Research Methods In Psychology PDF

Research Methods In Psychology Printing History November 2012: Research Methods In Psychology This work is licensed under a Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Original source: Saylor Academy https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_research-methods-in-psychology/ Contents Preface.............................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 The Science of Psychology...........................................................................2 1.1 Understanding Science......................................................................................................2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES....................................................................................................2 1.1.1 What Is Science?......................................................................................................3 1.1.2 Features of Science.................................................................................................3 1.1.3 Science Versus Pseudoscience..............................................................................4 The Skeptic’s Dictionary..........................................................................................5 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................................6 EXERCISES.................................................................................................................6 1.2 Scientific Research in Psychology.....................................................................................6 LEARNING OBJECTIVES....................................................................................................6 1.2.1 A Model of Scientific Research in Psychology......................................................7 1.2.2 Who Conducts Scientific Research in Psychology?..............................................8 Scientific Psychology Blogs.....................................................................................9 1.2.3 The Broader Purposes of Scientific Research in Psychology.............................9 KEY TAKEAWAYS.....................................................................................................10 EXERCISES...............................................................................................................10 1.3 Science and Common Sense...........................................................................................11 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................11 1.3.1 Can We Rely on Common Sense?........................................................................11 Some Great Myths.................................................................................................12 1.3.2 How Could We Be So Wrong?..............................................................................12 KEY TAKEAWAYS.....................................................................................................13 EXERCISE.................................................................................................................14 1.4 Science and Clinical Practice...........................................................................................14 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................14 Empirically Supported Treatments..............................................................................15 KEY TAKEAWAYS.............................................................................................................16 E X ER C IS ES..................................................................................................................16 Chapter 2 Getting Started in Research......................................................................17 2.1 Basic Concepts..................................................................................................................18 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................18 2.1.1 Variables.................................................................................................................18 2.1.2 Sampling and Measurement................................................................................19 2.1.3 Statistical Relationships Between Variables.......................................................19 2.1.3.1 Differences Between Groups....................................................................20 2.1.3.2 Correlations Between Quantitative Variables........................................21 2.1.3.3 Correlation Does Not Imply Causation....................................................23 “Lots of Candy Could Lead to Violence”......................................................24 KEY TAKEAWAYS.............................................................................................25 EXERCISE.........................................................................................................25 2.2 Generating Good Research Questions..........................................................................26 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................26 2.2.1 Finding Inspiration................................................................................................26 2.2.2 Generating Empirically Testable Research Questions......................................27 2.2.3 Evaluating Research Questions..........................................................................29 2.2.3.1 Interestingness...........................................................................................29 2.2.3.2 Feasibility.....................................................................................................30 KEY TAKEAWAYS.............................................................................................31 EXERCISE.........................................................................................................31 2.3 Reviewing the Research Literature.................................................................................32 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................32 2.3.1 What Is the Research Literature?........................................................................32 2.3.1.1 Professional Journals.................................................................................33 2.3.1.2 Scholarly Books..........................................................................................35 2.3.2 Literature Search Strategies................................................................................35 2.3.2.1 Using PsycINFO and Other Databases...................................................35 2.3.2.2 Using Other Search Techniques..............................................................36 2.3.2.3 What to Search For....................................................................................37 KEY TAKEAWAYS.............................................................................................38 EXERCISE.........................................................................................................38 Chapter 3 Research Ethics...........................................................................................39 3.1 Moral Foundations of Ethical Research.........................................................................39 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................39 3.1.1 A Framework for Thinking About Research Ethics............................................40 3.1.2 Moral Principles....................................................................................................41 3.1.2.1 Weighing Risks Against Benefits...............................................................41 Was It Worth It?..............................................................................................42 3.1.2.2 Acting Responsibly and With Integrity....................................................42 3.1.2.3 Seeking Justice............................................................................................43 “They Were Betrayed”...................................................................................44 3.1.2.4 Respecting People’s Rights and Dignity...................................................44 3.1.3 Unavoidable Ethical Conflict................................................................................44 KEY TAKEAWAYS.....................................................................................................45 EXERCISE.................................................................................................................46 3.2 From Moral Principles to Ethics Codes..........................................................................46 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................46 3.2.1 Historical Overview...............................................................................................46 Ethics Codes...........................................................................................................48 3.2.2 APA Ethics Code.....................................................................................................48 APA Ethics Code.....................................................................................................49 3.2.2.1 Informed Consent......................................................................................53 3.2.2.2 Deception....................................................................................................54 3.2.2.3 Debriefing...................................................................................................55 3.2.2.4 Nonhuman Animal Subjects.....................................................................55 3.2.2.5 Scholarly Integrity......................................................................................56 KEY TAKEAWAYS.............................................................................................57 EXERCISES.......................................................................................................57 3.3 Putting Ethics Into Practice..............................................................................................58 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................58 3.3.1 Know and Accept Your Ethical Responsibilities................................................58 3.3.2 Identify and Minimize Risks.................................................................................58 3.3.3 Identify and Minimize Deception........................................................................60 3.3.4 Weigh the Risks Against the