Introduction to the Course Unpacking the course Quick

Introduction to the Course Unpacking the course Quick Tools! Power. Point presentation to accompany Research Design Explained 8 th edition; © 2017 -2021 Mark Mitchell & Janina Jolley

Unpacking your book’s title l Research design explained

What does research mean to you? l l l Whom or what have you researched? Why did you do that research? Did that research get you valid information? Are you sure? Note that research can be “me-search. ”

What does design mean to you?

What does design mean to you? l What is the difference between welldesigned and poorly designed? The “butterfly” ballot

What does explained mean?

What does explained mean? l The authors explain – By using simple language – In many different ways l l Different examples Different analogies Visuals The student website (www. study. RDE. com)

The authors argue that many people living in the modern, scientific world think more like people who lived in the old, superstitious, witch-burning times than people would like to believe. l What myths and false beliefs do many people still have?

Common myths: Health l Health – One should drink 8 glasses of water a day. – Getting cold will give you a cold. – You can burn off belly fat by doing sit-ups. – Reading in the dark will ruin your eyesight. – In the U. S. , many people are killed by sharks.

Common myths: Psychology l l Psychological – Giving kids sugar makes them hyper. – Talking on a cell phone while driving is safe if you use a headset. – We only use 10% of our brains. – Human memory is like a tape recorder – examples from Scott Lilienfeld – Examples and explanations from youarenotsosmart Many other examples from – Snopes – Museum of hoaxes – Mythbusters

Research allows us to question l l l Myths and superstitions Traditional ways of doing things New ways of doing things – Texting – Web classes

Pair-share: Answer one of the following: l l What commonly held beliefs may be myths? What ad, poster, sign, training/orientation, or common way of doing things have you thought could be improved?

l Research allows you to answer those questions—and more. – There are many relatively unexplored areas of psychology (e. g. , the psychology of greed, murder mysteries, hip-hop, Second life, Twilight) l l What areas of human life are not as extensively studied by psychologists as you would like? What questions do you have about people that were not answered by your Introductory Psychology text?

What types of questions inspire psychologists to do research? l Question “myths” – – “Does that really happen? ” – “If so, under what conditions does that happen? ” l Get answers to questions the researcher finds important or interesting. – “Would it be better to do that this way …. – “I wonder whether …” – “How and why did that happen? ”

Answers to research questions l l Give us accurate knowledge: allowing us to refute superstition and refine common sense Allow us to help people by letting us know what treatments work and what treatments are harmful (e. g. , some forms of grief counseling)

Science is culture’s greatest tool l for dealing with (helping us describe, predict, explain, and control) reality Science = Software for the mind

How does science try to improve on natural human reasoning?

How does science try to improve on natural human reasoning? l Fighting arrogance: Our opinions are merely opinions.

How does science try to improve on natural human reasoning? l Focusing on facts: Forces us to look at and for the evidence Look at the evidence! A science coach

How does science try to improve on natural human reasoning? l Focusing on objective facts: Forcing us to look at the objective evidence. – “You are entitled to your opinion, but not to your facts. ” –D. Moynihan

How does science try to improve on natural human reasoning? l Focusing on objective facts by having us use operational definitions: objective “recipes” for measuring and manipulating concepts

Pair-share l l l Individually, write two objective statements and two subjective statements. Then, ask your partner to identify which statements are objective and which are subjective. Finally, have your partner change the subjective statements into objective statements. Hints: – You can often make subjective statements objective by removing adjectives. – To make objective statements, focus on things you can see and count.

How does science try to improve on natural human reasoning? l Forces us to look at and for the objective evidence that might or does refute our beliefs by making us make statements that are testable: they can be tested to see whether they are wrong.

Pair-share l l l Individually, write two testable statements and two untestable statements. Then, ask your partner to identify which statement is testable and which is not. Hints: You can make untestable statements by making vague predictions, predictions involving concepts that can’t be concretely (operationally) defined, and offering afterthe-fact explanations.

