Chapter One
CHAPTER OUTLINE AND OBJECTIVES
I. The Science of Psychology
· Psychologists develop theories and conduct psychological research to answer questions about behavior and mental processes; these answers can impact individuals and society.
· The scientific method, a means to gain knowledge, refers to ways in which questions are asked and the logic and methods used to gain answers.
· Two important characteristics of the scientific method are an empirical approach and a skeptical attitude.
II. Science in Context
· Science occurs in at least three contexts: historical, social-cultural, and moral contexts.
A. Historical Context
· An empirical approach, which relies on direct observation and experimentation for answering questions, was critical for developing the science of psychology.
· The computer revolution has been a key factor in the shift from behaviorism to cognitive psychology as the dominant theme in psychological inquiry.
B. Social and Cultural Context
· The social and cultural context influences researchers’ choice of topics, society’s acceptance of findings, and the locations in which research takes place.
· Ethnocentrism occurs when people’s views of another culture are biased by the framework or lens of their own culture.
C. Moral Context
· The moral context of research demands that researchers maintain the highest standards of ethical behavior.
· The APA’s code of ethics guides research and helps researchers to evaluate ethical dilemmas such as the risks and benefits associated with deception and the use of animals in research.
III. Thinking Like a Researcher
· To “think like a researcher” is to be skeptical regarding claims about the causes of behavior and mental processes, even those that are made on the basis of “published” scientific findings.
· The strongest evidence for a claim about behavior comes from converging evidence across many studies, although scientists recognize that claims are always probabilistic.
· A research hypothesis is a tentative explanation for a phenomenon; it is often stated in the form of a prediction together with an explanation for the predicted outcome.
· A multimethod approach, one that searches for answers using various research methodologies and measures, is psychology’s best hope for understanding behavior and the mind.
A. Evaluating Reserach Findings Reported in the Media
· Not all science reported in the media is “good science.” We must question what we read and hear.
· Media reports summarizing original research reports may omit critical aspects of the method, results, or interpretation of the research.
B. Getting Started Doing Research
· When beginning a research study, students can answer the first question of “what to study?” by reviewing psychological topics in psychology journals, textbooks, and courses.
· Researchers develop a hypothesis by reading reports of psychological research.
· To decide if their research question is a good one, researchers consider the scientific importance, scope, and likely outcomes of the research, and whether psychological science will be advanced.
CHALLENGE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
These questions appear in the textbook at the end of Chapter 1, and can be used for a homework assignment, in-class discussion, or exam preparation. Answers to these questions appear in italic below.
[Answer to Challenge Question 1 also appears in the text.]
1. Consider the hypothesis that playing violent video games causes people to be more aggressive compared to watching passive violence on television.
A. How might you test this hypothesis? That is, what might you do to compare the two different experiences of exposure to violence?
One way to test this hypothesis would be to have two groups of participants. One group would play violent video games, and a second group would watch violence on television. A second way to test the hypothesis would be to use the same group of participants and expose them to both types of violence at different points in time.
B. How would you determine whether people acted in an aggressive manner after exposure to violence?
To determine whether people behaved more aggressively following exposure to video games or television, you would need some measure of aggressive behavior. A potentially limitless number of measures exists, perhaps limited only by the ingenuity of the researcher. A good first step is to use measures that other investigators have used; that way, you can compare the results of your study with previous results. Measures of aggression include asking people to indicate how they would respond to hypothetical situations involving anger, or observing how they respond to experimenters (or others) following exposure to violence. In the latter case, the researcher would need a checklist or some other method for recording participants’ violent (or nonviolent) behavior. Keep in mind that aggression can be defined in a number of ways, including physical behaviors, verbal behaviors, and even thoughts (but note the difficulty in measuring the latter).
C. What additional factors would you have to consider to make sure that exposure to violence was the important factor, and not some other factor?
It would be important to make sure that the two groups — television vs. video game — are similar in every way except for television or video-game exposure. For example, suppose your research had two groups of participants: one group watched television and the other group played video games. Suppose, also, that your results indicated that participants who played video games were more aggressive than participants who watched television on your aggression measure.
