Understanding the Scientific Method in Psychology

Sep 19, 2024

Unit One Lesson Five: The Scientific Method in Psychology

Introduction

  • Focus on research methods used by psychological scientists.
  • Importance of establishing systematic systems for critical thinking about human behavior and mental processes.

The Need for the Scientific Method

  • Hindsight Bias:
    • Tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it.
    • Examples:
      • 2001 economic bubble burst.
      • 9/11 terrorist attacks and the response of people in the South Tower.
  • Overconfidence:
    • Overestimating our ability to predict or understand outcomes (e.g., solving anagrams).

Importance of Critical Thinking

  • Essential for analyzing human behavior without bias or personal judgments.
  • Critical thinking involves:
    • Examining assumptions
    • Discerns hidden values
    • Evaluating evidence
    • Assessing conclusions

Theories in Psychology

  • Observations, evaluations, and analyses lead to theories.
  • Example Theory: Low self-esteem contributes to depression.
    • Observation: People with low self-esteem.
    • Hypothesis testing through surveys and data analysis.

The Scientific Method

  1. Observation: Make an initial observation.
  2. Hypothesis: Form a hypothesis (e.g., "People with low self-esteem score higher on a depression scale").
  3. Testing: Send out surveys, collect data.
  4. Analysis: Analyze survey results.
    • If hypothesis fails, reformulate it.
    • If it passes, draw conclusions.
  5. Replication: Key aspect is replication of results.

Goals of Psychology

  • Describe, explain, predict, and control human behavior.
  • Similar goals in basic research.
    • Describe phenomena like low self-esteem and depression.
    • Make predictions and control variables via experiments.

Conclusion

  • The scientific method in psychology aims to systematically describe research methods.
  • Upcoming discussions on application of these methods in psychology.

Reminder

  • Familiarize with basic scientific methods and goals of psychology.
  • Introduction to theories and research methods in upcoming lessons.