Benefits.................................................................60 3.3.5 Create Informed Consent and Debriefing Procedures....................................61 3.3.6 Get Approval.........................................................................................................62 3.3.7 Follow Through......................................................................................................62 KEY TAKEAWAYS.....................................................................................................63 EXERCISES...............................................................................................................63 Chapter 4 Theory in Psychology..................................................................................64 4.1 Phenomena and Theories...............................................................................................65 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................65 4.1.1 Phenomena............................................................................................................65 Some Famous Psychological Phenomena..........................................................66 4.1.2 Theories.................................................................................................................67 4.1.2.1 What Is a Theory?.......................................................................................67 4.1.2.2 What Are Theories For?.............................................................................68 4.1.2.3 Organization...............................................................................................69 4.1.2.4 Prediction....................................................................................................70 4.1.2.5 Generation of New Research....................................................................71 4.1.2.6 Multiple Theories.......................................................................................71 Where Do Multiple Personalities Come From?..........................................72 KEY TAKEAWAYS.............................................................................................73 EXERCISES.......................................................................................................73 4.2 The Variety of Theories in Psychology...........................................................................73 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................73 4.2.1 Formality.................................................................................................................74 Formal Theories in Psychology............................................................................74 4.2.2 Scope......................................................................................................................75 4.2.3 Theoretical Approach............................................................................................76 KEY TAKEAWAY.......................................................................................................77 EXERCISE.................................................................................................................78 4.3 Using Theories in Psychological Research.....................................................................78 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................78 4.3.1 Theory Testing and Revision...............................................................................78 4.3.1.1 Overview......................................................................................................78 4.3.1.2 Constructing or Choosing a Theory........................................................80 4.3.1.3 Deriving Hypotheses..................................................................................80 4.3.1.4 Evaluating and Revising Theories............................................................81 4.3.2 Incorporating Theory Into Your Research..........................................................82 KEY TAKEAWAYS.....................................................................................................84 EXERCISE.................................................................................................................84 Chapter 5 Psychological Measurement......................................................................85 Do You Feel You Are a Person of Worth?............................................................................86 5.1 Understanding Psychological Measurement................................................................86 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................86 5.1.1 What Is Measurement?.........................................................................................87 5.1.2 Psychological Constructs......................................................................................87 The Big Five.............................................................................................................88 5.1.3 Operational Definitions........................................................................................89 5.1.4 Levels of Measurement........................................................................................90 KEY TAKEAWAYS.....................................................................................................92 EXERCISES...............................................................................................................92 5.2 Reliability and Validity of Measurement........................................................................93 LEARNING OBJECTIVES..................................................................................................93 5.2.1 Reliability...............................................................................................................93 5.2.1.1 Test-Retest Reliability.................................................................................93 5.2.1.2 Internal Consistency..................................................................................94 5.2.1.3 Interrater Reliability...................................................................................96 5.2.2 Validity....................................................................................................................96 5.2.2.1 Face Validity................................................................................................97 How Prejudiced Are You?..............................................................................97 5.2.2.2 Content Validity..........................................................................................98 5.2.2.3 Criterion Validity.........................................................................................98 5.2.2.4 Discriminant Validity..................................................................................99 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 100 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 100 5.3 Practical Strategies for Psychological Measurement................................................ 101 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 101 5.3.1 Conceptually Defining the Construct.............................................................. 101 5.3.2 Deciding on an Operational Definition........................................................... 102 5.3.2.1 Using an Existing Measure..................................................................... 102 5.3.2.2 Creating Your Own Measure................................................................. 103 5.3.2.3 Implementing the Measure................................................................... 104 5.3.2.4 Evaluating the Measure.......................................................................... 105 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 106 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 106 Chapter 6 Experimental Research............................................................................107 The Parable of the 38 Witnesses....................................................................................... 108 6.1 Experiment Basics......................................................................................................... 109 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 109 6.1.1 What Is an Experiment?..................................................................................... 109 6.1.2 Internal and External Validity........................................................................... 110 6.1.2.1 Internal Validity....................................................................................... 110 6.1.2.2 External Validity....................................................................................... 110 6.1.3 Manipulation of the Independent Variable..................................................... 112 6.1.4 Control of Extraneous Variables....................................................................... 113 6.1.4.1 Extraneous Variables as “Noise”............................................................ 113 6.1.4.2 Extraneous Variables as Confounding Variables................................ 115 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 116 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 116 6.2 Experimental Design..................................................................................................... 117 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 117 6.2.1 Between-Subjects Experiments........................................................................ 117 6.2.1.1 Random Assignment............................................................................... 118 6.2.1.2 Treatment and Control Conditions....................................................... 120 The Powerful Placebo................................................................................. 122 6.2.2 Within-Subjects Experiments............................................................................ 122 6.2.2.1 Carryover Effects and Counterbalancing............................................. 123 When 9 Is “Larger” Than 221..................................................................... 124 6.2.2.2 Simultaneous Within-Subjects Designs............................................... 124 6.2.3 Between-Subjects or Within-Subjects?............................................................ 125 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 126 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 126 6.3 Conducting Experiments.............................................................................................. 