither Münsterberg nor Burtt seem to have
asked the question of whether men should
serve on juries.
• Their assumption throughout the research
was that men were appropriate for juries.
• Why? The answer has to do with culture.
Scientific Literacy
• What is Scientific Literacy?
– A specialized form of critical thinking, that involves
developing clear questions, collecting and
assessing relevant information, identifying
important assumptions, and generating effective
solutions to problems
Scientific Literacy
• How scientifically literate are Americans?
– Researchers have concluded that about 28% of
Americans are scientifically literate
Scientific Literacy
• The majority of Americans believe in various
paranormal phenomena even though there is
no systematic evidence for them.
– ESP
– Telekinesis
– Ghosts
– Clairvoyance
– Precognition
Scientific Literacy
Most psychologists regard these phenomena as
involving pseudoscience.
What is pseudoscience? An area about which
believers claim scientific status but for which
there is no sound scientific evidence.
Scientific Literacy
How many people believe in
pseudoscientific claims?
Percentage
Percent of people who believe in paranormal phenonena
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1973
1976
1981
Year
1997
2005
Scientific Literacy
Characteristics of Bogus Science
Claims appear in the popular press rather than in
scientific journals
People claim that the scientific establishment is trying to
suppress their work.
Independent researchers cannot verify claims
Claims are based on anecdotes rather than on systematic
data collection.
Proponents simply assert that the truth has been known
for a long time (e.g., centuries) when no current research
can document the claims.
Scientific Literacy
Junk Science
When scientists or researchers make claims to
support their own interests, going beyond
what the data support, they are using what is
called junk science.
Courts in the United States may restrict scientific
testimony from so-called experts if the
testimony would constitute junk science.
Controversy—What Causes Autism?
Some nonscientists and physicians claim that
the vaccines that contained mercury were
responsible for autism.
An early report in the British Medical Journal
claimed to have found a link between vaccines
and onset of autism
Controversy—What Causes Autism?
Where did these claims come from?
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention recommended removal of mercury
from vaccines because it is poisonous
– The CDC did not link the mercury with autism.
– The recommendation was purely preventive.
Controversy—What Causes Autism?
• When the CDC made its recommendations,
parents were getting involved in advocating
on behalf of children diagnosed as autistic.
– Parents were objecting to a psychoanalytically
based explanation for autism.
– Parents favored a medical model.
Controversy—What Causes Autism?
• Some people drew the conclusion that
mercury in vaccines was the culprit.
– Mercury poisoning leads to symptoms similar to
those of autism
– Some activists concluded that the CDC
recommended removing mercury from vaccines
because of a mercury-autism link (which the CDC
never made).
Controversy—What Causes Autism?
What is the current consensus about mercury as
the cause of autism?
• The original research claims were based on
fabricated research.
• Even after mercury was removed from
vaccines, the incidence of autism increased.
• Mercury levels are no higher in children
diagnosed as autistic than in typically
developing children.
Controversy—What Causes Autism?
What is the message here?
• Scientific issues reflect issues important in
society.
• Research can resolve controversies.
• If people are not scientifically literate, they
can fall prey to claims that are not
scientifically supported.