The Case For A Behavioral Science

Hall Beck, PhD

Office: 215 Smith-Wright Hall

The Best Of All Worlds

1. The Environment: The new green technologies.

The Best Of All Worlds

2. Agriculture: Tremendous increase in per acre production.

The Best Of All Worlds

3. Population: Better forms of contraception.

The Best Of All Worlds

4. New and better weapons to protect us.

Best Of All Worlds

5. Violence: Murder By Country

Click to see a most revealing chart.

http://chartsbin.com/view/1454

Best Of All Worlds

US 700

Russia 635

Belize 460

South Africa 405

Mexico 145

UK 125

Is The US Soft On Crime?

Prisoners (Per 100000) Population

Egypt 120

Canada 110

Australia 110

France 75

Japan 45

India 40

The Best Of All Worlds

6. Education: The information explosion.

What Is Missing ?

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity

What Is Missing ?

Increasingly the problems we confront are behavioral. People are behaving in ways that have a detrimental impact on themselves, their society, and planet.

How Have We Confronted Behavioral Problems In The Past?

Tenacity: Holding fast to an idea or belief without evidence, proof, or reasoning.

How Have We Confronted Behavioral Problems In The Past?

Intuition: The act of coming to direct knowledge or certainty without reasoning or inference.

How Have We Confronted Behavioral Problems In The Past?

Authority: Acceptance of information stated by another because that individual or source is a highly respected.

How Have We Confronted Behavioral Problems In The Past?

Rationalism: An idea or belief is accepted as true because it is derived through reason.

How Have We Confronted Behavioral Problems In The Past?

Empiricism: What is experienced is assumed to be valid and true.

Where Has That Reliance Brought Us?

The Case For A Behavioral Science

What Are Some Characteristics Of The Scientific Method?

Objective: Relatively free of the scientists biases or emotions.

Distinction of Values (personal opinions) and Facts (objective statements)

Empirical: Based on the systematic collection and analysis of data.

Operational Definition: A precise statement of how a conceptual variable is measured and manipulated.

Growth of Knowledge: Unlike other ways of acquiring knowledge, scientific knowledge is cumulative.

Reasons For Conducting Behavioral Research

1. Further our understanding of the principles of human behavior.

2. To provide information about important social problems.

3. To have fun.

Types Of Research

Design Goal Advantages Disadvantages

Descriptive Create a snapshot of the current state of affairs

Provides a relatively complete picture of what is occurring

Does not assess the relationship among variables

Correlational To assess the relationships between two or more variables

Allows testing of expected relationships between variables and making predictions

Cannot draw inferences about the relationships between the variables

Experimental To assess the impact of one or more experimental manipulations on a dependent variable.

Allows drawing conclusions about the causal relationships among variables.

Cannot experimentally manipulate many important variables.

Examples Of Types Of Research

Design Examples

Descriptive 1. Polling before an election2. Attitude of beer drinking Americans to Elvira Mistress of the

Dark.3. Percentage of American college students who will graduate in

six years or less.

Correlational 1. Relationship of alcohol consumption to longevity.2. The association of divorce on the academic achievement of

children.3. Relationship of scores on the College Persistence

Questionnaire to retention.

Experimental 1. Effects of several forms of psychotherapy on phobias.2. Impact of combat identification devices on the target

detection accuracy of soldiers.3. Effects of time on the ability of college students to recall

course material.

Several Graphs Demonstrating The Need For Behavioral Scientists

1. Wealth Distribution:

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

2. Workers Share of National Income:

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/workers-share-national-income-plummets-record-low-163749508.html

The Gini Coefficient And The Mentally Ill In North Carolina

1. Gini Coefficient:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2172rank.html

2. Mentally Ill Lose Homes

http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/NCs-mentally-ill-could-face-loss-of-homes-127682588.html

Tragedy of the Commons and Collective Violence

1. Summary of class presentation: Tragedy of the Commons Collective Violence.docx

2. More on the Tragedy of the Commons: http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/The+Tragedy+of+the+Commons

What Is A Social Covenant

A social covenant is a unstated agreement between members of a society regarding effort, the distribution of rewards and what constitutes legitimate authority.

Breaking A Social Covenant: Six Possible Responses

1. The cause of the disruption wanes in importance and does not reappear.

2. The disruption appears, recedes, but then reappears in a more extreme form.

3. Police and/or the military extinguish the disruption.4. The disruption weakens the society which then becomes

vulnerable to competition or take over from other societies.

5. The disruption results in anarchy.6. The disruption leads to the establishment of a new

covenant between members of society.7. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/more-americans-see-

middle-class-status-slipping-155155857--finance.html