CHAPTER 1
Empirical data is
Experimental Psychology
(PSY 8) SEM 1
THE NEED FOR SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY
● Science connotes content and process
● Methodology consist of scientific
techniques we use to collect and evaluate
data
● Data are the facts we gather using scientific
methods
COMMONSENSE PSYCHOLOGY
● Commonsense psychology is the kind of
everyday, nonscientific gathering that
shapes our expectations and beliefs and
directs our behavior towards others.
● As commonsense psychologists, The person's
ability to gather data is constrained by 2
factors: 1) sources of psychological info (like
opinions of friends and relatives) and 2)
non-scientific interference (biases, fallacies,
etc.)
● The gambler’s fallacy, overuse of trait
explanations, stereotyping, and
overconfidence bias illustrate this problem.
● Gambler’s Fallacy. People misuse data to
estimate the probability of an event, like
when a slot machine will pay off.
● Overuse Trait Explanation. We explain
other’s behavior, we often make unwarranted
dispositional attributions and underuse
situational information.
● Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE). It is
the tendency of people to focus on personal
causes of other people’s behavior (i.e., to
make internal attributions) and to downplay
the influence of situational causes (i.e., to not
make external attributions)
● Stereotyping. It involves falsely assuming
that specific behavior cluster together. It
ignores individual differences for the sake of
fast judgment.
● Overconfidence bias is feeling more
confident about their subjective conclusions
than the objective accuracy.
OTHER INFO
● Commonsense Psychology is often used by
everyday people due to its non-scientific approach.
● FAE example: Labeling a person lazy or
undisciplined when they come to class late
instead of considering other situational causes
like accident or trouble at home.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN SCIENCE
● Scientific Mentality. Alfred North
Whitehead’s scientific mentality assumes
that behavior follows a natural order and can
be predicted.
● Gathering Empirical Data.
data that
systematically.
is observed,
Senses are
preferably,
used in
observation.
● Seeking General Principles. Laws
summarize variables that have empirical
support. In psychology, defining laws are
minimal and more complex because of
several variables that are continuously
changing.
● Good Thinking. Good thinking is systematic,
objective, and rational. Occam's Razor or
Principle of Parsimony is a principle that
prefers the simplest of the two existing
explanations.
● Self-Correction. Science constantly changes
as data evolves, and it leaves room for
improvement. Modern scientists accept the
uncertainty of their own conclusions.
● Publicizing results. Publishing results adds
to science's progress, and it increases the
validity of your study. new journals are
constantly being added in specialized
disciplines.
● Replication. Repetition of procedures and
getting the same results in order the
strengthen the conclusion.
OTHER INFO
● Theories provide explanations to a phenomena. It
is a "good" theory if it is constantly used to explain,
or has the ability to predict. These cannot be
proven, but they can either be supported or not
supported.
OBJECTIVES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
● Description. This is referring to a systematic
and unbiased account of the observed
characteristics of behaviors. Good
description allow us greater knowledge of
behaviors because they provide us with the
information about what the behavior will be
like.
● Prediction. This is the capacity for knowing
in advance when certain behaviors would be
expected to occur — to be able to predict
them ahead of time — because we have
identified other conditions with which the
behaviors are linked or associated
● Explanation. Explanation includes
knowledge of the conditions that reliably
reproduce the occurrence of a behavior. It
includes cause and effect.
● Control. Control refers to the application of
what has been learned about behavior. Some
research is conducted with the intent of
producing behavioral change along with
increasing knowledge.
APPLIED vs. BASIC SCIENCE
● Applied Research is research that is
designed to solve real-world problems
 ● Basic Research is research designed to test
theories or to explain psychological
phenomena in humans and animals.
THREE MAIN TOOLS OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD
● Observation. This is the systematic noting
and recording of events. We must be able to
define internal processes (eg. thinking and
feeling) in terms of observable signs.
● Measurement. This is the process of
quantifying an event or behavior according to
generally accepted rules/standardized units.
● Experimentation. This is the process
undertaken to demonstrate that already
observed events will occur consistently
under a particular set of conditions.
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT
● This is a controlled procedure where at least
2 different treatment conditions are applied
to subjects.
● The subjects’ behaviors are then measured
and compared to test a hypothesis about the
effects of those treatments on behavior.
ANTECEDENT vs TREATMENT
● Antecedent Conditions are the
circumstances that come before the event of
behavior that we want to explain. These are
the factors that we assume to be the causes.
● Treatment Conditions are a specific set of
antecedent conditions created by the
experimenter and presented to subjects to
test its effect on behavior.
REQUIREMENTS TO AN EXPERIMENT
● At least 2 treatment conditions.
● Randomly assigned subjects.
OTHER INFO
● Extraneous variables are variables that are
not intended to be measured but might have
an effect on the experiment, eg., lighting,
noise, etc.
● The statistical analysis commonly used for
experiments are T-test (between 2 groups)
and Anova (between 3 groups).
HOW DOES AN EXPERIMENT ESTABLISH A
CAUSE AND EFFECT?
● An experiment attempts to establish a
cause- and-effect relationship between the
antecedent conditions (IV) and subject
behavior (DV).
● Experiments establish a temporal
relationship, because causes must precede
effects. However, not all prior events are
causes.
PSEUDOSCIENCES
A pseudoscience is any field of study that
gives the appearance of being scientific,
but has no true scientific basis and has not
been confirmed using the scientific method. Modern
pseudosciences include past life regression,
reparenting, and rebirthing.
CHAPTER 2
Experimental Psychology
(PSY 8) SEM 1