Science’s tools refine thinking by Reducing arrogance l Focusing on facts l Focusing on objective facts by having us use operational definitions Forcing us to look at and for the objective evidence that might or does refute our beliefs by having us 1. Make statements that are testable: capable of being disproven l 2. Test beliefs rather than confirm them (hypothesis testing—not hypothesis confirming). * Con Pro

* Testing beliefs rather than confirming them* Asking “Could I be wrong? ” rather than “I’m right, right? ” “To serve and test” Science cops

Testing vs. confirming l Hypothesis confirming demonstration (online card trick)

Pair-share l l l Individually, come up with how being objective and putting one’s beliefs to the test could help in resolving interpersonal conflicts. Share your ideas with a partner. Together, come up with an example of how being objective and putting one’s beliefs to the test would be good skills for a therapist to have.

Science makes use of our strengths • Creativity (for example, by creating clever recipes—operational definitions—for concepts such as “love”) Elusive concept Operational definition Creative scientist

Science makes use of our strengths l l Creativity (for example, by creating clever recipes—operational definitions—for concepts such as “love”) Ability to be open-minded

Science makes use of our strengths l l l Creativity (for example, by creating clever recipes—operational definitions—for concepts such as “love”) Ability to be open-minded Ability to be skeptical

Science makes use of our strengths l Creativity (for example, by creating clever recipes— operational definitions—for concepts such as “love”) Ability to be open-minded Ability to be skeptical l Social l l – Working together to be productive

Can psychology be a science? 1. Are there general rules of human behavior?

Can psychology be a science? 1. Are there general rules of human behavior? – – Laws of learning and memory Note that exceptions do not disprove the general rule—or make it useless l l – Helium balloons do not fall down—but that doesn’t disprove gravity. Medicine improved greatly when looking for general cures, but treatments work better on some people than on others. Note that the failure to predict is not proof that the behavior does not follow rules l Coin flips follow rules, but individual flips are not predictable.

Can psychology be a science? 1. 2. Are there general rules to human behavior? Can psychologists be objective?

Can psychology be a science? 1. 2. Are there general rules to human behavior? Can psychologists be objective? 1. Hard to be objective about personal things, but researchers with different beliefs get same results. The threat of (non)replication may help keep bias in check. 2.

Can psychology be a science? 1. 2. Are there general rules to human behavior? Can psychologists be objective? 1. Hard to be objective about personal things but researchers with different beliefs get same results. The threat of (non)replication may help keep bias in check. 2. Hard to “see” the unobservable, but other sciences do it (e. g. , gravity). We solve it by using operational definitions—concrete recipes—for concepts that cannot be directly observed (e. g. , love, happiness).

Can psychology be a science? 1. 2. 3. Are there general rules of human behavior? Can psychologists be objective? Will psychologists make testable statements? l Many common sense myths have been debunked by science (e. g. , catharsis reduces aggression). l Hypotheses are disproven daily.

Conclusions About Psychology and Science l Psychology is a science.

Can you know about psychology without knowing about science?

Can you know about psychology without knowing about science? l No--Psychology is the science of behavior.

Can you know about recent findings without knowing about research?

Can you know about recent findings without knowing about research? l No--Recent findings are in research journals.

So, why do you need to know about psychology’s scientific side? l To know about psychology

If you don’t know about research methods, can you reject claims made based on poor research?

If you don’t know about research methods, can you reject claims made based on poor research? l No, so you need to know about psychology’s scientific side – To not be fooled by quacks.

If you don’t know about research, can you effectively argue for the use of psychologically sound treatments?

If you don’t know about research, can you effectively argue for the use of psychologically sound treatments? l No--you could not effectively argue that the solution based on psychology is any better than the solution based on common sense or intuition. So, you need to know about research to be a good ambassador/representative of the field.

You can’t know psychology without knowing about science, but can you be an educated person without knowing about science?

