Chapter 2: Conducting Psychological Research

A. LEARNING OUTCOMES. After studying this chapter students should be able to: Discuss sources for getting ideas about a research topic. Identify major online psychological databases. Describe ways to broaden and narrow a literature search. Describe the main sections of a research article and different types of review articles. Explain how hypotheses are formed, both inductively and deductively. Describe characteristics of a good hypothesis. Describe general types of approaches to conducting research. Discuss the concepts of internal and external validity in relation to laboratory and field research

settings. Identify some key issues in preparing to conduct a study. Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Describe the general uses of descriptive and inferential statistics, and identify measures of

central tendency and dispersion. Explain the concept of “statistical significance” and provide two general types of errors that can

occur when researchers make inferences from data. Describe diverse ways in which researchers communicate their findings to the scientific

community. Describe some benefits of building theories, and give the characteristics of a good theory. Discuss whether the results of a study should be viewed as proving or disproving a theory.

B. KEYWORDSConfounding variable Field study Operational definitionContent analysis Hypothesis PopulationCross-sectional research Independent variable Qualitative researchDeductive reasoning Inductive reasoning Quantitative researchDependent variable Inferential statistics RangeDescriptive research Internal validity SampleDescriptive statistics Law of parsimony Sequential research designEffect size Longitudinal research Standard deviationEvidence-based treatments Mean Statistically significantExperiment Median TheoryExternal validity Meta-analysis VarianceField experiment Mode

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C. BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. Initial Observations and QuestionsA. Personal Experience and Daily EventsB. Prior Research and TheoryC. Real-World ProblemsD. Serendipity

II. Gathering Background InformationA. Searching Scientific DatabasesB. Obtaining ArticlesC. Reading Research ArticlesD. Reading Review Articles

III. Forming a HypothesisA. Forming Hypotheses InductivelyB. Forming Hypotheses DeductivelyC. Characteristics of a Good Hypothesis

IV. Designing and Conducting a StudyA. Approaches to Conducting ResearchB. Planning and Performing the StudyC. The Role of Sampling

V. Analyzing Data and Drawing ConclusionsA. Quantitative and Qualitative AnalysisB. Descriptive and Inferential StatisticsC. Drawing Conclusions

VI. Reporting the Findings

VII. Building Knowledge and TheoriesA. Characteristics of a Good TheoryB. Proof and Disproof

D. EXTENDED CHAPTER OUTLINE*Much of this summary is taken verbatim from the text.

IntroductionThis chapter is about the research process, beginning with how one identifies a research topic to

how one uses data collected from research to build theories and knowledge.

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Part I: Initial Observations and QuestionsThe ideas for research studies come from a variety of sources. This section describes how personal

experience and daily events, prior research and theory, real world problems, and serendipity are used to develop testable research questions.

A. A person can generate a number of good research questions simply by reflecting on his or her personal experience and daily events. One example of a daily event that has led to an enormous amount of research is the World Trade Center tragedy of 2001. Since 9/11 researchers have examined the extent to which the attacks have affected Americans psychologically, how future attacks might be prevented, and what factors are necessary to ensure adequate responses to disasters. While this is an extreme daily event, it does go to show that an event, major or otherwise, can be used to generate important research questions.

B. A good number of research topics stem from prior research and theory. Most good empirical papers will leave the reader asking questions about what might be done next. For example, if a paper describes the frequency that teenagers lie, a subsequent question might ask whether the frequency of lying is different for boys and girls.

C. Real-world problems are also used to generate research questions. Noticing that some children develop PTSD following a severe stressor while others do not may lead to an investigation of the factors that can contribute to psychological resilience.

D. Serendipity is the accidental discovery of some important thing. Many scientific discoveries (i.e., penicillin, rubber) have been made through serendipity.

Part II: Gathering Background InformationThis section describes a number of ways in which scientists acquire background information relating

to particular research topics. Students will learn that a review of the literature is an important step in the research process.

A. Most literature reviews are done by searching scientific databases, and good literature reviews take time, primarily because the person must refine his or her search parameters to ensure that the literature identified is relevant to the specific research question. There are many scientific databases, including:a. PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES are APA databases that collectively track thousands of journals.b. Some discipline-related databases such as MEDLINE (medical research) overlap with psychology

and can also be used to investigate research questions in psychology.c. General search engines, including Google Scholar, are also helpful in conducting a literature

review. However, the results obtained from general search engines are often very broad and generate literature references unrelated to the specific topic.

d. For all databases it is important for the user to understand how to both narrow and broaden a search. It’s kind of like the “Three Bears” story—you don’t want too much literature or too little literature. You want an amount that’s just right.

