RESEARCH

I. Psychology is the science of human behavior. That is, psychologists use the scientific approach--the best approach for obtaining objective facts.
To see how well you understand the scientific approach, see how many points you can get by playing this psychological scientist game.

A. Why do psychologists use the scientific approach?

    1. They want to have good information for its own sake.

    2. They want to have good information so they can help--rather than hurt--people. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone in the health field used the same approach? Unfortunately, they don't.

B. You should understand the basics of scientific research in psychology so that you can know

A. What psychological information to trust

B. Know what information to trust. Until you develop your skill of evaluating information, you might wish to use one of these fact-checking websites:

• Snopes (good for evaluating popular myths and the latest rumors)
• FactCheck.org (mostly about political claims)
• Quackwatch (for medical and health claims).
• Consumer reports (mostly for products)

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