CHAPTER TWO:
- Mozart effect listening to classical music apparently makes you smarter.
- Single most important aspect of scientific research: objectivity assumes that certain facts about
the world can be observed and tested independently from the individual. No bias, just facts.
Everyone, not just experts, should agree on these facts given the same tools, methods and
contexts. Objectivity isn’t simple. Whenever people observe something, there interpretation of
it becomes subjective, meaning that their knowledge of the event is shaped by prior beliefs,
expectations, experiences and even their mood. Objective approaches differ from subjective
ones. Most see scientific approach as rigorous and demands proof, these aren’t inaccurate
characterizations but there is more to explore.
- Five characteristics of Quality Scientific Research: developed by scientists over the past few
centuries to help us bring an objective understanding of the world. Drive for objectivity
influences how scientific research I conducted. Quality scientific research’s meets the follow
criteria (good for any research that you do):
a. It’s moved on measurement hat are objective, valid and reliable.
b. It can be generalized.
c. It uses techniques that reduce bias.
d. It’s made public.
e. It can be replicated.
- Foundation of scientific methodology is the use of objective measurements, the measure of an
entity or behavior that, within an allowed margin of error, is consistent across instruments and
obverses. No bias. A poster of Yuri should weight the same on any scale that you use.
- Objective measures may include physical recording devices, but most often the researcher does
the recording. Objectivity can come from the person measuring it.
- Variable means refers to the object, concept or event being measured (amount of sugar I put in
my coffee and a speedometer in your car)
- Psychologists found some instruments to measure variables related to behaviours and thought,
still can’t read your mind though but tons of measures are available for psychological
observations (take form of behavioral measures)
- Most of 20 century, American mainstream psychologists focused on behavioral measures,
remained core of psych research.
- New technology, especially from the field of neuroscience, has expanded the variables for
psychologists to study.
- High tech equipment such as MRI machines allows researchers to see your brain. Other psych
measures include gathering your blood or salvia which can then be analyzed for enzymes,
hormones, and other biological variables that relate to behaviours and mental functioning.
- Self-reporting, a method in which responses are provided directly by the people who are being
studied, typically through, face-to-face interviews, phone surveys, paper and pencil test and
web-based questionnaires. These are often obtained in forms of surveys that include scale’s
measuring attitudes, opinions, beliefs and abilities. May inquire about shyness, mood or political
orientation by asking humans to rate their agreement with a set of statements (1-5). College kids, achievement and intelligent tests that are designed to measure cognitive abilities or
performance.
- Any method used by a research needs clearly defined terms, shyness, mood etc…
- Operational definitions are statements that describe the producers or operations and specific
measures that are used to record observations.
- Operational definition ~ Mozart effect. How do the researchers define the outcome of their
study? Permanent?
- Behavioral measures need to be reliable and valid.
- Measure demonstrates reliability, when it provides consistent and stable answers across
multiple observations and point in time. Judges at the same time but independently rate
dancing. High reliability is when judges rock the same scores, like if a dude gives a high score
then the other dude should too.
- Watch same people to see signs of aggressive behavior.
- Judges must be trained to use operational definitions to have high reliability.
- People do the measurements, but reliability works for measurement tools too such as a
stopwatch, scale, brain imaging scanners and questionnaires. These need to be consistent in
their recordings.
- Reliability is close to validity, the degree to which an instrument or produce actually measures
what it claims to measure. What is someone measured intelligence based on shoe sizes? Could
give clear operational definition and his measure would be reliable. A tape measure should give
the answer each time a foot is measured, but it’s not valid measure to measure intelligence.
Rather than shoe size, measure a dude’s intelligence with a test, stuff that is in line with the
definition of intelligence.
- Reliability and validity are essential components of scientific research; knowledge gained from
scientific studies should be useful beyond a lab.
- Testimonies are cute, good success stories can be powerful. Diet pills may work for a dude but
may not work for a girl. We don’t even know if it worked for the person, could’ve been a
coincidence.
- When we apply info from one person to another, we are generalizing. Generalizability refers to
the degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, people o
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