Scientific Method Introduction world o Science looks to answer a question about things that happen in the o Testing our ideas against our experience Scientific Approach Emp bn34edirical approach the only source of knowledge comes through our senses Gaining knowledge through our experiences Influenced the development of physics and chemistry Rationalism trying to solve problems with empiricism Renee Descartes How do you know that your experience is accurate Experience can give you the wrong idea Pencil in a glass of water looks like the pencil is bent How would you know whether or not sensory input is being fed to you by evil demon No way to know Derive truths from previous sets of true statements Clear and Distinct Ideas definitive truths I think therefore I am o Science does not give you absolute truth Only gives what has the highest probability of being true Great Man Approach When your ideas are tested against the Great Man s they are right if they are consistent Ask the Source Approach Accept what is written in the book that is the basis for religion The Word of God i e Creationism Experimental Research o Scientific method Theory basis of all science Vary in many ways Some have a lot of support and some have almost none Not a dichotomy of proven vs unproven Idea we have about what s going on in the world o Experimental design Designed to express a theory Prediction about what will happen in experiment if theory is correct what the subject is going to do Variables Independent the factor that is manipulated by the experiment cause Dependent what happens as a result of the manipulation of the independent variable effect Correlational research o Correlation o Extraneous variables Control outside factors that could affect results Anything that can affect dependent variable aside from independent variable o Avoiding Extraneous Variables Random Sampling all people in a population have an equal chance of being selected for a study Random Assignment each participant has an equal chance of being part of the experimental or control groups Blind Studies experimenter does not know what group a person is in Avoids bias o Limitations cannot be done Certain experiments could cause harm or are immoral so if you want to find out if kids who were raped turn out to be rapists you cannot rape children as an experiment If poorly done it s not useful Trying to establish evidence that there is a correlation between variables Positive as a increases b increases Negative as a increases b decreases Can be useful in making predictions o Examples Height and weight Case studies can be very problematic at the best can signify something that should be looked at more in depth Follows one subject Surveys structured questionnaires designed to gather information about people that cannot be gathered in a better way Time consuming difficult and expensive Must reflect the type of population you are drawing a o Limitations conclusion about Correlation does not imply causation can only imply relation Poorly done not useful o Causal conclusions CAN NOT DRAW A CAUSAL CONCLUSION Two variables are associated but no evidence of cause Two reasons Mathematics of correlation Measures strength of association but does not give you cause Third variable o Third variable prob Sometimes there is a third variable causing both of the other variables For example if you are studying the correlation between temperature of a room and taking tests some third variables may be how well the students slept the night before if they ate before taking the test what clothes they are wearing etc Lecture example As amount of clothing decreases ice ream consumption levels increase One does not cause the other There s a third variable at play here temperature SUMMER Biopsychology Hardware and software o Motherboard brain Domains of interest o Bases for normal and abnormal function The synapse Neurotransmitters Examples o Mapping brain function Neuroimaging techniques CAT MRI used to determine STRUCTURE allows for exact precise picture of brain find the structure of the brain w out opening the body can be useful to find damage injury EEG PET used to determine FUNCTION Good for function EEG identifies electrical signals in brain PET shows where glucose is being used for fuel Tasks must be repeated in order to draw within brain conclusions fMRI STRUCTURE and FUNCTION functional MRI both structure and function Lateralization localization of processes in the brain right or left Hemispheric lateralization o Right brain left brain Studies determine whether or not areas of the brain are specialized responsible for specific functions Right and left hemispheres are like 2 separate brains that are connected by corpus collosum o Split brain research Epilepsy patients experimental treatment sever corpus Corpus callosum connecting cables neurons connecting right callosum and left sides of brain General experiment Corpus callosum patients sever so two hemispheres are no longer in communication with each other Reduces how much of the brain the seizure can affect Experimenters would feed information to one hemisphere to see what the brain does with it since it couldn t be sent from one hemisphere to the other Tested to see how well the patients processed information to right Some language functions are localized to left Some spatial pattern recognition functions are localized Right half of body maps into left side of brain and vice versa left visual field info maps to right right visual field info maps to left Left and right brain dominance do not indicate strengths or weaknesses in personality Results Understanding the results o Intact brain research Perceptual asymmetries if you can successfully route that info into one half or the other depending on the nature of the info and the task and where the procedures are carried out involving task slightly quicker to respond if info is routed into the half of the brain that controls that function o Some popular issues Localization of function o Independent functional units Certain small functions may be localized but most are carried out throughout the brain Important question is How are they connected What is the pattern of interconnectivity Which unit works with which unit Biopsychology The Neuron 3 basic functions 1 Receives information 2 Integrates information 3 Transmits information Sensory neurons receive information from the outside environment Most neurons receive info from other neurons Motor neurons transmit
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