Erica Dickey Period 3 9/3/13 Chapter 1

I. The Need for Psychological Science A. The Limits of Intuition and Common Sense 1. Hindsight bias a. The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it b. aka known as the I knew it all along phenomenon c. Madeleine LEngle states, The naked intellect is an extraordinarily inaccurate instrument. d. Common sense describes what has happened more easily than it predicts what will happen in the future e. Neils Bohr- Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future. 2. Overconfidence a. We tend to think that we know more than we do b. Richard Goranson (1978) asked people to unscramble anagrams WREAT WATER ETRYN ENTRY GRABE BARGE c. An anagram typically takes 3 minutes, but after seeing the solutions people think its too obvious and should only take 10 seconds to solve

B. The Scientific Attitude 1. Curiosity a. A passion to explore and understand without being mislead b. Some questions require a leap of faith c. Scientific attitude prepares us for critical thinking Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions Examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions C. The Scientific Method 1. Method a. Theory- an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events b. Hypothesis- a testable prediction. Often implied by a theory c. Operational Definition- a statement of the procedures used to define research variables Ex: human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures d. Replication- repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances 2. Theory a. Effectively organizes a range of self-reports and observations b. Implies clear predictions that anyone can use to check the theory II. Description A. The Case Study 1. Case study

a. An observation technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles b. much of our early knowledge of the brain came from case studies of individuals who suffered certain impairment after damage to a certain brain region c. Jean Piaget taught us about childrens thinking after carefully observing and questioning but a few children d. Case studies can suggest hypotheses for further study B. The Survey 1. Survey Method a. Looks at many cases in less depth b. Survey technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them 2. Wording Effects a. Even subtle changes in the order or wording of questions can have a major effect b. People much more likely to approve not allowing such things than forbidding them c. ex: people are much more likely to approve of aiding the needy than welfare 3. Random sampling a. False consensus effect- the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors b. Population- all the cases in a group from which samples may be drawn for a study c. Random Sample- a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

d. The best basis for generalizing is from a representative sample of cases C. Naturalistic Observation 1. Observations a. Naturalistic observations- observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate situation Done on chimpanzees in jungle, to unobtrusively videotaping parent-child interactions in diff cultures b. Does not explain behavior, describes it c. Observations are also done with humans d. Robert Levine and Ara Norenzayan- pace of life (1999) III. Correlation A. Correlate 1. Correlation- a measure of the extent to which 2 factors vary together, and thus how well either factor predicts the other + correlations means that 2 sets of scores tend to rise and fall together - correlations means that 2 sets of scores relate inversely a. correlation coefficient- mathematical expression of relationship, ranging from -1 to +1 Helps us see the world more clearly by revealing the extent to which two thing relate b. Scatterplots- each point plots the value of two variables B. Correlations and causation 1. Relationship

a. Correlations help us predict and they restrain the illusions of our flawed intuition b. Cause and effect relationships Low self esteem depression Depression low self esteem Distressing events or biological predisposition low self esteem and depression c. Correlation indicates the possibility of a cause-effect relationship, but it does not prove causation C. Illusory correlations a. Illusory correlation- a perceived non-existent correlation b. help explain many a superstitious belief c. When we believe there is a relationship between two things we are likely to notice and recall instances that confirm our belief D. Perceiving Order in Random Events a. illusory correlations arise from our natural eagerness to make sense of world b. Some happenings seem so extraordinary that we struggle to conceive an ordinary chance related explanation IV. Experimentation A. Exploring Cause and Effect a. Experiments enable a researcher to focus on the possible effects of one or more factors by manipulating the factors of interest and holding constant (controlling) other factors b. Experiment Clearest and cleanest way to isolate cause and effect

c. Unlike correlation studies, which uncover naturally occurring relationships, and experiment manipulates a factor to determine its effect B. Evaluating therapies a. Double blind procedure- and experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the research participants have received the treatment or a placebo Used in drug-evaluation studies b. Placebo effect- experimental results caused by expectations alone c. Experimental condition- exposes participants to the treatment that is, to one version of the independent variable d. Control Condition- contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment e. Random Assignment- assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance C. Independent and dependent variables 1. Variables a. independent variable manipulated variable, this effect it being studied b. dependent variable- the outcome factor, what is changing c. Variable is anything that can vary V. Statistical Reasoning A. Describing data 1. Statistics a. Doubt big, round, undocumented numbers, rather than swallow the top head estimates, focus on thinking smarter by applying simple statistical principles to everyday reasoning

b. having gathered data we must next organize, summarize, and make inferences from it, using statistics 2. Measures of central tendency a. once researchers have gathered data their first task is to organize them b. one way to describe data is to use bar graph Mode- most frequent number Mean- average of data Median- the middle score c. central tendency neatly summarizes data 3. Measures of Variation a. The range of scores- the gap between the lowest and highest scores b. The more useful standard for measuring how much score deviate from anther is the standard deviation B. Making Inferences 1. When is an Observed Difference Reliable? a. Representative samples are better than biased samples b. Less-variable observations are more reliable than those that are more variable c. More cases are better than fewer d. dont be overly impressed by a few anecdotes. Generalizations based on a few unrepresentative cases are unreliable 2. When is a Difference Significant? a. When the sample averages are reliable and the difference between them is relatively large we say the difference has statistical significance

b. Indicated the likelihood that a result will happen by chance it does not indicate the importance of the result VI. Frequently Asked Questions about Psychology 1. Can Laboratory Experiments Illuminate Everyday life? a. As psychologists our concerns lie less with particular behaviors than with the general principles that help explain any behaviors 2. Does Behavior depend on ones culture? a.Culture- shared ideas and behaviors that one generations passes on to the next- matters b Our culture influences our standards of promptness and frankness, our attitudes toward premarital sex and varying body shapes c. Being aware of such differences, we can restrain our assumptions that others will think and act as we do d. Our shared biological heritage does, however, unite us as a universal human family 3. Does behavior vary with gender? a. researcher report gender differences in what we dream, how we express and detect emotions, and in our risk for alcoholism, depression, and eating disorders b. culture further bends the genders 4. Why do psychologists study animals? a. many study them because they are fascinating b.want to understand how diff species learn, think and behave c. human physiology resembles that of many other animals d. humans are animals 5. Is psychology dangerous? a. becoming dangerously powerful

b. knowledge can be used for good or evil c. but purpose is to enlighten