Ch. 2 Scientific Principles in psychology Flashcards
What are the driving forces behind scientific inquiry?
curiocity, skepticsm and open-mindedness
What stops people from sometimes taking action?
- a large group with lots of bystanders
- assume nothing to be concerned about if no one else looks concerned
- diffusion of responsibility
What is diffusion of responsibility?
a psycholoigcal state in which each personfeels decreased personal responsibility for intervening.
What are the 5 steps for scientific inquiry?
- Identify question of interest
- Gather information and form hypothesis
- Test hypothesis by conducting research
- Analyze data and collect tentative conclusions and report findings
- Build a body of knowledge
What is hypothesis?
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. Takes form of an IF and THEN statement -Specific prediction about some phenomenon
What is a theory?
Set a formal statement that explains how and why certain events are related to each other
how does confidence in a theory increase?
When research consistently supports the hypotheses drawn from the theory
What is hindsight reasoning?
the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were
What is a drawback of hindsight understanding?
Events of that past circumstance that may seem predictable after the fact are too dynamic to actually pinpoint that one predictability and there’s many other factors that go into it
what is the benefit of applying hindsight understanding in psychological research?
It allows the researchers to create hypothesis for future research projects about behaviour and why they occur
what is an alternative to hindsight understanding?
Understanding through prediction and control.
What is the strongest test of scientific understanding?
theory development
What do good theories generate?
An integrated network of predictions.
What are some important characteristics of a good theory?
- Incorporates existing facts and observations organizing it in a meaningful way.
- It is testable. New hypothesis and evidence can be gathered.
- Predictions made by the theory are supported by the findings of new research.
- Conforms to the law of parsimony.
What is parsimony?
If two theories can explain and predict the same phenomena equally well the simpler theory is the preferred one.
