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Science
A process of constructing best possible
models about the world through
observations and analyses
Objective, self-correcting

Identify a phenomenon
Formulate a theory
Confirm, reject,
or revise

Derive a hypothesis
Conduct research,
with replication

Theory: an explanation or set of principles that organizes isolated

observations (e.g., sleep boosts memory)
Hypothesis: a testable prediction that is derived from a theory (e.g.,
When sleep deprived, people remember less from the day before)
Replication: repeating the essence of a research, usually with
different participants and different procedures
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Case study
An in-depth, intensive investigation of an
individual or a small number of people

In 1848, Phineas Gage (1823-1861) survived an accident in which a

large iron rod was driven completely through his head, damaging
both his left and right frontal cortices. His friends witnessed changes
in him: from a mild-mannered, friendly, efficient worker, he became a
foul-mouthed, ill-tempered, undependable person. (Damasio et al.,
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1994)

Naturalistic observation
Observations and recording of behavior
in naturally occurring situations without
trying to control the situation

Walking speed, speed

with which postal clerks
complete a simple
request, and accuracy of
public clocks were
observed in 31 countries.
Overall, life is fastestpaced in Western Europe
and Japan, and slower
paced In economically
less developed countries.
(Levine & Norenzayan,
1999)

Survey
Asking a sample from a population a
series of questions about their thoughts,
attitudes, and behavior
Random sampling: every individual has
equal chance to be chosen
Examples:
http://www.gallup.com
http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org

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People in the Americas and Western Europe report a higher level of

life satisfaction than people in other regions. (World Happiness
Report, 2015)
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Correlational research
Research that examines the extent to
which two variables are associated
Observations of the two variables could
be from naturalistic observation, survey,
archival data, etc.

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Correlation
When two variables are correlated,
they vary together, and knowing either
one allows you to predict the other
(e.g., income and happiness, IQ and
GPA)
Can be quantified by a correlation
coefficient
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(+0.9)

(+0.5)

(+0.2)

(-0.9)

(-0.5)

(-0.2)

A correlational coefficient can be positive or negative, and can be

weak or strong (from 0 to 1)
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Americans were on average happier in the years with less national

income inequality than in the years with more inequality. (Oishi et al.,
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2007)

spurious relationship

There are three possible cause-effect relationships for a found

correlation between two variables. Note the possible influence of a
third variable (Z).
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Experiment
A method in which an investigator
manipulates one variable (the
hypothesized cause) and observe the
effect on some mental process or
behavior (the hypothesized outcome)

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Independent variable: the variable manipulated by the investigator,

the hypothesized cause
Dependent variable: the variable observed by the investigator, the
hypothesized outcome
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Experimental
condition

Control
condition

Experimental condition: the group that is exposed to the

independent variable
Control condition: the group that is not exposed to the independent
variable, serving as a comparison
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you cant draw conclusion when there is confounding varibles

Confounding variables
Variables that are irrelevant to the
hypothesis being tested that can give rise
to alternative explanations for the results
Examples:
Participant characteristics
Experimenter characteristics
Environmental characteristics
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ensure that the characteristic of participants are more or less the

same

Random assignment
A procedure in which participants are
assigned to the experimental condition
and the control condition on the basis of
chance alone
To ensure constancy between the two
conditions in terms of participant
characteristics
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Big data
With the explosive increase in computing
power and global connectedness,
enormous datasets about human
behavior emerge (e.g., social media posts,
credit card transactions, Google searches)
Some datasets are open for scientific
investigations (e.g., Google Correlate)
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Economic inequality tend to damage peoples trust in other people

and promote unethical behavior. In a study that compared U.S.
states, generalized trust (based on survey data) was negatively and
academically dishonesty (Google queries seeking term-paper mills
and cheating help) was positively correlated with gini coefficients.
(Neville, 2012)
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Facebook subjected nearly 700,000 users in an experiment,

manipulating their news feeds (reducing negative content vs. control;
reducing positive content vs. control) and then examining the
emotions shown in these users subsequent posts.
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(Kramer et al., 2014)

APA ethical principles (2010)

Institutional approval
Protection of participants from physical
harm and mental harm
Informed consent (e.g., rights of
participants to privacy and confidentiality
voluntary participation, procedures,
benefits, risks)
Debriefing

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