127 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 127 6.3.1 Recruiting Participants....................................................................................... 127 The Volunteer Subject........................................................................................ 128 6.3.2 Standardizing the Procedure............................................................................ 129 Experimenter’s Sex as an Extraneous Variable............................................... 129 6.3.3 Record Keeping.................................................................................................. 131 6.3.4 Pilot Testing......................................................................................................... 131 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 132 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 132 Chapter 7 Nonexperimental Research.....................................................................133 7.1 Overview of Nonexperimental Research.................................................................... 133 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 133 7.1.1 What Is Nonexperimental Research?............................................................... 134 7.1.2 When to Use Nonexperimental Research....................................................... 134 7.1.3 Types of Nonexperimental Research............................................................... 135 7.1.4 Internal Validity Revisited.................................................................................. 136 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 137 EXERCISE......................................................................................................... 138 7.2 Correlational Research................................................................................................. 138 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 138 7.2.1 What Is Correlational Research?....................................................................... 138 7.2.2 Data Collection in Correlational Research...................................................... 140 7.2.2.1 Naturalistic Observation........................................................................ 140 7.2.2.2 Archival Data............................................................................................ 142 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 143 EXERCISE...................................................................................................... 144 7.3 Quasi-Experimental Research...................................................................................... 144 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 144 7.3.1 Nonequivalent Groups Design......................................................................... 145 7.3.2 Pretest-Posttest Design..................................................................................... 146 Does Psychotherapy Work?............................................................................... 147 7.3.3 Interrupted Time Series Design........................................................................ 148 7.3.4 Combination Designs......................................................................................... 149 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 150 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 151 7.4 Qualitative Research..................................................................................................... 151 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 151 7.4.1 What Is Qualitative Research?.......................................................................... 151 7.4.2 The Purpose of Qualitative Research............................................................... 152 7.4.3 Data Collection and Analysis in Qualitative Research.................................... 153 7.4.3.1 Data Analysis in Quantitative Research................................................ 154 7.4.4 The Quantitative-Qualitative “Debate”............................................................. 155 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 156 EXERCISE.............................................................................................................. 157 Chapter 8 Complex Research Designs......................................................................158 8.1 Multiple Dependent Variables..................................................................................... 158 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 158 8.1.1 Measures of Different Constructs.................................................................... 159 8.1.2 Manipulation Checks........................................................................................ 159 8.1.3 Measures of the Same Construct..................................................................... 160 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 161 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 161 8.2 Multiple Independent Variables.................................................................................. 162 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 162 8.2.1 Factorial Designs............................................................................................... 163 8.2.1.1 Overview................................................................................................... 163 8.2.1.2 Assigning Participants to Conditions.................................................... 165 8.2.2 Nonmanipulated Independent Variables........................................................ 166 8.2.3 Graphing the Results of Factorial Experiments.............................................. 167 8.2.4 Main Effects and Interactions........................................................................... 168 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 172 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 172 8.3 Complex Correlational Designs................................................................................... 172 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 172 8.3.1 Correlational Studies With Factorial Designs.................................................. 173 8.3.2 Assessing Relationships Among Multiple Variables....................................... 173 8.3.3 Exploring Causal Relationships......................................................................... 175 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 177 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 177 Chapter 9 Survey Research........................................................................................178 9.1 Overview of Survey Research....................................................................................... 178 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 178 9.1.1 What Is Survey Research?.................................................................................. 179 9.1.2 History and Uses of Survey Research.............................................................. 179 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 182 EXERCISE.............................................................................................................. 182 9.2 Constructing Survey Questionnaires.......................................................................... 182 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 182 9.2.1 Survey Responding as a Psychological Process............................................. 183 9.2.1.1 A Cognitive Model................................................................................... 183 9.2.1.2 Context Effects on Questionnaire Responses..................................... 184 9.2.2 Writing Survey Questionnaire Items............................................................... 185 9.2.2.1 Types of Items......................................................................................... 185 What Is a Likert Scale?................................................................................ 187 9.2.2.2 Writing Effective Items............................................................................ 187 9.2.3 Formatting the Questionnaire.......................................................................... 189 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 190 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 191 9.3 Conducting Surveys....................................................................................................... 191 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 191 9.3.1 Sampling.............................................................................................................. 191 Sample Size and Population Size...................................................................... 194 9.3.2 Sampling Bias...................................................................................................... 194 9.3.3 Conducting the Survey....................................................................................... 195 Online Survey Creation...................................................................................... 196 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 197 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 197 Chapter 10 Single-Subject Research.........................................................................198 10.1 Overview of Single-Subject Research........................................................................ 199 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 199 10.1.1 What Is Single-Subject Research?................................................................... 199 The Case of “Anna O.”........................................................................................ 201 10.1.2 Assumptions of Single-Subject Research...................................................... 202 10.1.3 Who Uses Single-Subject Research?.............................................................. 204 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 205 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 205 10.2 Single-Subject Research Designs............................................................................... 206 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 206 10.2.1 General Features of Single-Subject Designs................................................. 206 10.2.2 Reversal Designs.............................................................................................. 207 10.2.3 Multiple-Baseline Designs............................................................................... 209 10.2.4 Data Analysis in Single-Subject Research...................................................... 