One problem would occur if the video game participants were naturally more aggressive to begin with compared to the television participants. It would be impossible to know whether exposure to violence in your research or their natural differences in aggressiveness accounted for the observed difference in aggressiveness in your experiment. You would want to make sure, therefore, that the participants in each group are similar before the exposure to violence. Later in this text you will learn how to make the groups similar.
You would also want to make sure that other aspects of the participants’ experiences are similar. For example, you would ensure that the length of time exposed to violence in each group is similar. In addition, you would try to make sure that the degree of violence in the television program is similar to the degree of violence in the video game. It would also be important that participants’ experiences do not differ for a number of additional factors, such as whether other people are present and the time of day. In order to demonstrate that video game playing causes more (or less) aggression than television viewing, the most important point is that the only factor that should differ between the groups is the type of exposure.
2. In your courses you have learned a variety of approaches to gaining knowledge about people. For example, in reading literature, we learn about people through the eyes of the author and the characters he or she has developed. How is this approach to gaining knowledge different from that used by researchers in psychology? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?
[Note: This question asks students to compare what they’ve learned about the scientific method in Chapter 1 with experiences in other disciplines; information about other disciplines is not addressed directly in the text.]
Researchers in psychology rely on an empirical approach to gaining knowledge; this approach emphasizes direct observation and experimentation. The advantage of the empirical approach is that it limits subjective judgment and intuition, both of which can lead to inaccurate conclusions about psychological phenomena. A disadvantage of this approach is that some aspects of mental processes are difficult to observe directly. In literature, readers may obtain a very rich and full description of characters’ behavior and mental processes, allowing them to gain a good understanding of motivations and behaviors. This information, however, may be biased by an author’s understanding of human behavior and may not describe what is generally true for most people.
3. Across the history of research in psychology, we have witnessed a change in emphases from sensation-perception to behaviorism and then to cognitive psychology. Within the different areas or subdisciplines of psychology (e.g., clinical, developmental, neuroscience, social), the number of research topics has increased tremendously.
[Note: The following questions ask students to describe their own interests in psychology and to review recent psychological journals to identify topics of current interest within subdisciplines of psychology. Answers will vary according to students’ experiences.]
A. What area(s) within psychology is of most interest to you, and why?
B. At your library, page through three or four current issues of journals within your area of interest (e.g., Developmental Psychology, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology). (Ask your instructor or librarian for names of additional journals.) What topics did the researchers investigate? Can you observe any trends in the topics or in the kind of research that is being conducted? Describe your findings.
4. Identify how ethnocentrism might play a role in the type of research the following groups choose to pursue by providing a sample research question that would likely be of interest for each group.
A. men vs. women
An ethnocentric bias from a male perspective might lead researchers to study people’s interest in team sports and competition; from a female perspective, researchers may choose to study people’s interest in infants and children.
B. ethnic majority vs. ethnic minority
Researchers from within an ethnic majority might choose to conduct research on power hierarchies within relationships; researchers from an ethnic minority might choose to investigate factors related to feelings of oppression.
C. political conservative vs. political liberal
Politically conservative researchers might choose to study the role of moral values in people’s voting behavior; politically liberal researchers might examine people’s concern for individuals’ rights.
D. age 18-25 vs. 35-45 vs. 55-65 vs. 75-85
Researchers in the 18-25 age group might study factors related to mate selection; researchers in the 35-45 age group might choose to study factors related to career success; researchers in the 55-65 age group might be interested in studying the effects of an “empty nest’; researchers in the 75-85 age group might investigate attitudes toward death and dying.
ISSUES AND PROBLEMS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION
As an introduction to the science of psychology, one purpose of Chapter 1 is to encourage students’ thinking about the scientific method and the need for critical evaluation of research findings. The following questions may be useful for class discussion regarding students’ experiences with psychological research and ways of gaining knowledge.
1. Science in the Public Interest: Violence in the Media
The first section of Chapter 1 illustrates how research in psychology impacts society and reviews findings regarding media violence. Students are likely familiar with the major findings, but it may be helpful to review the list of findings. Discussion may address students’ experiences of violence in the media and their impression of whether they are adversely affected by media violence. Next, describe students’ personal experiences as anecdotal evidence (perhaps even a “case study”) that lacks any comparison or control condition. That is, students might consider how their attitudes and behaviors might be different without exposure to media violence to highlight the importance of comparison. Students also may consider the impact of these research findings on their own future behavior (e.g., additional exposure to violence) and whether society should do more to limit media violence.