20 CHAPTER 2: Conducting Psychological Research

B. Once you have identified the relevant literature, the next step is to actually obtain the articles. Today many articles are available electronically in PDF form; the database you’re using will tell you if the article you want is available and whether there is a cost to download it. Articles can also be found in print; if your library does not have the article (either in print or in electronic form) you can ask the librarian to obtain it via interlibrary loan.

C. Research articles, those that describe an empirical study, usually have a similar structure. Typically they are preceded by an abstract, followed by introduction, method , results , discussion, and reference sections.

D. Review articles are different from research articles in that they are not based on an original research project. Instead, review articles are written by experts who integrate the literature on a particular subject and summarize it in a qualitative or quantitative way.

Part III: Forming a HypothesisStudents should recall from Chapter 1 that a hypothesis is a testable statement that is tentatively

held to be true. “If–then” statements are often used to form a prediction between the independent and dependent variables. Still, the prediction must be based on logic and not simply on a hunch. Two forms of reasoning may be used to form a hypothesis: inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning.

a. Inductive reasoning is the process by which several specific facts are used to form a more general statement .

b. Whether a hypothesis is generated via inductive or deductive reasoning, all good hypotheses must be testable and falsifiable. That is, there must be observable and measureable data to either support or refute the hypothesis.

Part IV: Designing and Conducting a StudyA. There are several approaches to conducting research. Research may be:

a. Quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative research relies on numbers and numerical analyses to describe behavior, whereas qualitative research is more concerned with capturing the essence of behavior in a nonnumerical way. In qualitative research information from many people are examined to determine whether underlying themes and patterns are common among them. These consistencies are then described in a purely verbal way.

b. Experimental or descriptive (nonexperimental). In experimental research a scientist seeks to establish a causal relationship between an independent variable (IV) and a dependent variable (DV). Inferring causality is due to the researcher directly manipulating an independent variable and later measuring a dependent variable. Descriptive research also seeks to determine whether variables are related, but the methodology does not include manipulation of an independent variable. As such, causal statements about the IV–DV relationship cannot be made. Because of the inability to make causal statements, descriptive research is also often referred to as non-experimental research.

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c. Conducted in the laboratory or in the field. Laboratory research is highly controlled. This level of control enhances internal validity, which is the degree to which we can be confident that our study truly demonstrated that one variable had a causal effect on another. It is usually difficult, however, to make laboratory research simulate real life. That said, when a scientist wants to study behavior in a more natural state he or she conducts field research. The “field” is an environment as it naturally exists. Doing field research increases the external validity, or generalizability, of the study to real-world situations. Research need not sacrifice one type of validity for another. It is possible to conduct an experiment (high internal validity) in the field (high external validity).

d. Be designed to study age and developmental differences. Cross-sectional research examines people of different ages at the same point in time. In contrast, longitudinal research examines a single group of people across different points in time. The two methods can also be combined to create a sequential design. In sequential designs many cohorts are examined over time. While they are more elaborate and costly, sequential designs encompass the advantages inherent to the cross-sectional and longitudinal designs.

B. When it comes to planning and performing the study one must consider:a. ethicsb. operationismc. which design will best answer the research questiond. who will comprise the samplee. who will conduct the research.

C. The role of sampling in research is particularly important. A sample is a subset of a population, and the way in which a sample is selected and measured has a huge impact on how well the data represent the population.

Part V: Analyzing Data and Drawing ConclusionsA. Once data are collected the researcher must analyze it. Quantitative analysis involves the use of

statistics to interpret behavior, whereas qualitative analysis is nonmathematical and uses verbal descriptions to illustrate behavioral patterns and themes. Often, researchers will utilize both types of analysis in their data analysis.

B. There are two general types of quantitative analysis. a. Descriptive statistics are used to organize and summarize data and include a measure of central

tendency (mean, median, and mode) as well as a measure of dispersion (range, variance, standard deviation).

b. Inferential statistics are used to draw conclusions about a population based on sample data. In an experiment, a researcher examines whether an independent variable (i.e., Xanax) affects behavior (i.e., anxiety). After participants take the drug, or a placebo, anxiety is measured. Inferential tests determine whether the mean anxiety score is due to whether participants took Xanax or something else (sampling error). If the difference in anxiety is found to be due to the drug, the difference between the group means is said to be statistically significant.

