PS101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Measuring Instrument, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Naturalistic Observation
Document Summary
Past history of psychology, methods of research, statistical maneuvers. Read chapter 4, not on test but on exam, 6-7 questions. Bias could sneak in, can"t derive causal but very strong. When studying behavior it may be the best. Correlation does not mean causation, even if there is a high correlation. Black sabbath and suicide, violent tv and acting out. Always tempted with a single cause mentality, there are actually many factors. Has limitations: takes place in a laboratory: does it translate to what we find outside a laboratory, somewhat artificial. Psychology clearly wedded to the scientific method. Characteristics of scientific method: rational- use reasoning and logic in applying the scientific method to different things, empirical- experimentation and observation are critical, self-correcting- if hypothesis is not supported, we change the conditions and try another hypothesis. Look for hypothesis that helps us predict behavior: objective- try to rule out the subjective and bias.
