Why is statistics useful in Psychology?

There is a subject that usually attracts a lot of attention in those who are beginning a career/degree in this profession: statistics in psychology. Thinking that the numbers have been left behind, suddenly this “disturbing” matter appears. But what is statistics for? Why is it useful for a psychologist or for someone interested in psychology?

Taking the degree in psychology we will find subjects dedicated to the foundations of research, data analysis, psychometrics or similar. We are talking about subjects whose plan is based directly on statistics. On the other hand, these types of subjects are not usually the most appreciated in the degree, since no student begins them with the motivation of taking them.

In this article we will try to answer those questions that many students and curious people ask when they encounter them.. To develop these answers, we will talk about Psychology as a science and the usefulness of statistics in it.

Research in psychology and its methodology

Let us remember that psychology is a science. All the conclusions derived from this discipline come (or should come) from the application of an exhaustive and reliable system called scientific method.. This method is based on the progressive accumulation of evidence using different mathematical resources.

According to the APA (American Psychological Association), psychologists, using the scientific method, ask questions, develop theories, and design experiments to test their hypotheses. This way, they can create evidence-based strategies that solve problems and change lives.

Psychology is a broad discipline with applications in different fields: clinical, educational, sports, social, business, etc. However, Below what is applied is research; that is, the contrast of the efficiency of the procedures that are finally applied. This contrast is what requires statistics as an instrument. When drawing accurate conclusions about observable reality, we need mathematics to assess the significance of the results obtained from experiments and research.

If statistics in psychology did not exist, we would not be able to know if the results we are observing are valid and reliable.. A correct methodology and mathematical study give us the security that the data we have obtained in our research; which will be useful when we want to apply them to real situations.

Psychology is a science and, for this reason, You have to use an abstract system that allows you to work as far away as possible from opinion and subjectivity. This system is the scientific method, and one of its key aspects is the use of statistics as a tool.

As a publication in Association for Psychological Science, Without the application of statistics, the necessary tools to carry out research are lacking. innovative and relevant within psychology. For this reason, it is very important that psychologists train in it and understand in depth (at least) its rudiments.

The usefulness of statistics in psychology

From outside or just beginning the study of the discipline it may seem that statistics in psychology has no immediate use. But soon any Psychology student will realize that they need those mathematical resources to understand the subject in depth. We will continuously find data and statistics from various studies, with the validity and reliability coefficients of tests used in therapies, with mathematical models of cognitive processes and a long etcetera.

Furthermore, psychology tries to standardize its statements to the greatest extent possible. Without statistics it is impossible to extract and summarize the information that is collected. From this analysis, hypotheses applicable to the majority of the population are confirmed and denied. Otherwise, we would have to operate with what is concrete and, therefore, uncertain, when working.

As Sofia Rivera and Mirna García state, in their book Application of statistics to psychology, Statistics is a tool that every researcher uses to describe your data and to make decisions. However, the type of test The statistics that you will use will always depend on the objective of the research, its design, the sample size and its hypotheses.

Therefore, if you want to dedicate yourself to research in psychology, methodology and statistics are essential so that you can assess the weight of the conclusions obtained in the research you have in hand. You will be able to assess to what extent the procedure that the researchers have used is the most appropriate or how reliable the results they have obtained are.

Both in clinical psychology and in other applied fields, we require ongoing training, which means being aware of new changes in the discipline. If we want to know and interpret the conclusions of academic psychology, it is necessary to have minimal knowledge of statistics and methodology.. Therefore, even in the most remote fields of research, any psychologist is “forced” to have knowledge of statistics and data analysis.

Application of statistics in psychology

The most common uses of statistics in psychological research can be summarized in 3 points. You have them below:

Data organization: When presenting and analyzing research data, it is important to have a tool that allows you to organize it in an effective and understandable way. To do this, as a popular article points out, descriptive statistics provides various tools such as frequency tables and statistical graphs (such as bars, pie, lines, dispersion, etc.), which are to present, analyze and understand experimental results.Describe data: On the other hand, when describing the sample (set of individuals that belong to the population to be studied) statistics are of great help. Thanks to it, you can, for example, calculate averages, trends or percentages, etc. It also allows the pictorial or graphic representation of the data with the objective of summarizing a specific characteristic of a variable or measure, as indicated in a publication in PubMedCentral.Make inferences based on data: In this case, psychologists use inferential statistics to test different hypotheses and generalize the results obtained to the population. in his book An introduction to statistical inference, Luis Rincón maintains that this type of statistics applies different techniques and procedures with the objective that the information from a sample is generalized to the entire population.

To conclude, statistics in psychology is a subject that causes a lot of fear and the occasional headache. But it is rewarding and useful to know how to use the resources that your study gives you. For this reason, It is relevant that students and those interested in psychology enthusiastically immerse themselves in the study of methodology and data analysis.

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