C. After data are analyzed the experimenter must draw conclusions about the relationship between the variables that were under examination. Although inferential statistical tests provide a level of confidence about our conclusions, they are not ironclad and mistakes can still be made (Type I and II errors will be discussed in Chapter 9).

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Part VI: Reporting the FindingsThere are many ways to communicate research findings. The most esteemed way to disseminate

research is to publish it in peer-reviewed professional journals. Books, book chapters, and poster presentations are other ways to communicate your work. The American Psychological Association (APA) provides guidelines on how to create research reports in various media.

Part VII: Building Knowledge and TheoriesAs research accumulates, scientists may form a theory. Theories function to organize knowledge

into a coherent whole, to help understand and make predictions about new situations for which there currently is no empirical data, and to generate interest on a topic and provide a focus for new research.

A. Characteristics of a Good Theory a. Testability and specificityb. Internal consistency and clarityc. Empirical supportd. Parsimonye. Scientific impact

B. Proof and Disproof. Evidence to support a theory does not absolutely prove it to be true. According to Baumeister (2008) the entire enterprise of psychological theorizing and research is more probabilistic than absolute.

C. LECTURE AND CLASSROOM ENHANCEMENTS

PART I: The Initial Observations and QuestionsIn this section students will learn how research topics can come from a variety of sources. Students will learn that they can look to their own personal experience, as well as current psychology literature, to identify good research ideas.

A. Lecture/Discussion Topics How do everyday events lead to research ideas? In the 1960s a young woman named Kitty

Genovese was brutally stabbed and murdered outside of her apartment building. It was later found that many of her neighbors heard Kitty cry for help but no one actually went to her rescue. This event sparked the curiosity of Bibb Latané and John Darley who, in 1969, published a paper describing what is now commonly referred to as the Bystander Effect. A plethora of research has been done since then to support the idea that as the number of people in the area increase, the likelihood that any one person will take action is significantly reduced. This story is an excellent example of how personal experience and daily events can spark important and fruitful research topics.

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B. Classroom Exercise Establishing a research project. Many experimental psychology classes require students to conduct

a research project. Based on my experience, students tend to have difficulty coming up with a topic to investigate. To help them get started have them write down at least two topics that spark their curiosity, based on (1) personal experience, (2) what they’ve learned in other psychology courses/psychology research, and (3) real-world problems. Next, have students search for literature on one of the topics using your library’s database resources. Have them keep a record of the keywords and phrases they used to conduct their search, as well as how much (or how little) information the searches generated. This record can then be used to illustrate how the words AND, NOT, and OR can help refine literature searches.

C. Web Resources This link describes ten serendipitous discoveries that revolutionized the world. (#1 on the list

describes how a dirty workstation led to the discovery of penicillin!) Although serendipity is typically very happenstance and nonscientific by its very nature, students will understand that it has definite value in research and can lead to the empirical study of particular things. http://science.discovery.com/famous-scientists-discoveries/10-accidental-inventions.htm

This link summarizes the Kitty Genovese story and the bystander effect as described by Latané and Bibb. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kitty_genovese/1.html

D. Additional References Eighteen serendipitous discoveries in psychopharmacology:

Baumeister, A. A., Hawkins, M. F. & Lopez-Munoz, F. (2010). Toward standardized usage of the word serendipity in the historiography of psychopharmacology. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 19, 253–270.

PART II: Gathering Background InformationIn this section students will learn how to acquire a body of literature related to a specific research

topic. Students will also learn how to read empirical and review papers.

A. Lecture/Discussion Topics In many of my classes students are required to summarize and discuss a peer-reviewed empirical

research article. Each semester at least one student completes the assignment based on a review article. Clarify the difference between empirical research articles and review articles. Describe how empirical articles can be easily identified because they always include methods, results, and discussion section whereas review articles do not. Let students know that some search engines, including PsycINFO, enable the user to check a box requesting peer-reviewed literature.