RESEARCH ETHICS
● Research Ethics are a framework of values
within which we conduct research. As values,
these are preferences that we implement and
aspire our research to be.
● Ethics serve as the ruler/spectrum for good
and bad actions, and explain principles by
which we make responsible decisions in
actual practice.
○ For example, honesty (value)-- how
can we implement honesty in
research?
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB)
● IRB are composed of laypeople and
researchers from different field in order to
evaluate proposals to make sure they follow
ethical standards.
PURPOSE OF IRBs
● They protect the safety of research
participants.
○ They decide whether a proposed
study increases participants’ risk of
physical/psychology
injury/discomfort.
● They help researchers estimate the degree of
risk involved in their studies.
“AT RISK” / “MINIMAL RISK”
● At risk participants have an increased
chance of harm compared with not
participating in the study.
● Minimal risk studies do not increase the
likelihood of injury.
 APPROVAL OF “AT RISK” STUDY
● IRBs approve an “at risk” study when a
risk/benefit analysis determines that risks
to participants are outweighed by gains in
knowledge.
● For example, an experiment determining how
long can a person go without sleep?\
INFORMED CONSENT
● Informed consent means that the subject
agrees to participate after having been fully
informed about the nature of the study.
● A subject or guardian agrees in writing to the
subject’s participation after relevant details
of the experiment have been explained.
● This description may include risks and
benefits, but does not extend to deception or
the hypothesis.
● Perhaps the most important principle built
into ethics codes is the right of a
participant to refuse to be in the study or
discontinue participation.
● Ethical researchers, therefore, cannot coerce
participants to agree to be in the study or
prevent participants from discontinuing the
study.
● Participants are the ones to provide their
informed consent.
ASPECTS OF INFORMED CONSENT
1. Individuals must give their consent freely,
without the use of force, dures, or coercion.
2. They must be free to drop out of the
experiment at any time.
3. Researchers must give the full explanation of
the procedures to be followed and offer to
answer any questions about them.
4. Researchers must make clear the potential
risks and benefits of the experiment.
5. Researchers must provide assurances that
all data will remain private and confidential.
6. Subjects may not release the researchers
from their liability or to waive their legal
rights in the case of injury.
3 PRINCIPLES OF BELMONT REPORT
● Respect for persons. Individuals have the
right of self-determination (basis of
informed consent).
● Beneficence. Minimize harm and maximize
potential benefits (basis of risk/benefit
analysis).
● Justice. Fairness in both the burdens and
benefits of research.
APA ETHICAL GUIDELINES
● APA ethical guidelines apply to psychologists
and students when they assume the role of
psychologists during research or practice.
DECEPTION
● Deception may be used when it is the best
way to obtain information.
● Deception may not be used to minimize the
participants’ perception of risk or exaggerate
their perception of potential benefits.
● Subjects must be allowed to withdraw from
the experiment at any time and should never
face coercion to remain.
● The experimenter should provide debriefing
(full disclosure) after either their personal
participation or the completion of the entire
study.
DEBRIEFING
● Debriefing involves explaining the true
nature and purpose of the experiment.
● Debriefing is an essential component of good
experimental research. We must offer our
participants a full explanation of our study
any time that we use deception.
CONFEDERATES
● A confederate is an experimenter’s
accomplice.
● Use of a confederate is deceptive because
subjects are led to believe that the
confederate is another subject, experimenter,
or bystander, when he or she is actually part
of the experimental manipulation.
PRINCIPLE OF FULL DISCLOSURE
● Full disclosure means explaining the true
nature and purpose of the study to the
subject at the end of their participation or at
the completion of the entire experiment.
● In debriefing, an experimenter discloses the
true nature and purpose of the study to the
subject and solicits subjects’ questions at
the end of the experiment.
ANONYMITY vs CONFIDENTIALITY
● Anonymity means that subjects are not
identified by name. Researchers achieve
anonymity by collecting data without names
and assigning code numbers.
● Confidentiality means that data are securely
stored and only used for the purpose
explained to the subject.
 SEPT 7
PROTECTING ANIMAL WELFARE
1. Next week - present updates for experiments
● Animal welfare is the humane care and 2. Tuesday, meet for lecture time (quiz for topic
treatment of animals. Institutions that 1), finalize experiment for lab time
conduct animal research must establish an 3. Summarize reading (by group) and translate
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee in filipino
(IACUC) to evaluate animal research before it
is conducted.
● The IACUC must determine that the
researchers have explored all alternatives
and have documented that there are no other
feasible alternatives.
● Animal rights is the position that sensate
species (those that can feel pain and suffer)
have equal value and rights to humans.

SCIENTIFIC FRAUD
● Scientific fraud involves falsifying or
fabricating data. A researcher’s graduation,
tenure, promotion, funding, or reputation
may motivate researchers to commit fraud.

DEFENSE AGAINST FRAUD

● Peer Review. The peer review process filters
submitted manuscripts so that only 15-20%
of articles are printed.
● Replication is where researchers attempt to
reproduce the findings of others, is the
second line of defense.
● Competition by colleagues for scarce
resources, while a cause of fraud, is the
third line of defense.

PLAGIARISM
● Plagiarism is misrepresenting someone’s
“ideas, words, or written work” as your own.
● Plagiarism is a form of fraud, in which an
individual claims false credit for another’s
ideas, words, or written work.

ETHICAL REPORTS
● Authorship credit should only be given to
those who made a major contribution to the
research or writing.
● Researchers should not take credit for the
same research more than once.
● The ethical solution is to cite original
publications when republishing data in a
journal article or republishing journal articles
in an edited volume.