Chapter 1 Flashcards
What roles do psychologists engage in?
Psychologists are both consumers and producers of research - with a commitment to empiricism and communicating with others about what they learned
Why is the producer role important?
In order to graduate, you need to be able to write papers and participate in research practicals that often develop skills (such as organisation and analysation) that are beneficial to your future career
Why is the consumer role important?
It develops skills to process information, such as critical thinking and curiosity. Allowing us to evaluate the quality of information given to us by asking the right questions. This is also beneficial to a future career to consider the value of certain data or treatments.
How do psychologists approach their work?
- They act as empiricists
- They test theories through research and revise theories based on resulting data
- They follow norms on objectivity and fairness
- They take an empirical approach to applied and basic research
- They make their work public
What are empiricists?
They are people who do not base conclusions on intuition, casual observations of their own experience or on what other people say - ones who use the senses or instruments as a basis for conclusions
What do empiricists aim to be?
They aim to be systematic and rigorous - to make their work independently verifiable by other observers
What is the Theory-Data Cycle?
Scientists collect data to test, change, or update their theories - by asking specific questions that are grounded in theory, making predictions and reflecting on data
The Cupboard Theory VS the Contact Comfort Theory
Is a mother valuable do to the food they produce to children or because of the comfort? Harlow tested it and determined comfort was the leading reason for attachment
Why are hypotheses pre-registered?
To prevent researchers from changing their hypothesis after conducting their data collection
What is the design of the Theory-Data Cycle?
A theory is first made, a research question is produced from the theory, a research design is done to test the hypothesis (it is preregistered), data is then collected which then either supports or revises the theory
Why is “proved” not a used word in science?
Scientists avoid inferences they cannot support with direct observation and as empiricists, should avoid making generalisations about phenomena. Scientists say evidence supports or are consistent with a theory, not proves.
When can scientists abandon a theory?
After a diverse and convincing set of observations are made which are inconsistent with a theory - not just one inconsistency
What makes a good theory?
It has to be falsifiable. Scientists need to take risks and accept when their theory is not supported
What are Merton’s Four Scientific Norms?
- Universalism
- Communality
- Disinterestedness
- Organised Skepticism
What does the Theory-Data Cycle and scientific norms/practices of the scientific community do to progress science?
By being open to falsification and skeptically testing every assumption, science can become self-correcting
