The Science Game The Cycle of Scientific Progress Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 1 10 1 15 lectures Topic Outline for Exam 1 The Cycle of Scientific Progress Theory Data cycles If Then reasoning enables us to test and refine theories Set of statements from an observation that describes general principles about relationships between variables Proving a theory supported by data falsifiable Basic Applied Cycle If Then reasoning also enables us to take basic findings and apply them to more realistic scenarios Enhancing the body of knowledge by solving real world problems Stimulates basic research divided attention learning Empirical testing Any situation or procedure that creates empirical evidence which allows a claim on truth to be verified or falsified Empirical tests must be replicable and verifiable Empirical evidence an observation or measurement that contributes to either verifying or falsifying a claim about what s true The evidence will be the same no matter who observes it objective ex ghosts are not objective because we have no evidence to stand for or against them while being shot is objective because we have firsthand accounts Golden Assumption If an object of study exists in nature it is knowable it s possible to fully DESCRIBE and EXPLAIN even highly complex things like brains beliefs time and 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 outcome Replication When others can repeat it and get the same results 3 types of claims 1 Association argues that one level of a variable is likely to be associated with a particular level of another variable ex Sexual Orientation Linked to Handedness 2 Causal goes even further arguing that one of these variables is responsible for changing the other ex Summer Sun May Trigger Suicidal Thoughts 3 Frequency describes a particular rate or level of something ex 8million people consider suicide Operationalizing Measures Ch 5 1 22 lecture Psychological construct Any explanatory variable that is not directly observable or tangible Must be operationalized to turn abstract constructs into specific measurable instances those are both reliable and valid Operationalized measures Multiple ways to Operationalize psychological constructs Self Report Recording people s answers to verbal questions about themselves ex questionnaire or interview Pro s Easy low cost large anonymous samples may be the most appropriate format Con s Open to fabrication social desirability biases memory distortions laziness may not be useful for non conscious constructs Observational Behavioral Recording observable behaviors or physical traces of behavior ex counting the number of times a certain event takes place Pro s More shielded from respondent bias can be recorded w less interference sometimes most appropriate operationalization of a construct Con s Can be more complicated to collect subject to experimenters seeing what they want to see confirmation bias discrepancies may arise over whether the behavior was actually produced ethics Physiological Recording biological data believed to be associated with a construct ex dopamine epinephrine levels Pro s hard to consciously control or fake can be quite precise perceived as more credible Con s can be expensive time consuming to collect may require technical expertise w machinery procedures and may be most sensitive to uncontrollable sources of error Scales of Measurement Nominal Categorical ex eye color religion birth month etc Ordinal Variables in which the values indicate some kind of ranking ex central tendency time length area volume pressure mass force and energy Interval Numerical but Zero has a value 0 C is the point at which water freezes Ratio Numerical but Zero has no value ex 0 income means you didn t make any money or lose any equals to nothing Validity Face Seems to plausibly and reasonably capture the construct of interest ex Measuring intelligence as the speed at which someone can recite the alphabet is not very face valid Content must capture all parts of a defined construct ex measuring intelligence simply by scoring 10 math problems does not fully capture the construct the big picture 3 empirical ways to assess validity Predictive should predict future outcomes ex entrance exams SAT ACT BAR Concurrent RELATED to and correlated with concrete outcomes that it theoretically SHOULD be related to ex predicting happiness should be recorded by the outcomes of smiles Divergent aka Discriminant should be UNRELATED to measures of other constructs that are unrelated ex Changing intelligence tests to discriminate intelligence from culturally biased knowledge Reliability also reinforced in 2 5 lecture on correlations Internal People are responding similarly to items meant to assess the same construct ex liking pizza does not correlate to your mood Chronbach s alpha Alpha 70 and higher is preferable High Internal Reliability means people are high ish or low ish on all items Test Retest Subjects should score similarly at time 1 as they do at time 2 if nothing affecting the underlying construct has changed since then Inter rater Scoring behavioral or observational measures ex measuring aggression Pearson s r Pearson s r Survey Creation Sampling Ch 6 1 24 lecture Open ended Questions Respondents generate their own answers Advantages Responses can be rich in detail Respondents can take their answers in many directions Allows for greater discovery of related constructs Disadvantages Responses can be hard to code and summarize Responses may not be address the researcher s interest Closed ended Questions Respondents choose from answers the researcher provides Advantages Quicker and easier to score and summarize When responding a person will always provide a relevant answer Preferred to open ended questions when possible and when valid Disadvantages Data do not provide rich detail Response options may not capture the true response square peg round hole Counterbalancing Varying the order of item completion AND TRACKING IT in order to rule out order effects Social Desirability Giving socially acceptable responses in an actively deceptive way genuine in their overly optimistic self delusions Population The entire set of people of interest ex Census Sample A subset of the population of interest ex survey Representative Sample Sample that is like the population with respect to the measurement being made increases generalization of the sample
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