1: Science

Question 1

What is science?

Answer 1

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.”

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.”

Question 2

What are Methods

Answer 2

Methodologies, ways of doing things

Question 3

fruitful

Answer 3

Heuristic value of science

Question 4

Scientific explanations are

Answer 4

1. Empirical: “show me the data” and control
2. Rational: Facts and logic
3. Testable: Verifiable
4. Parsimonious: Simple explanation first
   * E.g., Simple system approach in neuroscience
5. General: Broad reach, not too specific
6. Tentative: Can be challenged (and will be)
7. Rigorously evaluated

Question 5

what are other types of explanations (not science)

Answer 5

Pseudoscientific explanations

Common sense explanations

Belief-based explanations

Question 6

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

Answer 6

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)

Question 7

What are the methods of inquiry

Answer 7

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

Question 8

what are methods off tenacity

Answer 8

Based on beliefs, habits or superstitions. Belief perseverance

Question 9

what are methods of intuition

Answer 9

Hunch or gut feeling

Question 10

what are methods of faith

Answer 10

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

Question 11

what are methods of authority

Answer 11

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

Question 12

what are rational methods

Answer 12

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

Question 13

what is the empirical method (empirism)

Answer 13

Direct experience or
observation only.

Question 14

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

Answer 14

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).

Question 15

what dialectical changes are there

Answer 15

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).

Question 16

persistence of theories: popper

Answer 16

• 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.

Question 17

persistence of theories: kuhn

Answer 17

• 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…

Question 18

persistence of theories:
Imre Lakatos

Answer 18

• 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.

Question 19

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

Answer 19

• 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.

Question 20

what are the 7 dichotomous approaches to science

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Fundamental (basic) vs Applied research and its problems

Answer 21

• Before the 90’s, countries that were focussed on applied
  research were typically “poor” countries or countries
  known to under-fund research.
• Now Canada and the U.S. tend to fund applied research
  over fundamental research.
  Why is this a problem?
• Inevitably, to FULLY understand the chicken, you need to know the egg (i.e., where the chicken came from).
• 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.

Question 22

Basic categories of research
approaches and define them

Answer 22

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

Quasi-experimental: 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.

Non-experimental:
* Correlational (finding associations between variables)
* Descriptive (more next slide), including observational

Question 23

types of descriptive research

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

what does correlational data help with

Answer 24

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

Question 25

non-experimental research: not all bad

Answer 25

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.

Question 26

what are some examples of hybrid types?

Answer 26

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

You can have a correlational component in an
observational study.

Question 27

what is ecological validity

Answer 27

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

Question 28

what are some types of scientific reasoning

Answer 28

abduction
deduction
induction

Question 29

what is abduction

Answer 29

(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

Question 30

what is deduction

Answer 30

(subsumption; deductive reasoning):

experimentations

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

Question 31

what is induction

Answer 31

(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

Question 32

induction vs deduction theory building and theory testing

Answer 32

inductive
observation
driven
bottom up

generalization –> assumption:
the law is true
(concept)

law (derived by v
induction) hypothesis
(from existing
theory)

scientific v
statement of
fact deduce a
possibly
falsifiable
statement
^ v
observation testing
^ v
physical reality <– proposition A
(percept)

theory building theory testing

Question 33

Epistemological distinction

Answer 33

• 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).

Question 34

Small versus large n research

Answer 34

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)

Question 35

when is Idiographic vs.
Nomothetic Research approach useful

Answer 35

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?)

Question 36

Outliers

Answer 36

• 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