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PSYO 2000, methods in experimental psychology > 1: Science > Flashcards

1: Science Flashcards

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1
Q

What is science according to Bordens and Abbot?

A

Bordens & Abbott: “Science is a set of methods used to collect information about phenomena in a particular area of interest and build a reliable base of knowledge about them.”

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2
Q

What is science according to Harrison?

A

Harrington: “An interconnected series of concepts and
conceptual schemes that have developed as a result of experimentation and observation and are fruitful of further experimentation and observation.”

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3
Q

What are Methods

A

Methodologies, ways of doing things

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4
Q

what is another word for information?

A

data

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5
Q

what does fruitful mean?

A

Heuristic value of science

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6
Q

what are heuristics?

A

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that allow people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently.

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7
Q

Scientific explanations are

A
  1. Empirical
  2. Rational
  3. Testable
  4. Parsimonious
  5. General
  6. Tentative
  7. Rigorously evaluated
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8
Q

what does empirical mean in the context of what scientific explanations are?

A

“show me the data” and control

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9
Q

what does rational mean in the context of what scientific explanations are?

A

facts and logic

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10
Q

what does testable mean in the context of what scientific explanations are?

A

verifiable

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11
Q

what does parsimonious mean in the context of what scientific explanations are?

A

simple explanations first, eg: simple system approach in neuroscience

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12
Q

what does general mean in the context of what scientific explanations are?

A

broad reach, not too specific

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13
Q

what does tentative mean in the context of what scientific explanations are?

A

can be challenged (and will be)

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14
Q

what are other types of explanations (not science)

A

Pseudoscientific explanations

Common sense explanations

Belief-based explanations

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15
Q

What is a pseudoexplanation? and are are the problems with it

A

have the surface features of explanation, without it explaining

The problem: The weakness of the instinct concept

ex) Konrad Lorenz (ethologist), Sigmund Freud (psychoanalyst), William McDougall (psychologist): Aggression is an instinct (innate behaviour).
tautology (circular explanation)

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16
Q

What are the methods of inquiry

A

Method of tenacity
Method of intuition
Method of faith
Method of authority
Rational method
Empirical method (empiricism)

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17
Q

what are methods of tenacity

A

Based on beliefs, habits or superstitions. Belief perseverance

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18
Q

what are methods of intuition

A

Hunch or gut feeling

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19
Q

what are methods of faith

A

From authority (not necessarily experts)
without questioning or challenging.

20
Q

what are methods of authority

A

Only useful in the early stages of research. Many non-scientists consider this “research” (because they researched the topic), but it is not the same as “doing research”. From experts. Common in History

21
Q

what are rational methods

A

From “rationalism”, based on logic; extensively used in Philosophy. Essential in the planning of research (designs).

22
Q

what is the empirical method (empirism)

A

Direct experience or observation only.

23
Q

what is the eastern european tradition (explain it) and who believed in it

A

Dialectical thinking / reasoning (Kant, Hegel, Marx, Engels)

A method: Thesis, antithesis, synthesis

An explanation for historical changes: Sometimes explains
changes in science (in epistemology and the history of science)
* Example: Ethology vs. psychology in the first half of the 20th Century.
* Specifically: Nature / nurture debate
* Other example: Mind / body debate in psychology, philosophy, neuroscience (monism vs. dualism).

24
Q

what dialectical changes are there

A

Group selection theory: Allee, Wynne-Edwards
* Early years (thesis): Group selection theory
* Later years (antithesis): Kin selection theory
* Modern perspective (synthesis): Multi-level selection
* Illustrates well the pendulum movements in science: from
polarized stances, to the “golden middle”.

Olfactory processing in the brain: similar “debates” between
biophysicists, physiologists, neuroscientists, geneticists, etc.
(e.g., Luca Turin and his opponents).

25
Q

persistence of theories: popper

A
  • Falsifiability: Falsification of scientific data, of theories; main method of verification.
  • His philosophy of science: Critical rationalism,
    falsificationism.
  • Rejects: classical empiricism, observationalist or inductivist
    approach
  • Similar to Charles Peirce’s faillibilism.
26
Q

persistence of theories: kuhn

A
  • Paradigms
  • Theories persists and endure time in unjustified ways
    sometimes (i.e., lack of supporting counter-evidence).
  • Kuhn: Theories die with their theorists.
  • Cause (motivation): the massive (sometimes) life-long time investment, and financial investment, the time and money
    spent convincing granting agencies and colleagues…
27
Q

persistence of theories:
Imre Lakatos

A
  • Research programs are important in the context of
    falsification. Not theories or hypotheses.
  • Progressive Research Programs
  • Degenerating Research Programs
  • Synthesis of Popper’s empirical validity focus and Kuhn’s perspective on conventional (i.e., by convention) consistency
    and persistence.
28
Q

why are science and theories shades of gray, rather than black and white polarized thinking of many scientists

A
  • Black and white thinking and unipolarized thinking are either from ignorance (young scientists) or are presented as
    “wisdom” (from older, well-established scientists or their
    peers). Either way, arrogance and pretentiousness is often at
    the basis of this state of affair.
  • Again, the “truth” is often in between, in the shades of grey, in the yet-to-discover or yet-to-be-published theory or data.
29
Q

what are the 7 dichotomous approaches to science

A

A) fundamental (basic) vs Applied
B) experimental vs non-experimental
C) Deductive vs Inductive
D) Nomothetic vs Idiographic
E) theoretical (theory-driven) vs A-theoretical (data-driven)
F) Diachronic (historical) vs Synchronic
G) Quantitative vs Qualitative

30
Q

Fundamental (basic) vs Applied research and its problems

A
  • Applied research relies on fundamental research (that is why some authors call fundamental research, BASIC
    research).
  • Applied research can be BAD research if not grounded on
    good fundamental research.
    *Applied research is often used in Canada and the USA over fundamental research
31
Q

Basic categories of research
approaches

A

Experimental

Quasi-experimental

Non-experimental

32
Q

What is experimental research?

