9/18/22

Chapter Objectives
• Learn the differences between nonexperimental and
Chapter 6 experimental hypotheses
• Understand the components of a good experimental
Formulating Hypothesis hypothesis
• Explore where the hypotheses come from
• Learn how to conduct literature search
Christelle Ann Jimenez, RPm, MA (cand)
Psychology Department
Institute of Arts and Sciences
Far Eastern University

1 2

Hypothesis Non experimental hypothesis

• is the thesis, or main idea, of an experiment • hypothesis predicts the effects of specific
• statement about a predicted relationship between at antecedent conditions on some behavior that is
least two variables to be measured
• nonscientific synonyms: speculation, guess, or hunch • correlational and quasi-experimental studies -
hypothesis about relationships

3 4

1
 9/18/22

Characteristics of an experimental hypothesis

• experimental hypothesis is a tentative explanation of an

event or behavior
• statement that explains the effects of specified
antecedent conditions on a measured behavior
⚬ hypothesis must be SYNTHETIC STATEMENTS that are
TESTABLE, FALSIFIABLE, PARSIMONIOUS, AND
FRUITFUL

5 6

• Synthetic Statments 2. Testable statements

• are those that can be either true or false • the means for manipulating antecedent conditions and
• "Hungry students read slowly" measuring the resulting behavior must exist
• Avoid nonsynthetic statements: Analytic or Contradictory • if dogs display muscle twitches and vocalizations during
⚬ analytic statement - one that is always true sleep, then they must be dreaming
⚬ contradictory statments - statements with elements • Give examples of testable statements
that oppose eachother
• "if... then" form

7 8

2
 9/18/22

3. Falsifiable statements 4. Parsimonious statements

• "disprovable" by research findings • means that the simple

• failures to find the predicted effect must
hypothesis is preferred over one
be considered evidence that the
hypothesis is indeed false that requires many supporting
assumptions

9 10

5. Fruitful statements The Inductive Model

• Leads to new studies • The process of reasoning from specific cases

to more general principles
• Watson and Rayner's 1920 study • Example: BF Skinner on operant conditioning,
of classical conditioning Functional Behavior Analysis
• Basic tool for theory building
⚬ Theory - set of general principles that
can be used to explain and predict
behavior

11 12

3
 9/18/22

The Deductive Model The Deductive Model

• reverse of the induction model • Example: Equity Theory
• prcess fo reasoning from general principles • Individuals will try to optimize their outcomes
to make predictions about specific instances (outcomes = rewards minus costs)
• most when there's a well-developed theory • When individuals believe they are in an
which clearly stated its premises inequitable relationship, they will feel distress in
direct proportion to the perceived degree of
equity
• The more distress they feel, the harder they will
work to restore equity

13 14

Combining Induction and Deduction Building on prior research

• Through induction • Reading and building on prior research will:
⚬ help you understand the area more
⚬ devise general principles and theories that
⚬ suggest additional variables that could mediate an
can be used to organize, explain, and predict
effect demonstrated in an experiment
behavior until more satisfactory principles are
⚬ see conflicting outcomes
found ⚬ come up why some findings are inconsistent
• Through deduction ⚬ might be able to generate hypothesis
⚬ test implications of set theories ⚬ anticipate problems/difficulties in a research topic
⚬ integrate findings into existing facts

15 16

4
 9/18/22

Serendipity and the Windfall Hypothesis Intuition

• Serendipity
⚬ knack of finding things that are not being sought • knowing without reasoning
⚬ Ivan Pavlov - initially about stomach secretions transitioned into • closest to phenomenology
salivation, led to classical conditioning
• only useful when we are open to new possibilities • intuition guides what we choose to study
• a good scientist takes note of all potentially relevant observations and
analyzes and evaluates them
• Herbert Simon (Nobel Prize winner)
⚬ are they interpretable ⚬ Intuition is most accurate if it comes
⚬ do they explain something that was previously unexplained
⚬ do they suggest a new way of looking a ta problem from experts
• "Serendipity is not just a matter of luck; it is also a matter of knowing
enough to use an opportunity."

17 18

Searching for the Research Literature

• Psychological journals
⚬ periodicals that publish individual research reports and
integrative research reviews
• Meta-analysis
⚬ is a statistical reviewing procedure that uses data for many
similar studies to summarize research findings about
individual topics
⚬ more objective than review articles

19