14 Chapter 1 What Is Psychology?
A hypothesis, in turn, leads to predictions
about what will happen in a particular situation.
In a prediction, terms such as anxiety or threaten-
ing situation are given operational definitions, which
specify how the phenomena in question are to
be observed and measured. “Anxiety” might be
defined operationally as a score on an anxiety
questionnaire, and “threatening situation” as the
threat of an electric shock. The prediction might
be, “If you raise people’s anxiety scores by telling
them they are going to receive electric shocks,
and then you give them the choice of waiting
alone or with others in the same situation, they
will be more likely to choose to wait with others
than they would be if they were not anxious.” The
prediction can then be tested using systematic
methods.3
Examine the Evidence. Have you ever heard
someone in the heat of an argument exclaim,
“I just know it’s true, no matter what you say”?
Have you ever made such a statement yourself?
Accepting a claim or conclusion without evidence,
or expecting others to do so, is a sure sign of lazy
thinking. A critical thinker asks, “What evidence
supports or refutes this argument and its opposi-
tion? How reliable is the evidence?” Have you
ever received some dire warning or funny story
that you immediately posted on your Facebook
page, only to learn later that it was a hoax or
an urban legend? A critical thinker would ask,
“Is this story something I’d better check out on
snopes.com before I tell my closest 90,000 friends?”operational definition
A precise definition of
a term in a hypothesis,
which specifies the oper-
ations for observing and
measuring the process
or phenomenon being
defined.
influences on addiction? Critical thinkers are not
discouraged by the fact that questions like these
have not yet been fully answered; they see them as
an exciting challenge.2
Define Your Terms. Once you have raised a
general question, the next step is to frame it
in clear and concrete terms. “What makes people
happy?” is a fine question for midnight rever-
ies, but it will not lead to answers until you have
defined what you mean by “happy.” Does it mean
enjoying a state of euphoria most of the time?
Feeling pleasantly contented with life? Being free
of serious problems or pain? Vague or poorly de-
fined terms can lead to misleading or incomplete
answers and can even cause terrible misunder-
standings. For example, are people becoming less
prejudiced? The answer may depend in part on
how you define prejudice. Is conscious dislike the
same as discomfort with a group of people whose
rules and beliefs differ from yours? (We will dis-
cuss this issue further in Chapter 10.)
For scientists, defining terms means being pre-
cise about just what it is that they’re studying.
Researchers often start out with a hypothesis, a
statement that attempts to describe or explain a
given behavior. Initially, this hypothesis may be
stated quite generally, as in, say, “Misery loves com-
pany.” But before any research can be done, the hy-
pothesis must be made more precise. “Misery loves
company” might be rephrased as “People who are
anxious about a threatening situation tend to seek
out others facing the same threat.”hypothesis A statement
that attempts to predict
or to account for a set of
phenomena; scientific
hypotheses specify rela-
tionships among events
or variables and are
empirically tested.
We often hear that all viewpoints should be taught to students in the name of
“fairness” and “open-mindedness,” but not all viewpoints, theories, and opinions
are equally valid or supported by the evidence.AUTH ©2005 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL UCLICK. All rights reserved