In the preceding sections, we have tried to give you some idea about how psychologists go about doing research and some tips to help you as a student plan a research project. Our intention was to orient you to a way of thinking before you begin your methods course in depth. Keep these ideas in mind as you study the rest of this book.
Chapter Summary
Our knowledge of the world comes from many sources. Believing that something is true because it has always been that way is a belief based on tradition. Believing that something is true because an “expert” said so is a belief based on authority. Believing that something is true because it feels true is a belief based on intuition. Tradition, authority, and intuition are flawed sources of knowledge. Knowledge gained through personal experience can be very powerful for the individual, but it is not objective. Reasoning (i.e., beliefs based on rational thought) and empiricism (i.e., beliefs based on measured observations) are better sources of knowledge.
Acquiring knowledge via interaction between empiricism and logic is the way of science. Scientists are critical thinkers and apply critical thinking skills in their research. Critical thinking is a process involving objectivity and unemotional examination of the available evidence. Alternative explanations are considered, uncertainty is tolerated, and skepticism is maintained.
The goals of science include description, explanation, prediction, and control.
Scientists assume that events in the world have natural causes (determinism). Scientists are empiricists; they rely on real observations to assess claims. Scientific findings must be replicated before they are incorporated into the body of knowledge. Hypotheses derived from scientific theory must be refutable through empirical research (falsifiability), and scientific explanations should require few assumptions (parsimony).
Science is defined by its method of hypothesis testing in the search for truth. A theory formally states how concepts (ideas) are related. Theory building yields hypotheses, which are tested, revised, and retested. This is the scientific method.
Researchers conduct their studies to evaluate theories, to satisfy their curiosity, to demonstrate a new technique or behavioral phenomenon, or to investigate the factors that influence behavioral phenomena.
A researcher’s goal may be to describe a population by measuring the entire population or by inferring the nature of the population from a representative sample (descriptive research), or the goal may be to explain relationships (explanatory research). Quantitative researchers in psychology are interested in differences in the amount of behavior, whereas qualitative researchers are interested in differences in the kind or quality of behavior. Basic or pure research is conducted to increase the body of knowledge of the discipline; applied researchers use that knowledge to improve things in the world. Researchers interested in age differences may study people of different ages (cross-sectional research) or may study the same people at different stages in their lives (longitudinal research). Laboratory research allows better control over variables, but field research allows a more natural setting for the behavior.
Planning research involves several steps, including selecting a research topic from theory, previous research, experience, or common sense; generating testable hypotheses using operational definitions of concepts; classifying variables; selecting the design; carefully considering the ethics; carrying out the research; analyzing the results; and drawing conclusions.
Chapter Resources
Answers to Conceptual Exercises
Note: There may be other good answers to some of the conceptual exercises. If your answer differs from ours, do not assume that it is necessarily wrong. Consult with your instructor.
Conceptual Exercise 1A
1 Although some people may have experienced this, this belief, like all truisms, comes from tradition.
2 As in the first example, this belief is primarily traditional.
3 This belief may have several sources, including tradition and authority.
4 This belief is best described as an intuitive belief based in religion, perhaps.
5 Some people may have acquired this belief from authority. For others, this belief comes from personal experience and, for some, from science.
Conceptual Exercise 1B
1 John has failed to follow the tenet of determinism. He should have assumed a natural cause for the phenomenon. It is likely that on nights when the moon is full, there is more crime committed because there is more light to conduct crime by! This explanation is a deterministic one, a tenet of science.
2 This finding lacks replicability.
3 This example demonstrates a lack of falsifiability. The hypothesis is not refutable.
Conceptual Exercise 1C
1 This example is descriptive of how people feel when they look at different colors. It is quantitative; she is collecting ratings. This is basic research. No application has been discussed.
2 This is descriptive. The therapist has not tried to explain why color affects mood. It is applied because he is using the finding to help in therapy. It is field research conducted in the natural therapy setting.
3 This is descriptive and cross-sectional.
FAQ
Q1: Dr. Linus Pauling was the only person to have won two unshared Nobel Prizes; he lived to age 93 and wrote a book about vitamin C and the common cold. If he thinks that taking vitamins makes you healthier, it must be true. Right?
A1: Wrong! Although Pauling may have been an authority, science requires replicated research before a finding is accepted, and so far, the research in this area has produced mixed results. This does not mean that we should be cynical; amazing discoveries are made all the time. But we should remain skeptical until there is consensus in the literature.
Q2: I believe in auras because I have experienced them. Isn’t that empiricism?
A2: Although we cannot argue with your experiences, this is not scientific evidence. In science, the evidence must be based on observations that can be independently verified. This is not possible with your experiences.
Q3: What is wrong with understanding the world through logical reasoning?
A3: Nothing, as long as there are no errors in your reasoning. Indeed, this is how new predictions are formulated from theories. But science also requires an empirical test of logically derived statements.
Q4: The assumption of determinism holds that events have natural causes. Isn’t it also possible that there are forces of nature that we are not aware of?
A4: Indeed, before the discovery of atomic particles, nuclear forces were unimagined. Yes, there certainly could be forces that are unknown to us, but that does not mean that we can use them to explain events. Until we have established that they exist, they cannot be used in scientific explanations.
Q5: What is this idea of falsifiability; don’t we want to prove things in science?
A5: