Chapter 1
Chapter Learning Objectives
1. Explain what it means to reason empirically.
2. Appreciate how psychological research methods help you become a better producer of
informations well as a better consumer of information.
3. Describe five habits that define the work of scientists.
a. 1- Act as empiricists in their investigations
b. 2- They test theories through research and revise their theories based on teh
resulting data
c. 3- They follow norms in the scientific community that prioritize objectivity and
fairness
d. 4- They take an empirical approach to both applied research and basic research
e. 5- Psychologists make their work public
Part 1
● Psychologists are empiricists
○ We do not think solely out of intuition for behavior, cognition, and emotion
○ We learn through conduction
● Empiricists aim to be systematic and rigorous and to make their work independently
verifiable by other observers
The Theory-Data Cycle
● Scientists collect data to test, change, or update their theories
● Weather App example1 (Series of tests to figure something out)
○ First step is, ask a particular step of questions
○ Second, make predictions
○ Last, test your predictions
Cupboard Theory vs. Contact Comfort Theory
● Cupboard Theory
○ Babies are attached to their mother since they’re a source of food
● Contact Comfort Theory
○ Babies are attached to warmth and fur
○ Harry Harlow
, ● Ideally, hypotheses are preregistered
○ Mostly to publicly state what the study’s outcome is expected to be
● Replication is necessary to completely prove a theory
○ Increases the weight of the evidence
Types of Research
● Applied Research: Research whose goal is to find a solution to a particular real-world
problem
○ Ex. Do tablet computers increase the productivity of nurses in an emergency
room?
■
● Basic Research: Research whose goal is to enhance the general body of knowledge,
without regard of direct application to practical problems.
○ Ex. What are the effects of cocaine on the sociability of rats
■ Animal testing adds to a body of knowledge, but it cannot be used to
directly address a practical problem
Chapter Learning Objectives
1. Explain what it means to reason empirically.
2. Appreciate how psychological research methods help you become a better producer of
informations well as a better consumer of information.
3. Describe five habits that define the work of scientists.
a. 1- Act as empiricists in their investigations
b. 2- They test theories through research and revise their theories based on teh
resulting data
c. 3- They follow norms in the scientific community that prioritize objectivity and
fairness
d. 4- They take an empirical approach to both applied research and basic research
e. 5- Psychologists make their work public
Part 1
● Psychologists are empiricists
○ We do not think solely out of intuition for behavior, cognition, and emotion
○ We learn through conduction
● Empiricists aim to be systematic and rigorous and to make their work independently
verifiable by other observers
The Theory-Data Cycle
● Scientists collect data to test, change, or update their theories
● Weather App example1 (Series of tests to figure something out)
○ First step is, ask a particular step of questions
○ Second, make predictions
○ Last, test your predictions
Cupboard Theory vs. Contact Comfort Theory
● Cupboard Theory
○ Babies are attached to their mother since they’re a source of food
● Contact Comfort Theory
○ Babies are attached to warmth and fur
○ Harry Harlow
, ● Ideally, hypotheses are preregistered
○ Mostly to publicly state what the study’s outcome is expected to be
● Replication is necessary to completely prove a theory
○ Increases the weight of the evidence
Types of Research
● Applied Research: Research whose goal is to find a solution to a particular real-world
problem
○ Ex. Do tablet computers increase the productivity of nurses in an emergency
room?
■
● Basic Research: Research whose goal is to enhance the general body of knowledge,
without regard of direct application to practical problems.
○ Ex. What are the effects of cocaine on the sociability of rats
■ Animal testing adds to a body of knowledge, but it cannot be used to
directly address a practical problem
