Contains basic information about the history of experimental psychology as a separate decipline of science.

1. WMSU
MAGNOLIA T.
GREFALDE
Faculty
EXPERIMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY

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5. PSYCHOLOGY
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Etymology:
psyche – mind/soul
logos – study
trepanning/ trephining - is a process
whereby a hole is drilled in the skull
PSEUDOSCIENCES:
1. Physiognomy
2. Phrenology
3. Numerology
4. Astrology
5. Graphology

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“scientia” – knowledge (Gk)
It has two implications - content and process
 content – is what we know such as the facts we
learn in psychology or any other course
 process – an activity that includes the systematic
ways in which we go about gathering data, noting
relationships, and offering explanations

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Common sense psychology (Heider,
1958)
- everyday, nonscientific collection of
psychological data used to understand the
social world and guide our behavior.
1. Nonscientific Sources of Data
• Family
• Friends
• Authority
• Media
• Books
In using common sense, the person’s ability to gather data in a systematic and
impartial way is constrained by two factors:
 sources of psychological information
 our inferential strategies

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2. Nonscientific Inference
GAMBLER’S FALLACY - people misuse data to estimate the
probability of an event, like when a slot machine will pay off
CONFIRMATION BIAS - once we believe we know something,
we tend to overlook instances that might disconfirm our beliefs,
and we seek confirmatory instances of behavior instead
OVERCONFIDENCE BIAS - our predictions, guesses, and
explanations tend to feel much more correct than they actually
are, and the more data we have available, the more confidence
we have in our judgments about behavior
STEREOTYPING - we falsely assume that specific behaviors
cluster together

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15. Experimental Psychology is an area of
psychology that utilizes scientific
methods to research the mind and
behavior. It is a specific
methodological approach to the study
of psychology. It is a systematic
attempt to determine the conditions of
animal and human conduct by the
arrangement and variation of typical
situations in response to which such
conduct normally occurs.
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Scientific Method
- the systematic gathering of data
to provide descriptions of events
taking place under specific
conditions, enabling researchers
to explain, predict, and control
events
– steps scientist take to gather and
verify information, answer
questions, explain relationships,
and communicate findings.

17. THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD: TOOLS OF
PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
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18. Other Principal Tools of the
Scientific Method
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Scientific Mentality
Behavior follow a natural order,therefore,it can be
predicted.This is the assumption of a psychologist’s
goal of prediction.This idea lies on the belief that
there are specifiable causes for the way people
behave.The belief that these causes can be
discovered through research is called determinism.
Gathering Empirical Data
This entails systematic observation,careful
classification and collection of empirical data.
Characteristics of an empirical data include being
observable and experienced;and ability to be
verified or disapproved through investigation.

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Seeking General Principles
A scientist,in this case a psychologist,goes
beyond cataloging observations in a
research to propose general principles,either
laws or theories,that will explain them.
Principles that generally apply to all situations
are called laws. Theories,on the other hand,
consolidate diverse sets of scientific facts into an
organizing scheme that can be used to predict
new examples of behavior.It can explain many,
but not all,instances of a situation or behavior.
Unlike laws which are developed within the
physical sciences,development of theories allow
the field of psychology to progress more.Thus,
development of theories or testing theories are
found to be more useful in doing psychological
inquiry.

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Good Thinking
This pertains to an approach to collection and
interpretation of data should be
systematic, objective and rational.This includes
ensuring that attitude towards data
gathering is free from biases,while keeping an open
mind to new ideas.Likewise, good thinking also
demonstrates parsimony,which encourages simple
and basic explanation to findings and conclusions.
Self-Corrections
A psychologist should be open to the idea that his
conclusions may eventually be
contradicted and challenged.This is because the
content of science changes as we acquire new
scientific information,therefore,an old information is
re-evaluated in light of new facts. Challenging an
existing explanation or theory by testing a hypothesis
that follows logically from it,and demonstrating that
this hypothesis is false is known as falsification.

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Publicizing results
This refers to an emerging trend of sending
results of research papers to scientific
journals,and presenting findings in
conferences of professionals in their respective
fields of specialization.This aims to
incorporate the most recent findings of others
to one’s own and to avoid duplication of failures
of researches.
Replication
It is the process of repeating research
procedures to verify that the outcome will be
the same before.This is common when reported
findings either have important
implications,or when reported results directly
contradict current conventional information.

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