CORE090 Experiments on humans: experimental methods for understanding human behaviour and thinking

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Eva Kundtová Klocová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. et Mgr. Eva Kundtová Klocová, Ph.D.
HUME Lab - Experimental Humanities Laboratory – Specialized Units – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: HUME Lab - Experimental Humanities Laboratory – Specialized Units – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 16:00–17:40 B2.13, except Tue 16. 4.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 100 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 53/100, only registered: 1/100, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/100
Course objectives
This course introduces students to the development of one form of experimental method in the study of human behavior and thought. The course will introduce the basic concepts and principles of this method and their anchoring in the historical context of the development of the social sciences and humanities.
The course will familiarize students with the historical development of the experimental method for studying human thought and behavior, with specific tools and forms of experimentation, with the current form of experimental research in various social science and humanities disciplines (e.g., religious studies, psychology, art history, education, economics), and with the most common mistakes in their popularization. The course will focus on the problematic issues of determinism and free will, the complexity of social phenomena and the possibility of controlling research, the low percentage of successful replications, and the open science movement. In addition to introducing the distinctive features of this methodology, there will be a concurrent The taught topic will be illustrated with examples of real research, including a presentation of recent results by researchers from Masaryk University.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- describe, using correct terminology, the process of designing and implementing a social science experiment
- understand the specifics of the experimental method in social sciences and humanities, its advantages and limitations
- connect the historical context of the development of experimentation in the social sciences and humanities with the current form of this methodology
- understand publications presenting the results of social science experiments
- identify the problems in popularization of such research
Syllabus
  • 1) Introduction
  • 2) Human as an object of research: From observation to manipulation
  • 3) Cause and effect in human behavior and thought: causality, probability, determinism
  • 4) How to work with your own intuitions about people in research: Hypotheses, models and predictions
  • 5) How to quantify trust or wakefulness: Variables, operationalization, and standardization
  • 6) Wherever you can experiment with people: Laboratory, field, and natural experiments
  • 7) Constraints we set for ourselves: the ethics of research on and with humans
  • 8) What can we learn from a questionnaire and what can we learn from heart rate measurements: data, analysis and interpretation
  • 9) How to read research reports differently: Research studies and the publication process
  • 10) Current challenges in human subjects research: From replication crisis to open science
  • 11) "Scientists have uncovered the secret": Pitfalls vs. good practices in popularization and application
  • 12) Presentation of current research projects with discussion I.
  • 13) Presentation of current research projects with discussion II
Literature
    recommended literature
  • DISMAN, Miroslav. Jak se vyrábí sociologická znalost : příručka pro uživatele. Páté, nezměněné vydán. Praha: Univerzita Karlova, Nakladatelství Karolinum, 2021, 372 stran. ISBN 9788024650531. info
  • KUNDTOVÁ KLOCOVÁ, Eva. Experimentální přístup ve studiu náboženství: Podoby a využití experimentu v sociálněvědném výzkumu (Experimental Approach in the Study of Religion: Types and Applications of Experiments in the Social Science Research). Pantheon : religionistický časopis. Pardubice: Univerzita Pardubice, 2014, vol. 9, No 1, p. 71-92. ISSN 1803-2443. info
  • Laboratory experiments in the social sciences. Edited by Murray Webster - Jane Sell. Second edition. Amsterdam: Academic Press/Elsevier, 2014, xviii, 516. ISBN 9780124046818. info
  • PELHAM, Brett W. and Hart BLANTON. Conducting research in psychology : measuring the weight of smoke. 4th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013, xviii, 489. ISBN 9780495598190. info
  • Úvod do metodologie psychologického výzkumu : jak zkoumat lidskou duši. Translated by Petr Bakalář, Illustrated by Ján Ferjenčík. Vyd. 2. Praha: Portál, 2010, 255 s. ISBN 9788073678159. URL info
    not specified
  • MCELREATH, Richard. Statistical rethinking : a Bayesian course with examples in R and Stan. Second edition. Boca Raton: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group, 2020, xvii, 593. ISBN 9780367139919. info
Teaching methods
Lectures with discussion, practical inquiry-based exercises, homework mini-assignments in an e-learning environment, presentations by researchers
Assessment methods
Completing five mini-assignments during the semester, activity in class/discussion in the e-learning environment, and final test.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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