What does it mean to be educated?

Some definitions of being educated. l l l “To find information, process it, and examine it critically” –P. N. Allitt To be able to learn without a teacher. To think critically, to think creatively, and to write clearly.

Considering these definitions of education, can any other course do more to get you educated?

Considering these definitions of education, can any other course do more to get you educated? l No, so you need to know about psychology’s scientific side – To be educated

Pair-Share l l Why does almost every psychology department require a course in research methods? What might you learn in this course?

Did your list of why research methods is required include l l l Understanding and representing psychology: the research-based science of behavior. To be able to learn about psychology without a teacher or a textbook (read research) To be able to evaluate new findings (evaluate research) To be able to discover new psychological knowledge (do research) Making you more attractive to grad schools and employers Getting you ready to do things (doing studies, writing papers) rather than just taking tests.

Did your list of what you might learn include developing the ability to l l l l Become an expert Write better Read more critically Think more critically Recognize “baloney” Make presentations Be fairer—look for objective evidence that might refute your ideas

l Looking at the next slide, see what skills will be learned in this class. Are they higher level skills than the ones you learn in most classes?

Bloom’s Taxonomy Making judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing. This pyramid depicts the different levels of thinking we use when learning. Notice how each level builds on the foundation that precedes it. It is required that we learn the lower levels before we can effectively use the skills above. Creating Evaluating Analyzing Carrying out or using a procedure through executing, or implementing. Applying Understanding Retrieving, recognizing, and recalling relevant knowledge from long-term memory. Putting elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganizing elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing. Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure. Constructing meaning from oral, written, and graphic messages through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining. Remembering http: //www. odu. edu/educ/llschult/blooms_taxonomy. htm

Research Methods Course & Bloom’s Taxonomy Evaluate validity of conclusions in research reports. Creating Make hypotheses, conduct research. Evaluating Analyzing Use appropriate research methods. Applying Understanding Remembering Understand strengths and limitations of different designs.

Where are you—and can this course help you become more advanced? l l l Stage 1: Believe that there is an absolute truth and a professor or other authority will tell you what truth is. Stage 2: Finding out that there is not always an absolute truth that an authority can give you, you decide that everything is just a matter of opinion. Stage 3: You can decide what is probably true by looking at and evaluating the evidence. Power. Point presentation to accompany Research Design Explained , 8 th edition; © 2017 -2021 Mark Mitchell & Janina Jolley

Review: Why do you need to know about psychology’s scientific side? l l To know about psychology To not be fooled by quacks To argue for psychology To be educated

Concluding Remarks: I l Research is society’s best tool for understanding reality—and knowing about reality is useful for workers, employers, consumers, citizens, and psychologists. Power. Point presentation to accompany Research Design Explained , 8 th edition; © 2017 -2021. Mark Mitchell & Janina Jolley

Concluding Remarks: II l l It is good to have the scientific attitude so that you try to make fair decisions based on the evidence. It is even better if you also have enough scientific knowledge to make decisions based on evidence after judging the quality of that evidence. Power. Point presentation to accompany Research Design Explained , 8 th edition; © 2017 -2021. Mark Mitchell & Janina Jolley

Questions? Quick tools/links

The End Quick Links/Tools Power. Point presentation to accompany Research Design Explained , 8 th edition; © 2017 Mark Mitchell & Janina Jolley

Chapter 1 Quick Tools/Links Chapter Websites Quick Visuals Teacher Chapter outline Short (5 Facts vs. Perception questions) Bottled water science and (Visual) psychology quiz (Video) Cell phone & driving (graph) Monty Hall Dilemma (interactive game) Student Concept map Psychology’s progress Chapter summary Quizzes 20 -question science and psychology quiz 10 -item quiz over importance of understanding research 10 -item qualities of science and psychology quiz Demonstrations/ Activities Have students rebut common objections to psychological science (handout) What is science? (10 -slide, interactive presentation) Develop a research methods script