The Scientific Attitude, Critical Thinking, and Developing Arguments
It is the science of behavior and mental processes
Psychology
We tend to think we know more than we do. What is this called?
Overconfidence
A self-correcting process for evaluating ideas with observation and analysis
The Scientific Method
Give me an example of a correlation
Answers may vary
Give me an example of qualitative research
Interview, case study, naturalistic study
Example of a question that can not be answered by psychology
There are many answers including "Is there life after death?"
The term for the "I-knew-it-all-along" phenomenon
Hindsight Bias
Scientific experts who evaluate a research article's theory, originality, and accuracy.
Peer Reviewers
Give me an example of a positive correlation
Answers may vary (e.g. height and age)
Example of quantitative research
survey with a scale of 1-5
questionnaire with responses that fall on a continuum such as "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree"
Thinking that does not automatically accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions.
Critical Thinking
Saying "I always knew they were not a good match" after a couple breaks up is an example of
Hindsight Bias
An example of a non-experimental method
Case study
Naturalistic observations
Surveys
Interviews
What is a directionality problem?
when a study cannot tell us which variable is the cause and which one is the effect
Name 3 of the 4 things required according to ethic codes
1) informed consent
2) protect from greater-than-usual harm
3) keep information confidential
4) fully debrief people
The three key elements of the scientific attitude
Curiosity
Skepticism
Humility
Give an example of perceiving order in random events
Examples include seeing a face on the moon, streaks of heads and tails when flipping a coin, etc.
What is the difference between a theory and a hypothesis
A theory explains behaviors and events by offering ideas that organize observations
A hypothesis is a testable prediction
Give me an example of regression toward the mean
Test score on a bad day followed by an average test score
What is manipulated in experimental studies
The independent variable
Which of the elements of a scientific attitude is most associated with the question, “Does it work?”
Curiosity
List the 3 cognitive biases
1) Hindsight bias
2) Overconfidence
3) Tendency to perceive order in random events
What is the definition for falsifiability
the possibility that an idea, hypothesis, or theory can be disproven by observation or experiment.
(Low-falsifiability experiments are often vague, while high-falsifiability experiments are specific and measurable)
Give me an example of an experiment. Include the terms "experimental group" "control group" "independent variable" "dependent variable" and tell me whether it is a single or double blind procedure.
Answers may vary
What are theoretical principles (provide an example)
the resulting principles - not the specific findings -that help explain everyday behaviors
Boho study looks at how children can be influenced by watching violent media