Jamie Hale

Jamie Hale

Monday, January 20, 2014

The Psychology of Science

The following interview was conducted with Dr. Gregory Feist.  Dr. Feist is the founding president of the International Society for the Psychology of Science and Technology and founding editor-in-chief of Journal of Psychology of Science and Technology.  In addition, he is an Associate Professor of Psychology at San Jose State University.

Why does the psychology of science need to be classified as its own discipline?
Because psychology can shed light on the personalities, developmental histories, cognitive processes of scientific interest, talent, and creativity that other disciplines do not. History of science touches these topics sometimes, but in case studies in a historical context. Psychology is the only discipline that studies these topics empirically. 

How is the psychology of science different from the philosophy of science and the sociology of science?
Psychology is the only study of science that combines an empirical perspective with a focus on the individual. It also is the only study of science that uses the experimental methods. Also psychology uniquely focuses on psychological factors such as personality, motivation, brain activity, and development of thought. Philosophy is mostly analytical, that is non-empirical and does not test its own hypotheses the way psychology of science does. Sociology ignores or even refutes the individual in a social context and focuses on sociological structures and forces. The individual doesn't really matter.

Does the psychology of science address the psychology of rationality? That is, rationality as defined by cognitive science (instrumental and epistemic rationality).
Psychology, or more specifically cognitive psychology, very much is concerned with rational and non-rational cognitive processes, often by comparing experts to novices and seeing what distinguishes the two groups in how they identify and solve scientific problems. Cognitive scientists like Paul Thagard, Herb Simon, and Kevin Dunbar have examined rationality; but to the extent that psychology weighs in against pseudoscience, anti-science, and social constructivism, it takes a stance on rationality and the scientific method being of value. A very good cognitive science perspective on science the edited volume by Carruthers, Stich, and Siegal (2002) entitled the cognitive basis of science. 

What books do you recommend to a lay audience if they are interested in learning more about the psychology of science?
There no trade books for a wide general audience, so my 2006 book (the psychology of science and the origins of the scientific mind) would be one possible lay audience book (no stats in it).

What books do you recommend to the scientist that is interested in learning more about the psychology of science?
There are many books on the topic that might be of interests to scientists;
--the handbook of the psychology of science, edited by Feist and Gorman (2013) (springer publishing)
--creativity in science, by Simonton (2004)

What is your favorite book?
I assume you mean in the psychology of science. The books that for me have a special place were the two that inspired me to become a psychologist of science during graduate school, namely the edited volume by Gholson, Shadish, Neimeyer and Houts (1989) psychology of science: contributions to metascience and Dean Simonton's (1988) scientific genius: a psychology of science.

Where do you see the discipline- the psychology of science- in five years?
I would love to say that it would have PhD programs and research centers, but I think that is overly optimistic. More realistically, I think our society--the international society for the psychology of science and technology--will continue to have it's biennial conferences and have a small but loyal core group of scholars working and identifying themselves as psychologists of science. 

 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

In Evidence We Trust!

In 2005 I had an idea to write a book about scientific and rational thinking. I started writing the book that year, but progress was slow. In 2006 and 2007 I wrote a few books on different subjects; however I continued to work on the 2005 idea.  In 2010 I completed another book; this one was on exercise and nutrition myths.  I began working with Eastern Kentucky University’s Perception and Cognition Lab and Psychophysiology Lab in 2011.  By 2013, in addition to working with the labs, I had begun working as an instructor (teaching facilitator) at EKU.  January 1, 2014 my idea- In Evidence We Trust- came to fruition.    

Purchase e-books, In Evidence We Trust: The need for science, rationality and statistics and Nutrition: Fact or Fiction for only $29.95. 

What scientists are saying about In Evidence We Trust
 
“A great introduction to scientific thinking, useful for the student and the general reader alike”  …Keith E. Stanovich, Emeritus Professor, University of Toronto, author of How To Think Straight About Psychology 

“A useful, informative, and engaging compendium of critical thinking tools.  Should come in handy for novices and experts alike.  I recommend it!”  …Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, co-author of 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology.
 
“Intelligent people make poor decisions every day. They use emotion over evidence, fantasy rather than fact, and superstition instead of science. Much of this has to do with a general state of scientific illiteracy and the inability to think critically. Jamie Hale's new book is a major step in overcoming this problem.” …Brian Jones, Ph.D.,  Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Health Studies, Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY.  

“Most undergraduate curriculum focus on training students in their knowledge areas.  More recently, there has been some emphasis put on thinking skills like critical thinking and scientific reasoning.  Yet the vast majority of textbooks still present scientific knowledge as though it is a finished product: someone a lot smarter than the average student figured all this stuff out, and the textbook contains “the truth.”  Very few textbooks introduce critical thinking and scientific reasoning as a process that we have to go through, and even fewer lay out what the components of the process are and how students should work through them.  Jamie Hale’s book is an excellent supplement to any science course because it introduces students to the landscape of the process of scientific thought.” …Richard Osbaldiston, Ph. D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY.
 

Contents
 
Acknowledgements......................................................1
 

Introduction ….................................................................2               

Chapter 1: The Need for Science and Statistics …..........6 

            The Skeptic …......................................................7

Scientific & Nonscientific Approaches to     

Knowledge ..........................................................17

            Science Might Have it Wrong? …......................29

            The Common Sense Myth! …............................31

            Correlational Studies are Important Even if

            They Don’t Imply Causation! …........................34  

            Why We Need Statistics! …...............................36

            When Experts are Wrong …...............................39

            Understanding Scientific Research Methods ….48

            Why Science Matters by James Randi …...........55

            The Nonsense Detection Kit …..........................57

            Science Roundtable: Discussing Scientific

            Matters …...........................................................67

            Guidelines for Reading Research Reports ….....80 

Chapter 2: The Need for Rationality ….........................83 

            Developing The RQ Test …...............................84

            Good Thinking: More Than Just Intelligence ...92

            Intelligence and Rationality: different

            cognitive abilities …..........................................95

            The Ultimate Goal of Critical thinking …........100

            Man is an Irrational Animal! …........................104

            Common Myths About Rationality …..............111  

Dysrationalia: Intelligent People Behaving    Irrationally ….......................................................... 114 

Chapter 3 FAQ: Research Methods and Statistics …..123 

References ...................................................................177 

Appendices ..................................................................185

Appendix A Practice Problems …................................185

Appendix B APA Style Citation and Reference

Lists ….........................................................................194

Appendix C Recommended Readings: Popular

Science Books ….........................................................197


Index …........................................................................200

 
About the Author ….....................................................204

 

Note: The hardcopy will be available soon!