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Unit 2: Research Methods: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

Unit 2: Research Methods: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science. Unit Overview. The Need for Psychological Science How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions? Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life

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Unit 2: Research Methods: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

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  1. Unit 2:Research Methods: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

  2. Unit Overview • The Need for Psychological Science • How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions? • Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life • Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology Click on the any of the above hyperlinks to go to that section in the presentation.

  3. The Need for Psychology Science

  4. Did We Know It All Along? Hindsight Bias • Hindsight Bias • “I knew it all along” • “Out of sight, out of mind” • “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”

  5. Overconfidence • Overconfidence • Together with hindsight bias, can lead to overestimate our intuition

  6. The Scientific Attitude • Three main components • Curious eagerness • Skeptically scrutinize competing ideas • Open-minded humility before nature

  7. Critical Thinking • Critical Thinking • “Smart thinking” • Four elements • Examines assumptions • Discerns hidden values • Evaluates evidence • Assesses conclusions

  8. How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions?

  9. Research Methods • Descriptive • Case Study • Survey • Naturalistic Observation Correlation Experiments

  10. The Scientific Method • Theory • “mere hunch” • Hypothesis • Can be confirmed or refuted • Operational Definition • Replication (repeat)

  11. The Scientific Method • A good theory is useful if it: • Effectively organizes a range of self-reports and observations • Implies clear predictions that anyone can use to check the theory

  12. DescriptionThe Case Study • Case Study • Suggest further study • Cannot discern general truths • Ex. Andrea Yates • Exercise – for survey

  13. DescriptionThe Survey • Survey • Looks at many cases at once • Word effects • Random sampling • Representative sample

  14. DescriptionThe Survey • Sampling • Population • Random Sample

  15. DescriptionNaturalistic Observation • Naturalistic Observation • Describes behavior • Does not explain behavior

  16. Correlation • Correlation (correlation coefficient) • How well does A predict B • Positive versus negative correlation • Strength of the correlation • -1.0 to +1.0 • Scatterplot

  17. Correlation

  18. Correlation

  19. Correlation

  20. Correlation

  21. Correlation

  22. Correlation

  23. Correlation

  24. Correlation

  25. Correlation

  26. CorrelationCorrelation and Causation • Correlation helps predict • Does not imply cause and effect

  27. CorrelationIllusory Correlations • Illusory Correlation • Perceived non-existent correlation • A random coincidence

  28. CorrelationPerceiving Order in Random Events • Comes from our need to make sense out of the world • Coin flip • Poker hand

  29. Experimentation • Experiment • Can isolate cause and effect • Control of factors • Manipulation of the factor(s) of interest (variables) • Hold constant (“controlling”) factors

  30. ExperimentationRandom Assignment • Random assignment • Eliminates alternative explanations • Different from random sample • Deck of cards activity

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