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B. Classroom Exercise See exercise in Part I. Prior to class search online for a particular topic (i.e., Stress AND neurogenesis using a professional

database). Print the first page of the results and hand it out to your students. Have them try to identify whether the paper is a review article or an empirical article and to provide rationale for their answer. You may want to follow up this exercise with a trip to the library for them to inspect the full article. While the title is a good index of the nature of the paper, it may still be difficult to make a clear distinction.

C. Web Resource This link is for a PDF file of a PsycINFO Quick Reference Guide that is sure to help students conduct a

better literature search. http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/training/ebsco.pdf This link is to a PowerPoint presentation on how to effectively use PsycINFO.

http://www.slideshare.net/CogSciLibrarian/psycinfo-search-tips-presentation-573037

D. Additional References Conducting good literature reviews:

Fink, A. (2009). Conducting research literature reviews: From the Internet to paper. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

Cooper, H. M. (1988). Organizing knowledge syntheses: A taxonomy of literature reviews. Knowledge in Society, 1(1), 104–126.

PART III: Forming a Hypothesis This section describes how hypotheses may be formed through inductive and deductive logic. While the two types of reasoning are described independently, it is important to convey to the student how each works cyclically to build existing knowledge.

A. Lecture/Discussion Topics Which is better: inductive or deductive logic? The scientific method is often described as a process

of inductive logic. Scientists collect data, and, based on the results, they develop a more general theory. However, the deductive method of reasoning is just as important in science. In deductive logic, one takes a top-down approach such that after a general theory is stated, specific tests are applied to determine whether evidence exists to support it. Beginning psychology students tend to approach research projects from a deductive perspective. Recently, a group of my students asked the question “Does cinnamon affect memory?” This question was not based on a review of the literature, but was asked just out of sheer curiosity. To answer the question the students developed an experiment that would allow them to collect data that would either support, or not support, a relationship between cinnamon scent and memory.

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B. Classroom Exercises Identifying good hypotheses. Present students with the following hypotheses and ask them to

discuss, in groups, whether the criteria that constitute a good hypothesis are met. Then ask them to make a general statement as to whether each hypothesis is scientifically sound, as well as explain the rationale for their decision.

Criteria for Good HypothesesHypothesis Testable? Falsifiable? Clearly

Defined Concepts?

Concepts Based on

Sound Meaning?

Supported by Data?

Humans who exercise will have better cognitive functions than those who are sedentary.Rats fed a diet rich in antioxidants will have fewer neurofibrillary plaques than rats fed a standard diet.Man-made pesticides will work better at controlling pests than natural pesticides.Using the stoplight system (green, yellow, red) in pre-K is a good way for teachers to maintain control of the classroom.Taking an antidepressant for 30 days will affect one’s score on the Beck Depression Inventory.

C. Web Resources Inductive and deductive approaches to logic.

o http://www.nakedscience.org/mrg/Deductive%20and%20Inductive%20Reasoning.htm

o http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php Using Inductive Reasoning. This website lists several scenarios. After each scenario there is a

question that must be answered by using inductive reasoning. There are multiple-choice answers to each question; the correct answers are provided at the bottom of the page.

o http://www.education.com/study-help/article/inductive-reasoning-part_answer/

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D. Additional ReferencesMcGuire, W. J. (1997). Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful heuristics. Annual

Review of Psychology, 48(1),–-30.

PART IV: Designing and Conducting a Study This section describes a variety of ways psychological research can be approached. Students will learn that developing a research project requires making many decisions.

A. Lecture/Discussion Topics Choosing the best research method. How someone conducts research depends on the research

question that person has asked. Present the class with the following research questions and have them identify which research method(s) might best answer each. Be sure to have students provide a rationale for their answers.

1. How does fetal alcohol exposure affect the cognitive development of children? 2. Does aerobic activity improve memory retention in adults?3. How do psychology majors feel about the Graduate Record Exam?4. What are the long-term effects of smoking-cessation programs?

Research methods are separate but equal. Psychology is a very diverse discipline, and its various subsets use different research methods. For example, whereas biological psychologists tend to conduct experimental laboratory research, social psychologists typically perform descriptive field studies. Although the different disciplines utilize different research methods, emphasize to the students that the overall goal of psychology is to understand human behavior and that different disciplines simply approach this goal from many different directions.

B. Classroom Exercise Creating Testable Hypotheses. Many research methods lead to future experiments. Provide

students with the following brief research articles (or supply your own) and ask them to create a hypothesis based on that work that could be tested experimentally. This exercise will have students learn how the same research topic can be approached from multiple directions.