211 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 214 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 215 10.3 The Single-Subject Versus Group “Debate”.............................................................. 215 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 215 10.3.1 Data Analysis..................................................................................................... 216 10.3.2 External Validity................................................................................................ 217 10.3.3 Single-Subject and Group Research as Complementary Methods............ 218 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 219 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 219 Chapter 11 Presenting Your Research......................................................................220 11.1 American Psychological Association (APA) Style...................................................... 220 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 220 11.1.1 What Is APA Style?............................................................................................ 220 11.1.2 The Levels of APA Style.................................................................................... 221 APA Style and the Values of Psychology.......................................................... 222 Online APA Style Resources............................................................................... 226 11.1.3 APA-Style References and Citations.............................................................. 226 11.1.3.1 References............................................................................................. 226 11.1.3.2 Journal Articles...................................................................................... 227 11.1.3.3 Books...................................................................................................... 227 11.1.3.4 Book Chapters....................................................................................... 227 11.1.3.5 Reference Citations............................................................................... 228 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 230 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 230 11.2 Writing a Research Report in American Psychological Association (APA) Style... 231 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 231 11.2.1 Sections of a Research Report....................................................................... 231 11.2.1.1 Title Page and Abstract......................................................................... 231 It’s Soooo Cute!........................................................................................... 232 11.2.1.2 Introduction........................................................................................... 232 11.2.1.3 The Opening.......................................................................................... 233 Breaking the Rules...................................................................................... 234 11.2.1.4 The Literature Review........................................................................... 234 11.2.1.5 The Closing............................................................................................. 235 11.2.1.6 Method................................................................................................... 236 11.2.1.7 Results.................................................................................................... 238 11.2.1.8 Discussion.............................................................................................. 239 11.2.1.9 References............................................................................................ 240 11.2.1.10 Appendixes, Tables, and Figures....................................................... 240 11.2.1.11 Sample APA-Style Research Report.................................................. 241 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 246 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 246 11.3 Other Presentation Formats...................................................................................... 247 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 247 11.3.1 Other Types of Manuscripts........................................................................... 247 11.3.1.1 Review and Theoretical Articles.......................................................... 247 11.3.1.2 Final Manuscripts.................................................................................. 248 11.3.2 Conference Presentations............................................................................... 248 Professional Conferences.................................................................................. 249 11.3.3 Oral Presentations........................................................................................... 250 11.3.4 Posters............................................................................................................... 250 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 252 EXERCISE.............................................................................................................. 252 Chapter 12 Descriptive Statistics.............................................................................253 12.1 Describing Single Variables........................................................................................ 253 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 253 12.1.1 The Distribution of a Variable........................................................................ 254 12.1.1.1 Frequency Tables.................................................................................. 254 12.1.1.2 Histograms............................................................................................. 256 12.1.1.3 Distribution Shapes.............................................................................. 257 12.1.2 Measures of Central Tendency and Variability............................................ 258 12.1.2.1 Central Tendency.................................................................................. 259 12.1.2.2 Measures of Variability......................................................................... 260 N or N− 1...................................................................................................... 263 12.1.2.3 Percentile Ranks and Scores................................................................ 263 Online Descriptive Statistics...................................................................... 264 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 265 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 265 12.2 Describing Statistical Relationships.......................................................................... 266 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 266 12.2.1 Differences Between Groups or Conditions................................................. 266 Sex Differences Expressed as Cohen’s d......................................................... 269 12.2.1.1 Correlations Between Quantitative Variables................................... 269 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 274 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 275 12.3 Expressing Your Results............................................................................................. 276 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 276 12.3.1 Presenting Descriptive Statistics in Writing.................................................. 277 12.3.2 Presenting Descriptive Statistics in Graphs.................................................. 277 12.3.2.1 Bar Graphs............................................................................................. 278 12.3.2.2 Line Graphs............................................................................................ 279 12.3.2.3 Scatterplots............................................................................................ 280 12.3.3 Expressing Descriptive Statistics in Tables.................................................... 281 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 283 EXERCISE.............................................................................................................. 283 12.4 Conducting Your Analyses.......................................................................................... 284 LEARNING OBJECTIVE................................................................................................. 284 12.4.1 Prepare Your Data for Analysis...................................................................... 284 12.4.2 Preliminary Analyses........................................................................................ 285 12.4.3 Answer Your Research Questions.................................................................. 287 12.4.4 Understand Your Descriptive Statistics......................................................... 287 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 288 EXERCISE.............................................................................................................. 288 Chapter 13 Inferential Statistics...............................................................................289 13.1 Understanding Null Hypothesis Testing................................................................... 289 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 289 13.1.1 The Purpose of Null Hypothesis Testing....................................................... 290 13.1.2 The Logic of Null Hypothesis Testing............................................................. 291 The Misunderstood p Value.............................................................................. 292 13.1.3 Role of Sample Size and Relationship Strength............................................ 292 13.1.4 Statistical Significance Versus Practical Significance................................... 294 KEY TAKEAWAYS.................................................................................................. 295 EXERCISES............................................................................................................ 296 13.2 Some Basic Null Hypothesis Tests............................................................................. 