2. The Scientific Method: Ways of Knowing
Very early in the course (in the first or second class session), we have found it useful to have a class discussion to help students put the scientific method in context as a way of knowing. We center the discussion on the question, “What is truth, and how do we know it?” The discussion can be done most efficiently with students responding individually in a large group, but students can also work in pairs or in small groups prior to discussing in a large group. The entire discussion can be completed in as little as 10 or 15 minutes if it is done as one large discussion group. Steps for leading the discussion follow.
Step 1. To begin the discussion, students are asked to respond to variations of a question such as “How do you know something is true?” and “What institutions in our society claim to tell us things that are true?” Students typically respond that they know what is true based on personal opinion, public opinion, or what they have been taught is true. Students identify several societal institutions that claim to tell us things that are true. The institutions typically include education, government, the legal system, religion, and the media. The students frequently generate science as one of the institutions; when they do not, we either prompt students to elicit science as a response or simply add science to the list.
Step 2. In the second phase, one of the institutions from the list is selected. We have found that the legal system works especially well for this phase. The students are to identify for the selected institution (1) an assumption made in seeking truth; (2) rules or guidelines in seeking evidence for truth; and (3) a decision rule for claiming truth. For the legal system, students relatively quickly identify the three characteristics. The assumption they describe is that the accused is presumed innocent. They describe guidelines for seeking evidence such as search warrants and rules for presenting evidence in court. Finally, they identify the decision rule used in criminal cases of “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Step 3. The discussion can conclude by noting that science, like the legal system and other societal institutions, is guided by assumptions, rules of evidence, and decision rules. The research methods course provides an introduction to the scientific method. We encourage students to begin their research methods course with the idea that the scientific method is one of many ways of knowing truth.
3. Students’ Experiences as Research Participants
Many students experienced being research participants when they enrolled in introductory psychology. Colleges and universities commonly ask introductory psychology students to be part of a “participant pool” and volunteer for various research projects conducted by faculty and students at the institution. Students can be asked to share their experiences as research participants. What did they learn about psychological research through their participation? What did it feel like to be a “subject” of a study? How were they treated by researchers?
4. Reports of Psychological Research in the Popular Press
An assignment that can be given to students early in the course is to collect reports of research findings related to psychology that appear in newspapers and periodicals. (This can be built into the regular course assignments or presented as extra credit.) Not only does this assignment serve to demonstrate the relevance of their research methods course to understanding and discussing topics of practical interest (e.g., parenting, psychotherapy, Alzheimer’s disease, learning difficulties), but also provides examples of what psychologists have learned using the scientific method. Because articles obtained by students will vary in their degree of detail, scientific foundation, and other important characteristics, many of these research reports may be used to illustrate the problems of learning exactly what was done from a brief, media report of research. That is, students may be guided to see the difficulty of sorting out the scientific facts in media reports, and this hopefully will begin to instill in them a healthy skepticism for what they hear or read in the media.
Students might be asked to consider the following questions:
A. What reasons would you give to another person as to why he or she shouldn’t uncritically accept the results of psychological research as it is reported in the news media (e.g., television, magazines)?
Students may argue that they don’t have enough information to uncritically accept the results, or that they need to learn what other scientists have learned. They also may state that reporters may have selected information from a report so as to provide support for points they wish to make in their story, or may be biased to present a certain viewpoint.
B. Are there aspects of the media report that make you skeptical about accepting the findings? What type of information could have been provided that would make you less skeptical?
Students may report that they’ve been skeptical when a report of a finding seemed “too good to be true.” In addition, they may wonder whether those reporting the finding have anything to gain through their report (e.g., advertising dollars). Students may suggest that more information would help reduce their skepticism, for example, by reading original research reports and searching psychological literature for evidence that a finding has been replicated.