Harden, S. L., Clark, R. A., Johnson, W. B., & Larson, J. (2009). Cross gender mentorship in clinical ‐psychology doctoral programs: An exploratory survey study. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 17(3), 277–290.

Ng, E. S., Schweitzer, L., & Lyons, S. T. (2010). New generation, great expectations: A field study of the millennial generation. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 281–-292.

Tindell, D. R., & Bohlander, R. W. (2012). The use and abuse of cell phones and text messaging in the classroom: A survey of college students. College Teaching, 60(1), 1–9.

C. Web Resource Quantitative and qualitative research. This is a brief and entertaining clip that describes the

similarities and differences between quantitative and qualitative research. http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/12153618/qualitative-vs-quantitative-research

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The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) began in 1957 with the intent of understanding how experiences early in life may impact one’s quality of life later in life. This link describes the study and provides a timeline to put the work into perspective. http://www.news.wisc.edu/13941

D. Film Suggestion Understanding research. The Annenberg Foundation provides free access to the film series,

Discovering Psychology. All films can be accessed online and played on demand. The second film in this series is “Understanding Research,” and it describes the various ways in which psychological research is conducted both in the field, as well as in the lab. http://www.learner.org/series/discoveringpsychology/02/e02expand.html

E. Additional References On internal and external validity:

Anderson, C. A., Lindsay, J. J., & Bushman, B. J. (1999). Research in the psychological laboratory: Truth or triviality?. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(1), 3–9.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & McLean, J. E. (2003). Expanding the Framework of Internal and External Validity in Quantitative Research. Research in the Schools.

PART V: Analyzing Data and Drawing ConclusionsIn this section students will learn about basic statistical concepts, namely descriptive and inferential statistical methods.

A. Lecture/Discussion Topics Why descriptive statistics must include a measure of central tendency and measure of variability.

Describe to the class an experiment in which the speed of five vehicles was recorded at two different locations and that at both locations the speed limit was 55 mph. The mean speed of the cars was calculated for both locations and was found to be the same—55 mph. Interestingly, of the five cars whose speed was measured at location 1, it was discovered that the drivers of four were given citations for speed violations, whereas no cars at location 2 were cited for speed violations. How can this be, given that the mean speed was identical at both locations? Now provide the following raw data to the class:

Location 1 Location 255 8555 7555 5555 3555 25

Describe to the class that while the mean score provides an estimate of the typical case, it cannot be used in isolation when it comes to describing a sample. In addition to a measure of central tendency, a person must also provide a measure of dispersion in order for him or her to more fully understand the sample. Clearly, there is no dispersion in speed at location 1 whereas there is a lot of dispersion at location 2. By presenting only the measure of central tendency the true nature of each sample is not adequately conveyed.

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Classroom demonstration on sampling error. On the day of this demonstration, use the research attitude survey that you had students fill out on the first day of class (you will be using the results of this survey throughout the semester for various reasons) and present the mean research attitude survey score and discuss what it means about the class as a whole. Next, present the students with the raw scores to show how the results vary among the class. Finally, randomly divide the raw scores into two groups and determine the mean score for each. The mean score for both groups will not likely be the same, yet the two groups do not qualitatively differ. This demonstration should clearly illustrate the concept of sampling error; and it can be used to help students understand how inferential tests help someone determine whether group differences (or relationships) exist due an experimental treatment or due to sampling error alone. (Wang, S. -C., & Guo, Y. -J. [2011]. Counseling students’ attitudes toward research methods class. Retrieved from http://counselingoutfitters.com/ vistas/vistas11/Article_30.pdf.)

B. Classroom Exercise Thinking about research. If students will be conducting research projects, give them time to think

about how they will analyze their data and what types of conclusions they will be able to draw from them. You may want to have them start by identifying what they will measure, how they will measure it, and what measure of central tendency the measure will provide.

C. Web Resource This link is to a “cheat sheet” for basic descriptive and inferential statistics and serves as a nice,

brief review of the basics. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/statistics-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

D. Film Suggestion The Annenberg Foundation has a variety of films freely available for use in the classroom. This

particular series, Against All Odds: Inside Statistics, includes 26 separate videos on basic statistical methods. http://www.learner.org/resources/series65.html

E. Additional References This article details what information should be included in a method and results section in APA style,

with particular emphasis on statistical procedures. It is an excellent review (or introduction!) of how to accurately describe statistics in a research paper. Wilkenson, L. (1999). Statistical methods in psychology journals: Guidelines and explanations.

