29 Jul 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Syllabus
Dr. Karen Hussey: khussey@uwo.ca
Rm 7250 from 6-7pm, Tuesday and Thursday
Once we have a question how do we approach, or analyze, to come to a scientifically found
conclusion and make it generalizable to the population of interest.
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We have to be able to understand the math we use (stats)
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We just have to understand the theory to be able to apply them as tool.
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How do we employ the scientific methods in psychology?
How to critically relate to research papers
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How stats are used as tools of research
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How to effectively design and implement a research question to obtain practical answers
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How to communicate research
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To become a better consumer of research information in general
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You will learn
Evaluation
50% lecture, 50% lab: must pass both independently
Lecture: 4 exams, daily quizzes
Lab: a number of components cumulating in a final APA6 style research report
Roediger & Karpicke, 2006 research show how testing is the best way of learning
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Frequent testing is a really good tool for a content heavy course like stats
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Seems that there is an advantage for those who study a lot when they are tested right away
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A week later, the group that got tested more will do better
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Rereading is a poor form of study
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Probes your memory
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Allows you an opportunity to show where you are weak
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Accessing your memory improves your memory, whereas reading may interfere
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Test-enhanced learning
Transfer Learning vs Scrap Learning
Me all the time, lmao
Attitudes of Scientists
Methods of Acquiring Knowledge
Therefore, we are biased to conclude that there must be a casual connection
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Intuition: accepting un-questioningly what your personal judgement or a single story about one person's
judgement or a single story about one person's experience tells you about the world.
The scientific approach rejects the notion that one can accept or faith the statements of any
authority, again more evidence is needed before we can draw scientific conclusions
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Authority: ready to accept anything you learn from the news media, books, government officials, or
religious figures
Chapter 1 - Day 1 Lecture
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
7:01 PM
First Term Page 1
Both intuition and authority are sources of ideas about behavior
Open to new ideas, in particular to ideas that are different or counter to your own ideas or beliefs
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Open-minded
Scientific skepticism: means that ideas must be evaluated on the basis of careful logic and results
from scientific investigations
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Apply to your own work, and others work
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Skeptical
In particular when you look at the language of the literature, we aren't likely to be making
conclusions that aren't directly relevant
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Cautious
Ethical
Criteria for Scientific Evidence
You can't make observations unless it is examined by the senses
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Cant make claims that can't be observed or examined through the senses
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Test a produce some kind of results that must be quantified
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Empiricism -observation (through sensory claims)
Humans are not naturally objective
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Some biases that we have naturally in our life that we have to overcome
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Scientific method allows us to be objective
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Objectivity
Way in which we can look at research problems and endeavor to do it in the same way across
disciplines and sciences
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Replications help ensure that effects are not just a false positive or random fluke
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Others can replicate the methods used to check whether they obtain the same results
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Allows to create common ground
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Systematicity
Different degrees of control
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The amount of control you exert will determine the amount and the type of validity
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Control
Meeting the Goals of Science
Will mean that we avoid false belief and false practices
Part of this involves exposing ourselves to our peers
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Ensures that effects are not just a false positive or random fluke
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Detect alternative explanations such as confounding variables
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How we communicate about our methodology in a very open way, that allows others to replicate
and question your findings
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Peer reviewed journals
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Increases the likelihood that only the most rigorous research is published
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Involves exposing ourselves to our peers
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A lot has to do with open communication
It is possible to design a study to test whether belief in god (s) increases peoples' willingness to
help others, however, it is not possible to design a study to test whether such a god (or gods)
exists.
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Falsifiable: data can reveal whether they are truth or fiction - can be tackled by science.
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Researchers are only interested in falsifiable ideas
Goals of Science
Will bring together our attitudes and criteria = Accurate understanding of a phenomena/behavior
First Term Page 2
Will bring together our attitudes and criteria = Accurate understanding of a phenomena/behavior
Careful observation and measurement
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Being able to describe (talk, use language) the behavior
1.
Once it has been observed with some regularity that two events are systematically related
to one another it becomes possible to make predictions and therefore, to anticipate events
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Predict the behavior
2.
If we have an underlying cause, we have an ability to change the behavior
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To know hoe to change behavior we need to know the causes of behavior
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Cause of the behavior
3.
Criteria for Casual Claims
When the cause is present, the effect occurs
when the cause is not present, the effect does not occur
Covariation of Cause and Effect
1.
There is temporal order of events in which the cause precedes the effect
Temporal Precedence
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Nothing other than the casual variable can be responsible
Elimination of Alternative Explanation
3.
To conclude causation, three things must occur:
Explains why the events and behavior occur
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Further research is necessary to shed light on possible explanations of the causal
relationship
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An explanation that appears satisfactory may turn out to be inadequate when other causes
are identified in subsequent research
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Understand or explain the behavior
4.
Cause is important because if we understand the underlying cause we have the ability to change
behavior
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Helps us explain subsequent behaviors
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All of this needs to come together for use to understand how a behavior to be changed
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Baloney Detection Kit - Michael Shermer
Examing the differences between what is scientific and having to be skeptical about scientific claims
"There's a lot of baloney out there and we need a kit to detect it - and that kit is called science"
First Term Page 3