5. Ethnocentrism in Psychological Concepts
The important issue of ethnocentrism can be discussed by selecting major psychological concepts and by asking students to consider how these constructs might be viewed differently across different cultures and over time. (It is important to emphasize to students that culture measures more than national identity.) Possible examples for discussion include personal space, achievement motivation, intelligence, and introversion. Students may also be asked to consider to what extent (1) their own research interests and hypotheses about behavior are influenced by their social-cultural background, and (2) topics of interest in contemporary psychology are influenced by social-cultural factors. The following questions may guide discussion:
A. What research topics in psychology interest you? What are some questions you have about behavior and mental processes? To get started, fill in the blank to this statement: I have often wondered why ____________________.
B. What hypothesis can you form about your topic?
In this exercise, students should be able to develop ideas for the relationships among variables that interest them, as well as possible causes of psychological phenomena. In order to anticipate material in subsequent chapters, students could be asked to differentiate descriptive information from predictive relationships and potential causal explanations in their hypotheses.
C. Consider the ways your cultural background influences your choice of topic and the hypothesis you have developed. How might your topic or hypothesis differ if viewed from a different cultural lens?
In order to brainstorm about cultural influences, prompt students to consider whether people with different backgrounds than themselves would similarly view their topic. For example, male students may be asked to consider how females would approach the topic (and vice versa); similarly, traditional college-age students could discuss whether older individuals might have a different perspective. Finally, students could be prompted to consider other variables (e.g., racial/ethnic background, religion, socioeconomic status) as different lens that influence how we perceive psychological phenomena.
D. What research topics and theories are currently popular among psychologists? You may want to page through some psychology journals or interview some of your psychology instructors.
One answer to this question might focus on recent emphases on neuropsychology (recall the pronouncement on the “decade of the brain”). Discussion may focus on theories that explain behavior and mental processes using neurochemical and neuroanatomical processes. A different perspective recently has emphasized sociobiological explanations, which focus on the evolutionary advantage of certain behaviors and mental processes.
E. How might our current social and cultural context be related to the prominence of these research topics?
The popularity of neuropsychology parallels the technological advances we’ve seen in our society. Because of recent advances in neuroimaging (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging), we are able to identify brain structures that appear to be related to certain behaviors.
F. To what extent does ethnocentrism play a role in the prominence of these research topics?
To the extent that our culture values technology, we may be biased to view research that is neuropsychological as more important or that it contributes more to our understanding of human behavior and mental processes than other approaches.
Media Violence and Aggression
After decades of research, what do psychologists say about the behavioral, emotional, and social effects of media violence on youth?
§ Exposure to media violence causes an increase in the likelihood of aggressive and violent thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in short- and long-term contexts.
§ The effects of violence in the media are consistent across a variety of research studies and methods, samples of people, and types of media (e.g., TV, films, video games, Internet, music).
§ Recent long-term studies link frequent childhood exposure to media violence with adult aggression, including physical assaults and spouse abuse.
§ Research evidence supports psychologists’ theories that media violence:
• “activates” (primes) people’s aggressive cognitions and physiological arousal,
• facilitates people’s learning of aggressive behaviors through observation (modeling), and
desensitizes people to violence.
§ Factors that influence the likelihood of aggression in response to media violence include:
• characteristics of viewers (e.g., age, identification with aggressive characters),
• social environments (e.g., parental monitoring),
media content (e.g., realism of violent depictions, consequences of violence).
§ No one is immune to the effects of media violence.
Anderson, C. A., Berkowitz, L., Donnerstein, E., Huesmann, L. R., Johnson, J. D., Linz, D., Malamuth, N. M., & Wartella, E. (2003). The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4, 81-110.
The Scientific Method
· “Scientific method” refers to an abstract concept
(that is, it doesn’t refer to a particular technique or method).
· The scientific method refers to ways in which scientists ask questions and the logic and methods they use to gain answers.
· Two important aspects of the scientific method are:
Ø the reliance on an empirical approach, and
Ø the skeptical attitude scientists adopt toward explanations of behavior and mental processes.
· An empirical approach to gaining knowledge emphasizes:
Ø observation of behaviors that can be observed directly, and
Ø experimentation, in which scientists employ systematic control in the situation to be observed.
Ethnocentrism
· Because scientists conduct psychological research in a social and cultural context, they are susceptible to this potential problem or bias.
· Ethnocentrism occurs when we attempt to understand the behavior of individuals in a different culture through the framework or views of our own culture.
· Examples:
1. Moral development
• American/European cultures value individualism in moral decision making.
