Welcome to PSY 317: Experimental Methods in Psychology!
My goal is to help teach you how to employ the scientific method in order to learn about the behavior of people and animals. The concepts that we will cover in class are not all that complicated, and I will break them down and explain them as clearly and simply as I can. Even more, I am going to try my best to get you excited about research, and to help you see that psychological research (and research in general) can be fun! You will be learning, first and foremost, about the methods of science.
This brings up a bigger and very important question: Is psychology a "science?" My answer is "Yes!" We'll view psychology as a science -- different from chemistry, biology, and physics, mostly in terms of the content, or "what" is being studied, but not so different in other respects. Learning about the scientific method entails learning about independent and dependent variables, operationalizing variables, learning the difference between correlation and causality, and understanding threats to internal validity (whatever all that is!).
But, does learning about science
really have anything to do with understanding how and why people and animals behave as
they do? Again, my answer is "Yes!" In fact, learning about such concepts has a
lot to do with not only the study of behavior, but also in learning how to think
about things in general. I'll bet that every day you find yourself deciding whether or not
you believe something -- what you read in the newspaper, what you saw on T.V. or heard on
the radio.
For example, DO YOU THINK. . .
. . .that exercise reduces stress? . . .psychotherapy helps people?
. . .acupuncture works to relieve pain? . . .McDonald's really sells "America's favorite fries."
. . .that UFO's exist? . . .that there is a difference between "dog people" and "cat people?"
. . .taking Gingko Biloba will help improve your memory?
This course will help teach you how to think scientifically about such everyday questions (No Kidding!). You'll learn how to weigh the evidence for and against a claim, and make a good decision. In short, you will learn one powerful way of coming to know about the world: through the use of the scientific method!
And - by the end of this class - you should be able to study and get some form of a SCIENTIFIC answer to any or all of the questions above!
Class Gear for Spring 2003
If you are enrolled in PSY317, then follow this link to log into the "Blackboard" website, where you can view course announcements and assignments, and obtain information on grades...
Cool Research Links!
Link to Science Weekly -- From the New York Times Tuesday edition (every week). This version just has the titles, but I'll bet you find something of interest! Check it out!!!
Ethics and Research
- From the National Academy of Sciences document, "On Being a
Scientist."