296 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 296 13.2.1 The t Test........................................................................................................... 297 13.2.1.1 One-Sample Test................................................................................... 297 13.2.1.2 Example One-Sample Test................................................................... 301 13.2.1.3 The Dependent-Samples Test............................................................. 302 13.2.1.4 Example Dependent-Samples t Test.................................................. 302 13.2.1.5 The Independent-Samples Test.......................................................... 303 13.2.1.6 Example Independent-Samples t Test................................................ 304 13.2.2 The Analysis of Variance.................................................................................. 304 13.2.2.1 One-Way ANOVA................................................................................... 305 13.2.2.2 Example One-Way ANOVA................................................................... 308 13.2.2.3 ANOVA Elaborations............................................................................ 309 13.2.2.3.1 Post Hoc Comparisons.............................................................. 309 13.2.2.3.2 Repeated-Measures ANOVA..................................................... 310 13.2.2.3.3 Factorial ANOVA......................................................................... 310 13.2.3 Testing Pearson’s r........................................................................................... 311 13.2.3.1 Example Test of Pearson’s................................................................... 312 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 313 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 313 13.3 Additional Considerations.......................................................................................... 314 LEARNING OBJECTIVES............................................................................................... 314 13.3.1 Errors in Null Hypothesis Testing................................................................... 314 13.3.2 Statistical Power............................................................................................... 316 Computing Power Online.................................................................................. 318 13.3.3 Problems With Null Hypothesis Testing, and Some Solutions................... 318 13.3.3.1 Criticisms of Null Hypothesis Testing................................................. 318 13.3.3.2 What to Do?........................................................................................... 319 KEY TAKEAWAYS.......................................................................................... 320 EXERCISES.................................................................................................... 321 1 Preface Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). The research methods course is among the most frequently required in the psychology major—and with good reason. Consider that a cross-cultural psychologist and a cognitive neuroscientist meeting at a professional conference might know next to nothing about the phenomena and theories that are important in each other’s work. Yet they would certainly both know about the difference between an experiment and a correlational study, the function of independent and dependent variables, the importance of reliability and validity in psychological measurement, and the need for replication in psychological research. In other words, psychologists’ research methods are at the very core of their discipline. At the same time, most students majoring in psychology do not go on to graduate school. And among those who do, only a fraction become cross-cultural psychologists, cognitive neuroscientists, or researchers of any sort. The rest pursue careers in clinical practice, social services, and a wide variety of fields that may be completely unrelated to psychology. For these students, the study of research methods is important primarily because it prepares them to be effective consumers of psychological research and because it promotes critical thinking skills and attitudes that are applicable in many areas of life. My goal, then, was to write a book that would present the methodological concepts and skills that are widely shared by researchers across the field of psychology and to do so in a way that would also be accessible to a wide variety of students. Among the features I tried to incorporate to help achieve this goal are the following. Straightforward Writing—I have kept the writing simple and clear, avoiding idiosyncratic terminology and concepts that rarely come up in practice. Limited References—Instead of including several hundred references (which would be typical), I have limited the references to methodological classics and to sources that serve as specific examples. Minimal Digressions—I have tried to minimize technical and philosophical digressions to avoid distracting students from the main points. (The instructor’s manual, however, includes ideas for incorporating such digressions into lecture.) Diverse Examples—I have used a variety of examples from across the entire range of psychology— including plenty of examples from clinical and counseling psychology, which tend to be underrepresented in research methods textbooks. Traditional Structure—By and large I have maintained the overall structure of the typical introductory research methods textbook, which should make it relatively easy for experienced instructors to use. This book evolved from a series of handouts that I wrote for my own students because I was frustrated by the cost of existing textbooks. I thought this material should be available to them— indeed to anyone—for free. 2 Chapter 1 The Science of Psychology Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Many people believe that women tend to talk more than men—with some even suggesting that this difference has a biological basis. One widely cited estimate is that women speak 20,000 words per day on average and men speak only 7,000. This claim seems plausible, but is it true? A group of psychologists led by Matias Mehl decided to find out. They checked to see if anyone had actually tried to count the daily number of words spoken by women and men. No one had. So these researchers conducted a study in which female and male college students (369 in all) wore audio recorders while they went about their lives. The result? The women spoke an average of 16,215 words per day and the men spoke an average of 15,669—an extremely small difference that could easily be explained by chance. In an article in the journal Science, these researchers summed up their findings as follows: “We therefore conclude, on the basis of available empirical evidence, that the widespread and highly publicized stereotype about female talkativeness is unfounded” (Mehl, Vazire, Ramirez-Esparza, 1 Slatcher, & Pennebaker, 2007, p. 82). Psychology is usually defined as the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes, and this example illustrates the features that make it scientific. In this chapter, we look closely at these features, introduce a model of scientific research in psychology, and address several basic questions that students often have about it. Who conducts scientific research in psychology? Why? Does scientific psychology tell us anything that common sense does not? Why should I bother to learn the scientific approach—especially if I want to be a clinical psychologist and not a researcher? These are extremely good questions, by the way, and answering them now will provide a solid foundation for learning the rest of the material in this book. 1.1 Understanding Science Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Define science. 2. Describe the three fundamental features of science. 3. Explain why psychology is a science. 4. Define pseudoscience and give some examples. 1. Mehl, M. R., Vazire, S., Ramirez-Esparza, N., Slatcher, R. B., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2007). Are women really more talkative than men? Science,317, 82. Chapter 1 3 1.1.1 What Is Science? Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Some people are surprised to learn that psychology is a science. They generally agree that astronomy, biology, and chemistry are sciences but wonder what psychology has in common with these other fields. Before answering this question, however, it is worth reflecting on what astronomy, biology, and chemistry have in common with each other. It is clearly not their subject matter. Astronomers study celestial bodies, biologists study living organisms, and chemists study matter and its properties. It is also not the equipment and techniques that they use. Few biologists would know what to do with a radio telescope, for example, and few chemists would know how to track a moose population in the wild. For these and other reasons, philosophers and scientists who have thought deeply about this question have concluded that what the sciences have in common is a general approach to understanding the natural world. Psychology is a science because it takes this same general approach to understanding one aspect of the natural world: human behavior. 1.1.2 Features of Science Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 2 The general scientific approach has three fundamental features (Stanovich, 2010). The first is systematic empiricism. Empiricism refers to learning based on observation, and scientists learn about the natural world systematically, by carefully planning, making, recording, and analyzing observations of it. As we will see, logical reasoning and even creativity play important roles in science too, but scientists are unique in their insistence on checking their ideas about the way the world is against their systematic observations. Notice, for example, that Mehl and his colleagues did not trust other people’s stereotypes or even their own informal observations. Instead, they systematically recorded, counted, and compared the number of words spoken by a large sample of women and men. Furthermore, when their systematic observations turned out to conflict with people’s stereotypes, they trusted their systematic observations. The second feature of the scientific approach—which follows in a straightforward way from the first—is that it is concerned with empirical questions. These are questions about the way the world actually is and, therefore, can be answered by systematically observing it. The question of whether women talk more than men is empirical in this way. Either women really do talk more than men or they do not, and this can be determined by systematically observing how much women and men actually talk. There are many interesting and important questions that are not empirically testable and that science cannot answer. Among them are questions about values—whether things are good or bad, just or unjust, or beautiful or ugly, and