1-EXPERIMENTAL-PSYCHOLOGY-AND-THE-SCIENTIFIC-METHOD.pptx

PSYEXP214/EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY College of Arts and Sciences STI West Negros University TPMillendez,Jr.,LPT,PhD 1 EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD  Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes.  We rely on scien...

PSYEXP214/EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY College of Arts and Sciences STI West Negros University TPMillendez,Jr.,LPT,PhD 1 EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD  Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes.  We rely on scientific methodology when we conduct psychological research  Commonsense psychology is nonscientific and subject to errors (example: lunatic behaviors, Friday the 13th )  Psychological science shares the key features of all modern science: Gathering observable objective data Search for general laws or theories to organize and explain the relationships among data  Science is the systematic gathering of data to provide descriptions of events taking place under specific conditions.  It is a tool that aids us in organizing, categorizing, and understanding our universe.  Science comes from Latin word scientia, which simply means knowledge.  Basic tactic used in psychological research, methodology, the scientific techniques used to collect and evaluate psychological data.  EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY  Is a methodological approach rather than a subject and encompasses varied fields within psychology.  Is an area of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to research the mind and behavior.  Four major objectives of psychological science: Description Prediction Explanation Control There are five main tools of scientific approach which are also the basic tools of the experimental psychologist. 1. Observation – is the systematic noting and recording of events. Only events that are observable can be studied scientifically. Non- observable events such as thinking and feeling can be studied by means of defining these in terms of events that can be observed. 2. Measurement – is the determination of the dimensions of an event or behavior (height, width, or length, feelings or social style) Standards are used to make measurements 3.Experimentation – is a process undertaken to discover something new or to demonstrate that events which have already been observed will occur again given a particular set of conditions. When we experiment, we systematically manipulate aspects of the settings to verify our predictions about behavior under particular conditions. In doing an experiment, our predictions must be testable. Two minimum requirements must be met: first, we must have procedures for manipulating the setting and, second, the predicted outcome must be observable. 4. Good thinking- means approaching the collection and interpretation of data in an organized and rational manner. It follows the rule of logic. Conclusions are based on the data, whether or not we are in agreement with our findings. 5. Replication – is repeating procedures and getting the same results. If we have used observations, measurement, and experimentation objectively, and if we followed good thinking, we should be able replicate our original findings.  Requirements to conduct an experiment: 1. Hypothesis must be testable 2. Predicted outcome must be observable 3. Outcome must be measurable.  Inscientific context, an explanation is best defined as specifying the antecedent conditions of an event or behavior.  These conditions are the circumstances that come before the event or behavior that we want to explain. In psychology, antecedent conditions may include food deprivation or childhood experience.  In the psychology experiment, we create specific sets of antecedents called treatments.  The psychology experiment is a controlled procedure in which at least two different treatment conditions are applied to research participants, or subjects.  The subjects’ behaviors are then measured and compared so that we can test a hypothesis about the effects of those treatments on behavior.  The procedures in psychology experiments are carefully controlled. Control is necessary so we can be sure we are measuring what we intend to measure.  As experimenters, we proceed through an orderly series of steps in conducting an experiment.  - Review psychological literature  - Hypothesis  - Procedure.  We may also infer a cause-and-effect relationship between the antecedent treatment conditions and the subjects’ behaviors  We may say that the particular treatment causes the behavior  Psychologicalscience was born in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany.  G. Stanley Hall opened the first experimental psychology lab in the United States in 1883 at John Hopkins University  In 1887, James McKeen Cattell established the world’s third experimental psychology lab at University of Pennsylvania.  In 1891, Mary Whiton Calkins established an experimental psychology lab at Wellesley College, becoming the first woman to form a psychology lab.  In 1893, G. Stanley Hall established the American Psychological Association, the largest professional and scientific organization of psychologists in the US. In 1920, John Watson and Rosalie Raynor conducted their now famous Little Albert experiment, in which they demonstrated that emotional reactions could be classically conditioned in people. In 1961, Albert Bandura conducted the now famous Bobo Doll experiment, which demonstrated the effects of observation on aggressive behavior.  Aspsychological scientists, we begin the experimental process with a review of the research literature to suggest a hypothesis about behavior.  Next,we design a procedure to test that hypothesis in a systematic way.  We use statistical procedures to analyze our observations and to decide whether or not the data support the hypothesis  We then reevaluate our procedures and write a research report of the findings.  Finally, we write a report of our experiment so that others in the field would know what has been found.  Thank you…