Psychology as a Science Lecture Notes PDF

PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE POPULAR PSYCHOLOGY  SCIENCE VERSUS POPULAR PSYCHOLOGY Much of what you have learned about psychology probably comes from the media. To list a few: “People with Schizophrenia have more than one personality”. “All effective psychot...

PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE POPULAR PSYCHOLOGY  SCIENCE VERSUS POPULAR PSYCHOLOGY Much of what you have learned about psychology probably comes from the media. To list a few: “People with Schizophrenia have more than one personality”. “All effective psychotherapies require clients to get to the root of their problems in childhood”. “Most people use only about 10% of their brain capacity”. (William James once said that average persons may not achieve more than 10% of their intellectual potential)  SCIENCE VERSUS POPULAR PSYCHOLOGY The popular psychology industry has grown tremendously, this means that the public has gained more access to psychological knowledge; access to this information however in many instances has led to the public being misinformed. It is our responsibility to distinguish between what is psychological (scientific) information from misinformation.  PSEUDOSCIENCE This appears to be science, but it is not scientific, they are imposters of science. There are some claims that cannot be measured scientifically, these we refer to metaphysical (God, afterlife and soul). If you try to contest the findings of others and they consistently find excuses to justify their findings, then they are likely using pseudoscience not science (ad hoc immunizing hypothesis). Scientific claims when inaccurate are eventually  PSEUDOSCIENCE In Pseudoscience they tend to overstate their claims, they use terms such as “proven”, yet they do not provide individuals with the outcomes rendered. Pseudoscience avoids peer review: although this safeguards against bad research, articles published in peer-review journals are not always accurate. Scientific findings usually build on and connect other scientific findings; pseudoscience on the other hand proclaims new ideas and disregard prior research. Pseudoscientific claims use scientific styles when WHY DO WE BELIEVE IN PSEUDOSCIENCE?  WHY DO WE BELIEVE IN PSEUDOSCIENCE? There are two ways in which we think about information: Rational- careful logical reasoning Experientially- emotional, intuition, gut feelings. Flawed beliefs: Our fears about life leaves us vulnerable, we therefore turn to pseudoscience as it provides us with hope; some of us tend to embrace the supernatural as means of helping to address our anxiety (transcendental temptation). Many individuals are scientifically illiterate, therefore when presented with pseudoscience it is  WHY DO WE BELIEVE IN PSEUDOSCIENCE? Our brains are equipped to find patterns, bring order or make sense of the information we are presented with.. This can however at times lead us to see things that are not there. We tend to perceive meaningful patterns out of meaningless stimuli (pareidolia). Finding connections to things that are unrelated (apophenia). For example, a friend calling when you were thinking of that friend, coincidence or fate?  THINKING TRAPS Emotional reasoning fallacy: when we use our emotions to evaluate the information we receive as being valid. In this case we need to be open minded to data whether or not they confirm our preconceived notions. Bandwagon fallacy: if many people believe in it then we tend to believe it also. Either-Or fallacy: there are few psychological questions that can be answered by one of two alternatives. This fallacy promotes this kind of black or white reasoning. Not me fallacy: many of us think that because we are exposed to the scientifi c method, then we are immune from errors.  HOW CAN PSEUDOSCIENCE BE DANGEROUS Costly: Consumers tend to seek out pseudoscience as opposed to effective treatment. Animal deaths: pseudoscience promotes the use of animals in treating illnesses such as headaches, sexual dysfunction etc, for which there is no evidence of its effectiveness. The evidence however is that more animals are dying and even becoming extinct as a result. Direct harm: treatment can be harmful to those who receive it. WHY DO PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH?  WHY DO PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH? Psychologists do research because they want to know more about why people behave the way they do. Psychological Research is Scientifi c!  SCIENCE Some tend to associate science with chemistry, biology or physics. These are bodies of knowledge. Science is an approach to evidence; it is a process. This approach is specific. Scientists are willing to share their findings, what Merton (1942) refers to as communalism. Merton encourages scientists to engage in disinterestedness, ensuring that they are  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD An approach to knowledge that relies on a systematic method of generating hypotheses, collecting data, and explaining the data.  GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY Describe, Explain, Predict, and control some behaviours  ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Accuracy- gathering and evaluating information in a careful, precise and error- free manner. Note that scientists tend to use phrases such as “suggests, appears, raises the possibility”. Good scientists don’t use terms such as “prove”, they display humility when describing their findings. Objectivity- obtaining information in a manner that is free from biases.  ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Skepticism- comes from the Greek term “skeptikos” - ‘to consider carefully’. Good scientists accept findings as accurate only after they have been verified over and over again. Open- Mindedness- changing one views- even those that are strongly held- in the face of evidence that these views are inaccurate. Good scientists recognize when they are wrong and free themselves from belief perseverance.  PSYCHOLOGY AND COMMON SENSE Some people do not think that they need to study psychology to understand human behaviour. After all, isn’t most of what psychologists talk and write about obvious? Or common sense? How much of your intuition or knowledge base about human behaviour scientifically based? Let’s find out....  ANSWER EACH OTHER THE FOLL: T/F A drunken person can sober up by taking a shower and drinking coffee. Shaving makes hair on your face or legs grow back thicker, darker and faster. Murders, suicide, and mental disorders are more likely to occur when the moon is full. You cannot fool a lie detector (polygraph). Smiling a lot makes you happy. Getting upset over life’s daily hassles cam make you more likely to get colds, intestinal disorders and other illnesses. It is possible to inherit the predisposition to be an alcoholic.  SCIENTIFIC METHOD VS. COMMON SENSE Conclusions based on common sense, or “folk wisdom” is subjective, inconsistent and contradictory. “Common sense is the best distributed commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it.” -Rene Descartes (1596-1650) French philosopher and mathematician. “Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” -Albert Einstein (1879-1955) US physicist.  SCIENTIFIC METHOD VS. COMMON SENSE According to French writer Voltaire, “Common sense is not entirely common” Our intuition frequently has fl aws. We are often unaware of this, treating it as the truth until others challenge us. Common sense is often trusted because of what Ross calls our naïve realism- “seeing is believing”. Although our intuition at times serves a vital purpose, it can deceive us; preventing us from seeing the world as is. Look Up and Read: “The Psychology of Common Sense” – Adrian Furnham  ERRORS MADE WHEN USING COMMON SENSE Cognitive biases: logical errors in thinking. Confirmation bias – The tendency to verify our own views. We notice and remember mainly information that confirm what we already believe. Belief perseverance Hindsight bias – when we overestimate how well we could have predicted outcomes we felt we knew. Overconfidence – overvalue our ability to make correct predictions. Can you think of examples of each? ERRORS MADE WHEN USING COMMON SENSE Heuristic- mental shortcuts we take to better understand our world. Representative heuristic – we tend to place things in the same category if they appear to be superficially similar. Availability heuristic – Emphasizing what comes to mind first or most readily. These things are usually more memorable, but because something is more memorable doesn’t mean that it is the truth. Rational vs. Intuitive Thought- The danger of gut-level thinking. How valuable then is intuition?  SCIENTIFIC METHOD VS. COMMON SENSE Common sense is not always wrong, it helps us to assess if someone is trustworthy, helps to formulate hypotheses that we can therefore test. We however need to be cautious, understanding when to trust our common sense and when not to. Being equipped with these critical thinking tools will aid in the process of being more informative individuals.