Universität Wien

200139 SE Advanced Seminar: Mind and Brain (2021W)

meta-psychology

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 20 - Psychologie
Continuous assessment of course work
REMOTE

Dieses Vertiefungsseminar kann für alle Schwerpunkte absolviert werden.

Vertiefungsseminare können nur fürs Pflichtmodul B verwendet werden! Eine Verwendung fürs Modul A4 Freie Fächer ist nicht möglich.
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Tuesday 05.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 12.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 19.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 09.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 16.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 23.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 30.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 07.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 14.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 11.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 18.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
Tuesday 25.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The reproducibility crisis - spurred by the empirical discovery of low replication rates for psychological studies - has marked the last decade of psychological research, and given rise to the emerging discipline of meta-psychology. Meta-psychology, as a sub-field of meta-science, takes an inter-disciplinary view of psychological methodology, mainly relying on statistical, historical, philosophical, and computational perspectives. In this seminar, we will first cover the recent history of the reproducibility crisis. Then we will discuss the emerging ideas and norms - such as the Open Science movement - that are intended to improve psychological methodology. Moreover, we will trace the historical lineages, and philosophical underpinnings of these methodological proposals. Finally, we will discuss recent efforts to computationally model the effects of novel methodologies on the scientific enterprise.

The seminar will specifically address the following questions:
– What were the causes of the reproducibility crisis and how did it give rise to meta-science and meta-psychology?
– What were the effects of the reproducibility crisis in terms of novel methodological proposals (e.g., stricter statistical standards, increased demands for transparency)?
– What is the historical lineage and philosophical underpinning of these methodological proposals?
– Can emerging computational models of science (“computational meta-science”) help us understand what effect methodological proposals will have, before we implement them in scale?

This seminar is open to students from all fields (all Schwerpunkte).

Assessment and permitted materials

- attendance
- active participation in discussions
- presentation of a scientific paper

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

- missing 2 classes max
- active participation in discussions: 50% (up to 5% bonus points may be earned through short in-class quizzes)
- presentation of a scientific paper (approx. 15min): 50%

Examination topics

Active participation in discussions of literature covered in the seminar, critical thinking, sharing knowledge, asking relevant questions.

The presentation of the scientific paper will cover a concise summary of its content, provide context, and stimulates discussion of open questions.

There won’t be a written exam.

Reading list

The reading list will be announced in the seminar. Here are some references that can be consulted to get a sense of the course topics:

Open Science Collaboration. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349(6251). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac4716

Munafò, M. R., Nosek, B. A., Bishop, D. V. M., Button, K. S., Chambers, C. D., Percie Du Sert, N., Simonsohn, U., Wagenmakers, E. J., Ware, J. J., & Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2017). A manifesto for reproducible science. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-016-0021

Vazire, S. (2018). Implications of the credibility revolution for productivity, creativity, and progress. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(4), 411-417. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617751884

Meehl, P. E. (1967). Theory-testing in psychology and physics: A methodological paradox. Philosophy of science, 34(2), 103-115. https://doi.org/10.1086/288135

Smaldino, P. E., & McElreath, R. (2016). The natural selection of bad science. Royal Society open science, 3(9), 160384. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160384

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Fr 12.05.2023 00:19