A

Control over the assignment of participants. Control condition(s)

33
Q

what is quasi-experimental research?

A

Typically, no control over the
assignment of participants (i.e., no randomization). Sometimes no control conditions. Often associated with time series, pre/post test, single-case experimental designs, etc.

34
Q

what are some examples of non-experimental research?

A
  • Correlational (finding associations between variables)
  • Descriptive (more next slide), including observational
35
Q

types of descriptive research

A

Observational (the most relevant to this course)
* “Counting” cells (neurons), animals, etc.
* Participant observation (e.g., anthropology)
* Naturalistic (direct) observations (e.g., ethology)
* Unobtrusive or nonreactive observations : e.g., archives, physical traces.

  • Case histories / studies: clinical (e.g., neuropsychology)
  • Surveys, interviews (e.g., personality, social psych.)
  • Others: content analysis, meta-analysis, etc.
36
Q

what does correlational data help with

A

Correlational data can help generating new hypotheses.
Going from correlation to causation

37
Q

non-experimental research: not all bad

A

Correlation versus causation: How to use correlational research to generate experimental research?

Small n research: How to use small n research to generate
experimental data?

Anecdotal data, unsystematic observations, and pilot (exploratory) studies often initiate hard core experimental
studies.

38
Q

what are some examples of hybrid types?

A

You can do observational studies in the laboratory with an experimental component

You can have a correlational component in an observational study.

39
Q

what is ecological validity and it’s exceptions

A

Definition: an experiment has ecological validity if it reflects
real life situations or the data that would be obtained in real
life settings.

Often difficult to obtain, with exceptions:

Non-experimental: Naturalistic observations

Experimental: Field experiments

Related issues: invasiveness or obtrusiveness

40
Q

what are some types of scientific reasoning

A

abduction
deduction
induction

41
Q

what is abduction

A

(retroduction; abductive reasoning)

signs + symptoms;
inference by “educated guesses” (Bayesian)

Common in medicine, clinical diagnostic (e.g., clinical psychology and clinical neuroscience); Sherlock Holmes actually used abduction, not deduction as often said

42
Q

what is deduction

A

(subsumption; deductive reasoning):

experimentations

Common in hypothetic-deductive (experimental) sciences: Experimental biology, experimental psychology, experimental neuroscience, etc

43
Q

what is induction

A

(generalization; inductive reasoning)

observations

Common in descriptive and observational sciences, e.g., astronomy, ethology, developmental psychology, some neuroscience

Induction: Theories from facts.
* Appeal to prior knowledge
* Generalizations from observable facts

Inductivists: Favour experience over logic (deduction)

Modern approach to inductivism: Bayesian
* Use of conditional probabilities (probabilities in the light of new evidence)
* Importance of priors, history, “background”, updatable knowledge

44
Q

Epistemological distinction

A
  • Idiographic versus nomothetic sciences
  • A distinction of necessity or preference (“bias”?).
  • Originally proposed by the philosopher Wilhelm Windelband (1848-1915) in his 1894 “History and Natural Science” (he was from the Baden neo-kantian school).
  • Historically applied to psychology (personality theory) by Gordon Allport.
  • Relevant distinction within psychology and neuroscience
    (biological sciences in general).
45
Q

Small versus large n research

A

Large n research (nomothetic):
* Subjects are grouped.
* Data = group averages. Variability with groups important: variance, standard dev.
* Statistical significance assessed by inferential statistics (t-tests, ANOVA’s).

Small n research (idiographic/ morphogenic):
* Each subject = separate experiment
* Use of within-subject designs
* Presented data: individual subjects
* Comparisons between subjects
* Reliability is assessed by replication (repetition)

46
Q

when is Idiographic vs.
Nomothetic Research approach useful

A
  1. Assumption of minimal biological or psychological variability
    * Much of neuroscience
  2. “Convenience” or availability of subjects.
    * Psychophysics
    * Cognitive and behavioural neuroscience
    * Human clinical neuropsychology/neurology
    * Clinical psychology
    * Animal learning and cognition (tradition?)
47
Q

Outliers

A
  • A problem with nomothetic sciences:
  • The dilution (or elimination) of exceptional (“different”, “abnormal”) cases.
  • Outliers can be informative in relation to the norm (e.g., abnormal behaviour can inform us on normal behaviour), or better, can make us aware of isolated, idiosyncratic populations.
  • Jean Rostand (1894-1977): “Monsters in the Ponds”; Illustrates how outliers can have a massive informative value and major impact on science and marks the beginnings of ecotoxicology: When the exception becomes the rule

PSYO 2000, methods in experimental psychology (9 decks)

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