PSYC 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Habituation, Sampling Bias, Stereotype Threat
27 Jun 2018
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Fact/Observation: an objective statement, usually based on direct observation, that reasonable
observers agree is true.
Theory: An idea, or a conceptual model, that is designed to explain existing facts and make predictions
about new facts that might be discovered.
Hypothesis: Any prediction about new facts that is made from a theory is a called a hypothesis.
Lessons from scientific research:
Value of skepticism: The more extraordinary a claim, the more it deviates from scientific
principles and thus, needs stronger evidence to be proved correct. Thus a simpler claim is easier -
following the rule of parsimony or Occam's Razor.
Value of careful observations under controlled conditions:
Problem of observer-expectancy effects: The observers may sometimes unintentionally
communicate to the subjects their expectations about they "should" behave and the subjects may
unintentionally respond by doing what the observers expect.
Automated activities - shortcuts that are adapted - driving a car and zoning out but still attentive
enough to reach the destination. Evolution has shaped our brains to take short cuts.
Tendency to connect unrelated things. Ex: vaccines causing autism
Autism symptoms appear around age 2 (also when you usually receive vaccines). Our brains relate both
these things and believe that vaccines cause autism.
Heuristics - models of things that our brain perceives as what we see from the media
Brain is built for functionality, weighs personal experiences more than something you read about.
Social bias among humans - follow the crowd and their activities. Social compliance plays a big role in
people's behavior. - example of reusing towels at hotels.
Intuition vs Scientific Model: Brain takes information but weighs with personal experiences and biases.
Following the pattern of theory -> prediction -> experiment -> observation -> theory.
Psychological Research Designs - finding truth without biases
Experimental: Independent, dependent variable. Ex: Independent variable is a happy pill,
dependent variable is a mood questionnaire for everybody. Divide into two groups where one gets
the pill and the other gets a placebo and everybody is asked to take the questionnaire. Result will
be how the pill affects the mood. The pill is independent and thus, gets manipulated and the
mood questionnaire (dependent) stays the same across the study.
oWithin Subjects design: Same subject is given multiple manipulations across time,
multiple or single subject
oBetween Groups design: Manipulations differ across groups, always more than a single
subject
Correlational: Much less conclusive than experimental. No manipulation, rather it is observation
of already existing variables. 3 types: Negative, Positive, No correlation. Ex: positive correlation of
studying with GPA, Negative correlation of playing xbox with GPA
Descriptive: to describe behaviors without assessing relationships between them. Ex: Homicide
or suicide? Frequent cause of death - pool drowning or falling out of bed?
Psychological Research Settings - to collect data for research
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Fact/observation: an objective statement, usually based on direct observation, that reasonable observers agree is true. Theory: an idea, or a conceptual model, that is designed to explain existing facts and make predictions about new facts that might be discovered. Hypothesis: any prediction about new facts that is made from a theory is a called a hypothesis. Value of skepticism: the more extraordinary a claim, the more it deviates from scientific principles and thus, needs stronger evidence to be proved correct. Thus a simpler claim is easier - following the rule of parsimony or occam"s razor. Value of careful observations under controlled conditions: Problem of observer-expectancy effects: the observers may sometimes unintentionally communicate to the subjects their expectations about they should behave and the subjects may unintentionally respond by doing what the observers expect. Automated activities - shortcuts that are adapted - driving a car and zoning out but still attentive enough to reach the destination.
