Summary Psychological Research Study Guide

PSY 1101 -01/Prof. Wilson Spring, 2023 Exam 1 Objectives Scientific Method  Know the nonscientific methods of acquiring knowledge discussed in class and the textbook. o Intuition – one relies on their per ception or “gut feeling” to make assumptions/con clusions o Authority – use of e xpert sources to obtain reliable information o Pseudos cience – information that mirrors scie ntific approaches but are merely the ories with limited evidence of its existence in the natural world  Know the elements and steps of the scientific method. o Posing questions o Developing hypothesis/ prediction o Devel oping procedure to ans wer questions o Interpretation of observations (data) o Using interpretatio ns to predict other events  Define rationalism and empiricism and how these approaches are important to science . o Rationalism – acquiring knowledge thr ough logical reasoning ; logic al reasoning offers a reliable source of human knowledge in science o Empiricism – acquiring knowledge th rough the use of observations ; observa tions offer s ev idence and accu racy in the field of science  Describe the differences between science and pseudoscience. o Science involves systematic observations that allow fo r inter pretations to be made from data col lection o Pseudoscience is based on theorie s that a re belie ved to be true due to its resemb lance to science but does not clearly offer eviden ce  Know the characteristics of scientific assumptions that scientists make about the natural world. o Lawful – events that are understoo d are deemed predic table o Laws of nature are understa ndable – acceptance to the natural occu rrences aroun d us o Deterministic – natural causes influence behaviors  Define what a variable is and how it is diff erent from a constant. o Variable – has multiple values and is ma nipul ated througho ut an event o Constan t – has one value and is unchanged throughout an event  Identify the characteristics of good theories. o Theories are related state ments that explain and predict a phenomena o Good theories are: o Falsifiable o Accurate o Testable o Parsimonious o Precise  Define what a hypothesis is. o A hypothesis is a proposed explanation or prediction based on limited evidence and requires further research to determine w hether the statement is true or false  Know the steps in the process of conducting research. o Initial idea o Formulate hypothes is o Procedure/design o Observation/ data collection o Data analysis o Interpretation of data o Communication o Other ’s research/personal experiences Research Ideas  Identify different sources of ideas in research. o Everyday experiences o Theories o Applie d issues  Differentiate between scholarly jour nal articles and other types of articles. o Scholarly journal articles report are written by exper ts in the field and often used by res earchers as a mean s of obtaining reliable and rigorous detail s and inf ormation on a topic of interest. It is also often peer reviewed. o Other types of articles may not be published by exper ts in the field and is often intended for a general audience.  Define what an empirical question is.