how the world oughtto be. So although the question of whether a stereotype is accurate or inaccurate is an 2. Stanovich, K. E. (2010). How to think straight about psychology (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 4 empirically testable one that science can answer, the question of whether it is wrong for people to hold inaccurate stereotypes is not. Similarly, the question of whether criminal behavior has a genetic component is an empirical question, but the question of what should be done with people who commit crimes is not. It is especially important for researchers in psychology to be mindful of this distinction. The third feature of science is that it creates public knowledge. After asking their empirical questions, making their systematic observations, and drawing their conclusions, scientists publish their work. This usually means writing an article for publication in a professional journal, in which they put their research question in the context of previous research, describe in detail the methods they used to answer their question, and clearly present their results and conclusions. Publication is an essential feature of science for two reasons. One is that science is a social process—a large- scale collaboration among many researchers distributed across both time and space. Our current scientific knowledge of most topics is based on many different studies conducted by many different researchers who have shared their work with each other over the years. The second is that publication allows science to be self-correcting. Individual scientists understand that despite their best efforts, their methods can be flawed and their conclusions incorrect. Publication allows others in the scientific community to detect and correct these errors so that, over time, scientific knowledge increasingly reflects the way the world actually is. 1.1.3 Science Versus Pseudoscience Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Pseudoscience refers to activities and beliefs that are claimed to be scientific by their proponents—and may appear to be scientific at first glance—but are not. Consider the theory of biorhythms (not to be confused with sleep cycles or other biological cycles that do have a scientific basis). The idea is that people’s physical, intellectual, and emotional abilities run in cycles that begin when they are born and continue until they die. The physical cycle has a period of 23 days, the intellectual cycle a period of 33 days, and the emotional cycle a period of 28 days. So, for example, if you had the option of when to schedule an exam, you would want to schedule it for a time when your intellectual cycle will be at a high point. The theory of biorhythms has been around for more than 100 years, and you can find numerous popular books and websites about biorhythms, often containing impressive and scientific-sounding terms like sinusoidal wave and bioelectricity. The problem with biorhythms, however, is that 3 there is no good reason to think they exist (Hines, 1998). A set of beliefs or activities can be said to be pseudoscientific if (a) its adherents claim or imply that it is scientific but (b) it lacks one or more of the three features of science. It might lack systematic empiricism. Either there is no relevant scientific research or, as in the case of biorhythms, there is relevant scientific research but it is ignored. It might also lack public knowledge. People who promote the beliefs or activities might claim to have conducted scientific research but never publish that research in a way that allows others to evaluate it. 3. Hines, T. M. (1998). Comprehensive review of biorhythm theory. Psychological Reports, 83, 19–64. Chapter 1 5 A set of beliefs and activities might also be pseudoscientific because it does not address empirical questions. The philosopher Karl Popper was especially concerned 4 with this idea (Popper, 2002). He argued more specifically that any scientific claim must be expressed in such a way that there are observations that would—if they were made—count as evidence against the claim. In other words, scientific claims must be falsifiable. The claim that women talk more than men is falsifiable because systematic observations could reveal either that they do talk more than men or that they do not. As an example of an unfalsifiable claim, consider that many people who study extrasensory perception (ESP) and other psychic powers claim that such powers can disappear when they are observed too closely. This makes it so that no possible observation would count as evidence against ESP. If a careful test of a self- proclaimed psychic showed that she predicted the future at better-than-chance levels, this would be consistent with the claim that she had psychic powers. But if she failed to predict the future at better- than-chance levels, this would also be consistent with the claim because her powers can supposedly disappear when they are observed too closely. Why should we concern ourselves with pseudoscience? There are at least three reasons. One is that learning about pseudoscience helps bring the fundamental features of science—and their importance— into sharper focus. A second is that biorhythms, psychic powers, astrology, and many other pseudoscientific beliefs are widely held and are promoted on the Internet, on television, and in books and magazines. Learning what makes them pseudoscientific can help us to identify and evaluate such beliefs and practices when we encounter them. A third reason is that many pseudosciences purport to explain some aspect of human behavior and mental processes, including biorhythms, astrology, graphology (handwriting analysis), and magnet therapy for pain control. It is important for students of psychology to distinguish their own field clearly from this “pseudopsychology.” The Skeptic’s Dictionary An excellent source for information on pseudoscience is The Skeptic’s Dictionary(http://www.skepdic.com). Among the pseudoscientific beliefs and practices you can learn about are the following: Cryptozoology.The study of “hidden” creatures like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and the chupacabra. Pseudoscientificpsychotherapies.Past-life regression, rebirthing therapy, and bioscream therapy, among others. Homeopathy.The treatment of medical conditions using natural substances that have been diluted sometimes to the point of no longer being present. Pyramidology.Odd theories about the origin and function of the Egyptian pyramids (e.g., that they were built by extraterrestrials) and the idea that pyramids in general have healing and other special powers. 4. Popper, K. R. (2002). Conjectures and refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge. New York, NY: Routledge. 6 KEY TAKEAWAYS Science is a general way of understanding the natural world. Its three fundamental features are systematic empiricism, empirical questions, and public knowledge. Psychology is a science because it takes the scientific approach to understanding human behavior. Pseudoscience refers to beliefs and activities that are claimed to be scientific but lack one or more of the three features of science. It is important to distinguish the scientific approach to understanding human behavior from the many pseudoscientific approaches. EXERCISES 1. Discussion: People sometimes suggest that psychology cannot be a science because either (a) human behavior cannot be predicted with perfect accuracy or (b) much of its subject matter (e.g., thoughts and feelings) cannot be observed directly. Do you agree or disagree with each of these ideas? Why? 2. Practice: List three empirical questions about human behavior. List three nonempirical questions about human behavior. 3. Discussion: Consider the following psychological claim. “People’s choice of spouse is strongly influenced by their perception of their own parents. Some choose a spouse who is similar in some way to one of their parents. Others choose a spouse who is different from one of their parents.” Is this claim falsifiable? Why or why not? 1.2 Scientific Research in Psychology Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Describe a general model of scientific research in psychology and give specific examples that fit the model. 2. Explain who conducts scientific research in psychology and why they do it. 3. Distinguish between basic research and applied research. Chapter 1 7 1.2.1 A Model of Scientific Research in Psychology Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Figure 1.1 presents a more specific model of scientific research in psychology. The researcher (who more often than not is really a small group of researchers) formulates a research question, conducts a study designed to answer the question, analyzes the resulting data, draws conclusions about the answer to the question, and publishes the results so that they become part of the research literature. Because the research literature is one of the primary sources of new research questions, this process can be thought of as a cycle. New research leads to new questions, which lead to new research, and so on. Figure 1.1 also indicates that research questions can originate outside of this cycle either with informal observations or with practical problems that need to be solved. But even in these cases, the researcher would start by checking the research literature to see if the question had already been answered and to refine it based on what previous research had already found. Fig. 1.1: A Simple Model of Scientific Research in Psychology The research by Mehl and his colleagues is described nicely by this model. Their question—whether women are more talkative than men—was suggested to them both by people’s stereotypes and by published claims about the relative talkativeness 8 of women and men. When they checked the research literature, however, they found that this question had not been adequately addressed in scientific studies. They conducted a careful empirical study, analyzed the results (finding very little difference between women and men), and published their work so that it became part of the research literature. The publication of their article is not the end of the story, however, because their work suggests many new questions (about the reliability of the result, about potential cultural differences, etc.) that will likely be taken up by them and by other researchers inspired by their work. As another example, consider that as cell phones became more widespread during the 1990s, people began to wonder whether, and to what extent, cell phone use had a negative effect on driving. Many psychologists decided to tackle this question 5 scientifically (Collet, Guillot, & Petit, 2010). It was clear from previously published research that engaging in a simple verbal task impairs performance on a perceptual or motor task carried out at the same time, but no one had studied the effect specifically of cell phone use on driving. Under carefully controlled conditions, these researchers compared people’s driving performance while using a cell phone with their performance while not using a cell phone, both in the lab and on the road. They found that people’s ability to detect road hazards, reaction time, and control of the vehicle were all impaired by cell phone use. Each new study was published and became part of the growing research literature on this topic. 