Unformatted text preview:

Topic Outline for Exam 1The Science Game & The Cycle of Scientific Progress: Ch. 1, Ch. 2 & Ch. 3 (8/29 & 9/3 lecture)The Science Game & The Cycle of Scientific Progress3 non-scientific modes of understanding & their limitsExperience- “What seems to have been true for me in the past?” its confounded because there are too many things happening at once; its hard to isolate the true cause; doesn’t allow systematic comparison-we can’t test alternatives b/c no access to a parallel universeIntuition- “What feels like the true answer?” we are prone to making a number of cognitive biases in judgment and reasoning; 1) patternicity- we’re motivated to find meaningful patterns in meaningful and meaningless noise; the availability heuristic- we tend to think that morememorable phenomena are more likely or true; 2) once our beliefs are formed, they tend to be reinforced through “confirmation biases” because people seek out info that confirms their original positions, interpret that info into a belief-consistent way, and people are more critical of evidence that disconfirms their beliefsTradition/Authority- “What does my culture believe to be true?” “What do trusted and knowledgeable people claim to be true?”; authorities may be just as prone to these biases; normative beliefs have social consequences; sometimes we are unaware at how extensively our culturally-learned assumptions influence our worldview and its “facts” (arranged marriage and co-sleeping)Empirical evidence & empirical testingEmpirical evidence-an observation or measurement that contributes to either verifying or falsifying a claim about what’s true; independent of the observer (object) the evidence will be the same no matter who observes it Empirical testing-any situation or procedure that creates empirical evidence which allows a claim on truth to be verified or falsified; they must be replicable and verifiableGolden Rule, Golden Assumption & Golden CaveatGolden rule- scientific claims (answers) must be subject to empirical tests that produce empirical evidenceGolden assumption- if an object of study exists in nature, it is knowable (it is possible to fully DESCRIBE and EXPLAIN even highly complex things such as brains, beliefs, time, romantic relationships); the object of study is lawful (if we could perfectly control all of the input variables, we could perfectly PREDICT and CONTROL the outcomeGolden caveat- the findings of our science are conditional and probabilistic; we discover the conditions under which phenomena tend to occur for the majority of people; there will always be exceptions to our findings because there are always “conditions” or variables” we cannot control forThe Cycle of Scientific ProgressThe role of If/Then reasoning in:Theory-Data cycles- if/then reasoning enables us to test and refine theories Basic-Applied Cycle- if/then reasoning enables us to take basic findings and apply them to more realistic scenariosTheory Testing & Multiple levels of analysisTheory testing-1) Social learning theory- differences in sexual behavior should change as norms change; people who strongly endorse traditional gender norms will more strongly show the gendered pattern; women’s self-reported sexual behavior should more closely match men’s when hooked up to a lie detector2) Parental Investment Theory- women should be more selective and choosier in picking a mateMultiple levels of analysis- we need more than just one level of analysis to explain human behavior; we need to take into account biological factors, socio-cultural factors, etc.; its both nature AND nurtureExternal Validity (generalizability)- most studies are done in the US (an extremely western industrialized nation); so most information is pulled from only 12% of the world’s population; it’s disproportionately American W.E.I.R.D samples- Weird, Educated, Industrialized, Rich & Democratic; represent ahistorical anomaly and act like outliers in cross-cultural research more often than expectedOperationalizing Measures: Ch. 5 (9/5 lecture)Psychological construct vs. operationalized definitionsPsychological construct- any explanatory variable that is not directly observable or tangible (intelligence, happiness, addiction, depression)Operationalized definitions- turning abstract constructs into specific, measureable instances that are both reliable (operationalized measure produces consistent scores when constructs are stable and captures changes when constructs change; fluctuations in scores are produced by fluctuations in the construct and not simply by mistake) and valid (operationalizedmeasure is actually capturing what is claims to be measuring, the whole construct as best and completely and precisely as possible)Multiple ways to operationalize psychological constructs:Self-Report (pro’s & con’s)- Verbal responses to interview or questionnaire items; Pro’s- easy and low cost, large anonymous samples can be quickly studied, may be the most appropriate format Con’s- open to fabrication and social desirability biases, memory distortions, lazy or inattentive responding, may not be useful for non-conscious or non-declarative constructsObservational (pro’s & con’s)- recording observable behaviors or physical traces of behavior (happiness and number of smiles)Pro’s- more shielded from respondent bias, can be recorded with less interference/less obvious, sometimes most appropriate operationalizationCon’s- can be more complicated to collect, may be the experimenters “see what they want to see” interpretation issues, ethics could be a problemPhysiological (pro’s & con’s)- recording biological data believed to be associated with a construct (dopamine and endorphin levels in the brain to measure happiness)Pro’s- hard to consciously control or fake, can be very precise, perceived as more credibleCon’s- can be expensive and time consuming, may require technical expertise with machines and procedures, may be more sensitive to uncontrollable sources of error, ethics could be a problemPragmatism vs. Validity trade-offs- we have to decide which is more efficient and will give the best results according to what is more realistic but can also give us the most valid resultsValidity Content- the operationalized measure must capture all parts of a defined construct (measuring intelligence with SAT scores doesn’t fully capture the construct) “The ability to reason, plan, think abstractly, comprehend complex


View Full Document

FSU PSY 3213C - Topic Outline for Exam 1

Documents in this Course
CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

10 pages

Exam 2

Exam 2

10 pages

Exam 2

Exam 2

12 pages

Exam 3

Exam 3

8 pages

Exam 1

Exam 1

7 pages

EXAM 1

EXAM 1

12 pages

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

118 pages

Exam 1

Exam 1

21 pages

Exam 2

Exam 2

11 pages

Exam 1

Exam 1

11 pages

Exam 1

Exam 1

13 pages

Exam 1

Exam 1

21 pages

Exam 1

Exam 1

12 pages

Exam 3

Exam 3

8 pages

Exam 2

Exam 2

10 pages

Test 3

Test 3

19 pages

Exam 2

Exam 2

14 pages

Test #2

Test #2

13 pages

EXAM ONE

EXAM ONE

25 pages

EXAM 1

EXAM 1

12 pages

Exam 2

Exam 2

11 pages

Load more
Download Topic Outline for Exam 1
Our administrator received your request to download this document. We will send you the file to your email shortly.
Loading Unlocking...
Login

Join to view Topic Outline for Exam 1 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or
We will never post anything without your permission.
Don't have an account?
Sign Up

Join to view Topic Outline for Exam 1 2 2 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or

By creating an account you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use

Already a member?