• When researchers from these cultures conduct research on moral development in nonwestern cultures (e.g., Papua, New Guinea) that value collectivism, their findings may be biased by ethnocentrism.
• Based on the American/European framework of moral development, people in other cultures appear to be less morally developed.
• This interpretation is inappropriate when the incorrect cultural lens has been applied to the findings.
2. Apply the concept of ethnocentrism to how people of different age groups might interpret the dress and behavior of teens.
Evidence and Decision Making
Quality & Extent of
Legal Decision Evidence Scientific Decisions
suspicion of guilt low description
arrest prediction
arraignment statement about
causes
conviction high replication of findings
GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING REPORTS
OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
· Don’t confuse pseudoscience or nonscience with science.
· Be skeptical.
· Be aware that scientists may disagree.
· Keep in mind that research is generally about averages.
· Whenever possible, go to the original source.
Research Hypotheses
A hypothesis (plural: hypotheses) is
• a tentative explanation for a phenomenon and
• is often stated in the form of a prediction together with an explanation for the prediction.
Examples:
• Research participants who play violent video games are predicted to behave more aggressively after the exposure than participants who passively view television violence
because
video game participants’ aggression is reinforced (rewarded) while playing the game.
• Research participants who play violent video games are predicted to behave less aggressively after the exposure than participants who passively view television violence
because
video game participants have the opportunity to release any aggressive impulses; passive television viewers do not have the opportunity during exposure.
GETTING STARTED DOING RESEARCH
· What should I study?
ü Choose a research topic by reviewing psychological topics in psychology journals, textbooks, and courses.
ü Choose a research topic by reviewing psychological topics in psychology journals, textbooks, and courses.
· How do I develop a hypothesis to test in my research?
ü think about deviations (oddities, exceptions) from a general trend or principle
ü think about deviations (oddities, exceptions) from a general trend or principle
ü imagine how we would behave in a task or faced with a specific problem
ü consider similar problems whose solution is known
ü make sustained, deliberate observations of a person or phenomenon (e.g., perform a “case study”)
ü generate counterexamples for an obvious conclusion about behavior
ü borrow ideas or theories from other disciplines
ü READ REPORTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH
· Is my research question a good one?
ü Why might this question be scientifically important?
ü What is the scope of this question?
ü What are likely outcomes if I carry out this research project?
ü To what extent will psychological science be advanced by knowing the answer to this question?
ü Why would anyone be interested in the results obtained by asking this question?
The Multimethod Approach
to Psychological Research
· The discipline of psychology has many questions from many areas of study (subdisciplines such as clinical, cognitive, developmental, and social psychology).
· No single research method or technique can answer all of the different questions.
The multimethod approach involves answering questions using various research methodologies and measures of behavior.
· Psychologists make use of a “toolbox” that is filled with different strategies for conducting research.
· Researchers recognize there is no perfect method for answering questions — each method or measure of behavior has flaws or may be incomplete in its ability to answer research questions fully.
· By using multiple methods, the flaws associated with any particular method are overcome by other methods that “fill in the gaps.”
· An important advantage of the multimethod approach is that researchers obtain a more complete understanding of complex behavior and mental processes.
Steps of the Research Process ____________________________________________________________________________
Step How?
____________________________________________________________________________
Develop a research question. -- Be aware of ethnocentrism.
-- Gain personal experience doing research.
-- Read psychological literature.
Generate a research hypothesis. -- Read psychological theories on your topic.
-- Consider personal experience, think of exceptions, and notice inconsistencies in previous research.
Form operational definitions. -- Look to previous research to see how others have defined the same constructs.
-- Identify the variables you will examine.
Choose a research design. -- Decide whether your research question seeks to describe, allow prediction, or identify causal relationships.
-- Choose the appropriate research design for your question.
Evaluate the ethical issues. -- Identify the potential risks and benefits of the research and the ways in which participants’ welfare will be protected.
-- Submit a proposal to an ethics review committee.
Evaluate the ethical issues. -- Seek permission from those in authority.
Collect and analyze data; -- Get to know the data.
form conclusions. -- Summarize the data.
-- Confirm what the data reveal.
Report research results. -- Present the findings at a psychology conference.
-- Submit a written report of the study to a psychology journal.