1.2.2 Who Conducts Scientific Research in Psychology? Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Scientific research in psychology is generally conducted by people with doctoral degrees (usually the doctor of philosophy [PhD]) and master’s degrees in psychology and related fields, often supported by research assistants with bachelor’s degrees or other relevant training. Some of them work for government agencies (e.g., the National Institute of Mental Health), for nonprofit organizations (e.g., the American Cancer Society), or in the private sector (e.g., in product development). However, the majority of them are college and university faculty, who often collaborate with their graduate and undergraduate students. Although some researchers are trained and licensed as clinicians—especially those who conduct research in clinical psychology—the majority are not. Instead, they have expertise in one or more of the many other subfields of psychology: behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, social psychology, and so on. Doctoral-level researchers might be employed to conduct research full-time or, like many college and university faculty members, to conduct research in addition to teaching classes and serving their institution and community in other ways. Of course, people also conduct research in psychology because they enjoy the intellectual and technical challenges involved and the satisfaction of contributing to scientific knowledge of human behavior. You might find that you enjoy the process too. If so, your college or university might offer opportunities to get involved in 5. Collet, C., Guillot, A., & Petit, C. (2010). Phoning while driving I: A review of epidemiological, psychological, behavioural and physiological studies. Ergonomics,53, 589–601. Chapter 1 9 ongoing research as either a research assistant or a participant. Of course, you might find that you do not enjoy the process of conducting scientific research in psychology. But at least you will have a better understanding of where scientific knowledge in psychology comes from, an appreciation of its strengths and limitations, and an awareness of how it can be applied to solve practical problems in psychology and everyday life. Scientific Psychology Blogs A fun and easy way to follow current scientific research in psychology is to read any of the many excellent blogs devoted to summarizing and commenting on new findings. Among them are the following: Child-Psych, http://www.child-psych.org PsyBlog, http://www.spring.org.uk Research Digest, http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.com Social Psychology Eye, http://socialpsychologyeye.wordpress.com We’re Only Human, http://www.psychologicalscience.org/ onlyhuman You can also browse to http://www.researchblogging.org, select psychology as your topic, and read entries from a wide variety of blogs. 1.2.3 The Broader Purposes of Scientific Research in Psychology Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). People have always been curious about the natural world, including themselves and their behavior. (In fact, this is probably why you are studying psychology in the first place.) Science grew out of this natural curiosity and has become the best way to achieve detailed and accurate knowledge. Keep in mind that most of the phenomena and theories that fill psychology textbooks are the products of scientific research. In a typical introductory psychology textbook, for example, one can learn about specific cortical areas for language and perception, principles of classical and operant conditioning, biases in reasoning and judgment, and people’s surprising tendency to obey authority. And scientific research continues because what we know right now only scratches the surface of what we can know. Scientific research is often classified as being either basic or applied. Basic research in psychology is conducted primarily for the sake of achieving a more detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior, without necessarily trying to address any particular practical problem. The research of Mehl and his colleagues falls into this category. Appliedre search is conducted primarily to address some practical 10 problem. Research on the effects of cell phone use on driving, for example, was prompted by safety concerns and has led to the enactment of laws to limit this practice. Although the distinction between basic and applied research is convenient, it is not always clear-cut. For example, basic research on sex differences in talkativeness could eventually have an effect on how marriage therapy is practiced, and applied research on the effect of cell phone use on driving could produce new insights into basic processes of perception, attention, and action. KEY TAKEAWAYS Research in psychology can be described by a simple cyclical model. A research question based on the research literature leads to an empirical study, the results of which are published and become part of the research literature. Scientific research in psychology is conducted mainly by people with doctoral degrees in psychology and related fields, most of whom are college and university faculty members. They do so for professional and for personal reasons, as well as to contribute to scientific knowledge about human behavior. Basic research is conducted to learn about human behavior for its own sake, and applied research is conducted to solve some practical problem. Both are valuable, and the distinction between the two is not always clear-cut. EXERCISES 1. Practice: Find a description of an empirical study in a professional journal or in one of the scientific psychology blogs. Then write a brief description of the research in terms of the cyclical model presented here. One or two sentences for each part of the cycle should suffice. 2. Practice: Based on your own experience or on things you have already learned about psychology, list three basic research questions and three applied research questions of interest to you. Chapter 1 11 1.3 Science and Common Sense Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Explain the limitations of common sense when it comes to achieving a detailed and accurate understanding of human behavior. 2. Give several examples of common sense or folk psychology that are incorrect. 3. Define skepticism and its role in scientific psychology. 1.3.1 Can We Rely on Common Sense? Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Some people wonder whether the scientific approach to psychology is necessary. Can we not reach the same conclusions based on common sense or intuition? Certainly we all have intuitive beliefs about people’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings—and these beliefs are collectively referred to as folk psychology. Although much of our folk psychology is probably reasonably accurate, it is clear that much of it is not. For example, most people believe that anger can be relieved by “letting it out”—perhaps by punching something or screaming loudly. Scientific research, however, has shown that this approach tends to leave people feeling more angry, not less (Bushman, 6 2002). Likewise, most people believe that no one would confess to a crime that he or she had not committed, unless perhaps that person was being physically tortured. But again, extensive empirical research has shown that false confessions are surprisingly 7 common and occur for a variety of reasons (Kassin & Gudjonsson, 2004). 6. Bushman, B. J. (2002). Does venting anger feed or extinguish the flame? Catharsis, rumination, distraction, anger, and aggressive responding. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 724–731. 7. Kassin, S. M., & Gudjonsson, G. H. (2004). The psychology of confession evidence: A review of the literature and issues. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 33–67. 12 Some Great Myths In 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology, psychologist Scott Lilienfeld and colleagues discuss several widely held commonsense beliefs about human behavior that scientific research has shown to be incorrect(Lilienfeld, Lynn, Ruscio, & Beyerstein, 2010). 8 Here is a short list. “People use only 10% of their brain power.” “Most people experience a midlife crisis in their 40’s or 50’s.” “Students learn best when teaching styles are matched to their learning styles.” “Low self-esteem is a major cause of psychological problems.” “Psychiatric admissions and crimes increase during full moons.” 1.3.2 How Could We Be So Wrong? Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). How can so many of our intuitive beliefs about human behavior be so wrong? Notice that this is a psychological question, and it just so happens that psychologists have conducted scientific research on it and identified many contributing factors (Gilovich, 9 1991). One is that forming detailed and accurate beliefs requires powers of observation, memory, and analysis to an extent that we do not naturally possess. It would be nearly impossible to count the number of words spoken by the women and men we happen to encounter, estimate the number of words they spoke per day, average these numbers for both groups, and compare them—all in our heads. This is why we tend to rely on mental shortcuts in forming and maintaining our beliefs. For example, if a belief is widely shared—especially if it is endorsed by “experts”—and it makes intuitive sense, we tend to assume it is true. This is compounded by the fact that we then tend to focus on cases that confirm our intuitive beliefs and not on cases that disconfirm them. This is called confirmation bias. For example, once we begin to believe that women are more talkative than men, we tend to notice and remember talkative women and silent men but ignore or forget silent women and talkative men. We also hold incorrect beliefs in part because it would be nice if they weretrue. For example, many people believe that calorie-reducing diets are an effective long-term treatment for obesity, yet a thorough review of the scientific evidence has shown that they are not 10 (Mann et al., 2007). People may continue to believe in the effectiveness of dieting in 8. Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Ruscio, J., & Beyerstein, B. L. (2010). 50 great myths of popular psychology. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. 9. Gilovich, T. (1991). How we know what isn’t so: The fallibility of human reason in everyday life. New York, NY: Free Press. 10. Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., Lew, A., Samuels, B., & Chatman, J. (2007). Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. American Psychologist, 62, 220–233. Chapter 1 13 part because it gives them hope for losing weight if they are obese or makes them feel good about their own “self-control” if they are not. Scientists—especially psychologists—understand that they are just as susceptible as anyone else to intuitive but incorrect beliefs. This is why they cultivate an attitude of skepticism. Being skeptical does not mean being cynical or distrustful, nor does it mean questioning every belief or claim one comes across (which would be impossible anyway). Instead, it means pausing to consider alternatives and to search for evidence—especially systematically collected empirical evidence—when there is enough at stake to justify doing so. Imagine that you read a magazine article that claims that giving children a weekly allowance is a good way to help them develop financial responsibility. This is an interesting and potentially important claim (especially if you have kids). Taking an attitude of skepticism, however, would mean pausing to ask whether it might be instead that receiving an allowance merely teaches children to spend money—perhaps even to be more materialistic. Taking an attitude of skepticism would also mean asking what evidence supports the original claim. Is the author a scientific researcher? Is any scientific evidence cited? If the issue was important enough, it might also mean turning to the research literature to see if anyone else had studied it. Because there is often not enough evidence to fully evaluate a belief or claim, scientists also cultivate tolerance for uncertainty. They accept that there are many things that they simply do not know. For example, it turns out that there is no scientific evidence that receiving an allowance causes children to be more financially responsible, nor is there any scientific evidence that it causes them to be materialistic. Although this kind of uncertainty can be problematic from a practical perspective—for example, making it difficult to decide what to do when our children ask for an allowance—it is exciting from a scientific perspective. If we do not know the answer to an interesting and empirically testable question, science may be able to provide the answer. KEY TAKEAWAYS People’s intuitions about human behavior, also known as folk psychology, often turn out to be wrong. This is one primary reason that psychology relies on science rather than common sense. Researchers in psychology cultivate certain critical-thinking attitudes. One is skepticism. They search for evidence and consider alternatives before accepting a claim about human behavior as true. Another is tolerance for uncertainty. They withhold judgment about whether a claim is true or not when there is insufficient evidence to decide. 14 EXERCISE 1. Practice: For each of the following intuitive beliefs about human behavior, list three reasons that it might be true and three reasons that it might not be true: a. You cannot truly love another person unless you love yourself. b. People who receive “crisis counseling” immediately after experiencing a traumatic event are better able to cope with that trauma in the long term. c. Studying is most effective when it is always done in the same location. 1.4 Science and Clinical Practice Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Define the clinical practice of psychology and distinguish it from the science of psychology. 2. Explain how science is relevant to clinical practice. 3. Define the concept of an empirically supported treatment and give some examples. Again, psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. But it is also the application of scientific research to “help people, organizations, and 11 communities function better” (American Psychological Association, 2011). By far the most common and widely known application is the clinical practice of psychology—the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and related problems. Let us use the term clinical practice broadly to refer to the activities of clinical and counseling psychologists, school psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, and others who work with people individually or in small groups to identify and solve their psychological problems. It is important to consider the relationship between scientific research and clinical practice because many students are especially interested in clinical practice, perhaps even as a career. The main point is that psychological disorders and other behavioral problems are part of the natural world. This means that questions about their nature, causes, and consequences are empirically testable and therefore subject to scientific study. As with other questions about human behavior, we cannot rely on our intuition or common sense for detailed and accurate answers. Consider, for example, that dozens 11. American Psychological Association. (2011). About APA. Retrieved fromhttp://www.apa.org/about. Chapter 1 15 of popular books and thousands of websites claim that adult children of alcoholics have a distinct personality profile, including low self-esteem, feelings of powerlessness, and difficulties with intimacy. Although this sounds plausible, scientific research has demonstrated that adult children of alcoholics are no more likely 12 to have these problems than anybody else (Lilienfeld et al., 2010). Similarly, questions about whether a particular psychotherapy works are empirically testable questions that can be answered by scientific research. If a new psychotherapy is an effective treatment for depression, then systematic observation should reveal that depressed people who receive this psychotherapy improve more than a similar group of depressed people who do not receive this psychotherapy (or who receive some alternative treatment). Treatments that have been shown to work in this way are called empirically supported treatments. Empirically Supported Treatments An empirically supported treatment is one that has been studied scientifically and shown to result in greater improvement than no treatment, a placebo, or some alternative treatment. These include many forms of psychotherapy, which can be as effective as standard drug therapies. Among the forms of psychotherapy with strong empirical support are the following: Cognitivebehavioraltherapy.For depression, panic disorder, bulimia nervosa, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Exposuretherapy.For posttraumatic stress disorder. Behavioraltherapy.For depression. Behavioralcouplestherapy.For alcoholism and substance abuse. Exposuretherapywithresponseprevention.For obsessive- compulsive disorder. Familytherapy.For schizophrenia. For a more complete list, see the following website, which is maintained by Division 12 of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Clinical Psychology: http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/eklonsky-/ division12. Many in the clinical psychology community have argued that their field has not paid enough attention to scientific research—for example, by failing to use empirically supported treatments—and have suggested a variety of changes in the way clinicians are trained and treatments are evaluated and put into practice. Others believe that these claims are exaggerated and the suggested changes are unnecessary (Norcross, 12. Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Ruscio, J., & Beyerstein, B. L. (2010). 50 great myths of popular psychology. Malden, MA: Wiley- Blackwell. 16 13 Beutler, & Levant, 2005). On both sides of the debate, however, there is agreement that a scientific approach to clinical psychology is essential if the goal is to diagnose and treat psychological problems based on detailed and accurate knowledge about those problems and the most effective treatments for them. So not only is it important for scientific research in clinical psychology to continue, but it is also important for clinicians who never conduct a scientific study themselves to be scientifically literate so that they can read and evaluate new research and make treatment decisions based on the best available evidence. KEY TAKEAWAYS The clinical practice of psychology—the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems—is one important application of the scientific discipline of psychology. Scientific research is relevant to clinical practice because it provides detailed and accurate knowledge about psychological problems and establishes whether treatments are effective. E X ER C IS ES 1. Discussion: Some clinicians argue that what they do is an “art form” based on intuition and personal experience and therefore cannot be evaluated scientifically. Write a paragraph about how satisfied you would be with such a clinician and why from each of three perspectives: a. a potential client of the clinician b. a judge who must decide whether to allow the clinician to testify as an expert witness in a child abuse case c. an insurance company representative who must decide whether to reimburse the clinician for his or her services Practice: Create a short list of questions that a client could ask a clinician to determine whether he or she pays sufficient attention to scientific research. 13. Norcross, J. C., Beutler, L. E., & Levant, R. F. (Eds.). (2005). Evidence-based practices in mental health: Debate and dialogue on the fundamental questions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Chapter 2 17 Chapter 2 Getting Started in Research Available under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Here is the first paragraph of a 2009 article in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. Human figure drawings (HFDs) are commonly used by professionals who interview children about suspected sexual abuse. It is assumed that these drawings will decrease children’s linguistic and emotional or motivational limitations, as well as memory problems, and thus will result in the elicitation of more complete and accurate details of abuse. There is, however, little scientific information to support claims of their benefits. This article presents the results of two studies that examined 1 young children’s ability to use HFDs to report body touc

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