American Psychologist, 54, 594–604. Bakker & Wicherts (2011) examined the accuracy of statistics in psychology journal articles and

found numerous errors. This paper can be used to facilitate discussion in class about the use of statistics in psychology research and what impact misreporting of results can have on the field.

Bakker, M. & Wicherts, J. M. (2011). The (mis)reporting of statistical results in psychology journals. Behavioral Research Methods, 43, 666–678.

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PART VI: Reporting the Findings

A. Lecture/Discussion Topics The way in which research findings are communicated depends on the medium the author has

chosen. Whereas peer-reviewed journal articles are very formal, poster presentations often are not so much. However, both media require the researcher to ensure that the work communicates the results clearly and accurately.

B. Classroom Exercise The advantages and disadvantages of poster presentations. After discussing how researchers

convey their results (i.e., through journal articles, books, and poster presentations) have students identify three advantages and disadvantages of poster presentations. This exercise should help students discover that no one way to disseminate data is best. Advantages of poster presentations include being able to talk with other experts in one’s field, being able to describe preliminary data that would otherwise not be accepted for a journal publication, and gaining professional presentation experience. Disadvantages include the possibility that someone may take your idea and “scoop” you, that you will be challenged (publically, at that!) by someone who disagrees with your work, and that conference presentations are not as prestigious as journal articles. After the students come up with their list of pros and cons ask them to now decide, if given the opportunity, whether they would present their work as a poster or journal article and why they would make the choice they did.

C. Web Resource APA resources to APA style and format. The American Psychological Association (APA) has a wealth

of free knowledge regarding APA style and format at www.apa.org including video tutorials that help students navigate a typical research paper.

How to create poster presentations. Psi Chi’s guide to creating poster presentations. http://www.psichi.org/conventions/apa_tips.aspx

D. Additional References Communicating Research Results. Research results can be communicated in many ways. The first

link is to a poster, presented at the Society for Neuroscience meeting, that described the effect of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on brain vasculature. The second link is to a journal article based on the same study.

o Sikorski, A. M., Hebert, N., & Swain, R. A. (2008). Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) inhibits new vessel growth in the mammalian brain. Brain Research, 1213, 35–40.

o http://www.abstractsonline.com/viewer/viewAbstractPrintFriendly.asp? CKey={8FAB9E81-3921-400D-A80D-19D2C93D6A33}&SKey={B5758001-D408-4615-B676-37D430163E48}&MKey={D1974E76-28AF-4C1C-8AE8-4F73B56247A7}&AKey={3A7DC0B9-D787-44AA-BD08-FA7BB2FE9004}

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PART VII: Building Theories and Knowledge

A. Lecture/Discussion Topics Conflicting theories. Many theories exist, some of which are in clear opposition to one another. For

example, the theory of evolution and creationism each attempt to describe how human existence on earth began but do so in very different ways. Whereas evolution suggests that humans share a common ancestor that was a less sophisticated form of life, creationism asserts that humans emerged in the current form. Talk with students about how the nature of science allows multiple theories to exist. This topic is likely to generate lively discussion, with some students supporting one theory and others supporting the other. Make sure during this discussion that students are thinking about why they support their preferred theory. Is it based on data? Are there data to disconfirm either theory? Will one theory ultimately be proven?

B. Classroom Exercise Identifying “good” theories. Provide students with a few personality theories (i.e., psychoanalytic

theory, humanistic theory, behavioral theory) and have them find information to determine whether each theory meets the characteristics of good theories. Specifically, can students find evidence to demonstrate each is:

1. testable?2. internally consistent?3. empirically supported?4. parsimonious?5. impactful?

C. Web Resource This link describes the top 10 most famous scientific theories that were ultimately disproved,

including phrenology. http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-most-famous-scientific-theories-that-turned-out-to-be-wrong.php. Students may also download a free iTunes podcast of the list.

This web page provides a number of Q&As about scientific theories. http://www.dinosaurtheory.com/theory.html

D. Additional References On the falsification of science:

Karl Popper, Conjectures and Refutations, London: Routledge and Keagan Paul, 1963, pp. 33–39; and Theodore Schick, ed., Readings in the Philosophy of Science, Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 2000, pp. 9–13.