Chapter 1: Research in the Behavioral Sciences

1. Chapter 1: Research in the Behavioral Sciences History of Behavioral Research • Aristotle and Buddha questioned human nature and why people behave in certain ways Scientific psychology emerged in late 19th century: • Wilhelm Wundt established the first Psychology research lab in Leipzig (1875) • William James established first USA lab at Harvard • Stanley Hall founded Child Psychology in America • Edward Titchner brought Wundt’s ideas to the USA.

2. Goals of Behavioral Research Describing behavior: Describing patterns of behaviors, thought, or emotions. Procedures researchers use to define, classify, catalogue, or categorize events and their relationships. • Survey research (opinion polls), prevalence research, describing how events are related to each other (e.g. How do cognitive abilities change as people grow older?)

3. Predicting behavior: Describing events and their relationships often provides basis for prediction. • Prediction allows us to anticipate events and identify predictors of target behavior. • Do stressful life events lead to increased physical illness? • Using test grades to predict job performance

4. Explaining behavior: To explain the events that have been described and to understand why behavior occurs in order to understand it. • Hypothetical example: As you get older your cognitive abilities decrease. Why: because of changes in the brain (slower connections, degeneration etc.) • Watching violent TV leads to aggressiveness. Why: modeling, desensitized to violence, watching TV violence leads to belief that aggression is normal response.

5. Three conditions to make a causal inferences • Temporal precedence (time-order relationship): the cause must precede the effect. TV viewing occurred first and then aggression occurred. • Covariation of the cause and effect: when cause is present, the effect occurs; when cause is not present the effect does not occur. When the cause changes the effect must also change. • Alternative explanations: nothing other than the causal variable can be responsible for the effect. There should be no other plausible explanation.

6. Types of Research • Basic research: To answer questions about the nature of human behavior and to understand psychological processes. • Goal is to increase knowledge. Is not dependent on whether or not knowledge is immediately applicable or to solve a particular problem. • Is memory better for words or nonwords?

7. Applied research: To address issues of practical problems and to find solutions to problems. • Research is focused in everyday problems • Research is designed to optimize development or solve a problem • Multidisciplinary collaboration • Workplace research: Do people work better (more productive) with better lighting? • Special populations: Do children with autism read better when they have pictures in books? • Evaluation research: effect of a program (or intervention) on behavior. Does attending AADAC reduce drinking?

8. The Scientific Approach Three characteristics: • Systematic Empiricism: Rely on observations that are structured so they can draw valid conclusions. Conduct a controlled study in which participants are randomly assigned to conditions. • Public Verification: Other researchers must be able to replicate, verify, and observe findings. • Solvable Problems: Researchers must study questions that are answerable.

9. Theories and Hypothesis Testing Theory: A set of propositions that attempt to specify how and why concepts are related • Theories organize and explain a variety of facts or descriptions of behaviors and they help to generate new knowledge. • Scientific theories must be supported by empirical findings to be valid. • Viewing violence is associated aggressive behavior.

10. Hypothesis: A tentative idea or question about something that may be true. • A specific proposition that logically follows from a theory. Deduction: deriving a hypothesis from a theory. • Reasoning from a general proposition (theory) to a specific implication of that proposition (hypothesis). • Viewing violent TV programs during childhood increases aggressive behaviors. Induction: deriving hypotheses from facts. • Empirical generalizations

11. Good Theories and Hypotheses • Falsifiability: hypotheses should be constructed in a way that they can be found false. • Methodological pluralism: using many different methods and designs to test theories. • Strategy of strong inference: simultaneously test opposing predictions or hypotheses of two theories.

12. Defining Variables Conceptual definition: specific definition like in a dictionary. • Tired: fatigued, feeling sleepy Operation definition: defines a concept by defining how it is measured and manipulated in a study. • Tired: Sleep deprived for 24 hours

13. Proof and Disproof of Theories • Theories can not be proved. If you support a hypothesis it does not mean the theory is proven. A hypothesis may be supported even if the theory is not true. • Disproof of a theory is logical. If a hypothesis (derived from a theory) is not supported, then the theory should be false. • But, a hypothesis may not be supported due to methodological faults (measurement error) even when the theory is true.

14. Four Categories of Behavioral Research • Descriptive research: describes behaviors, thoughts, or feelings of a particular group. • opinion polls, behavior descriptions • Correlation research: examines the relation among variables. • Is there a relation between a person’s level of happiness and their energy level?

15. Experimental research: examines whether changes in a manipulated variable (independent variable) result in changes in another variable (dependent variable) • Quasi-experimental research: research in which you can not manipulate the independent variable. • Usually the independent variable occurs naturally (e.g. gender, special population).