Chapter 1 part II: (pp15-28) Flashcards
List the 3(4) factors needed to determine causality
-temporal precedence
-co-variation of cause and effect/probabilistic co variation
-Elimination of alternate variables
List the three process in the discovery of regularities.
The goal of discovering regularities can be considered in three ways: the description of behavior, the discovery of lawful relationships among aspects of behavior, and the search for causes.
Define: temporal precedence.
the cause must come before the event
Define co variation of cause and effect
When the cause is introduced, the effect occurs
Define probabilistic co variation
It is likely that a cause and effect are related even if there are examples that suggest otherwise (not all smokers get lung cancer)
Define elimination of alternate variables
there is no other possible explanation for the effect except the cause.
What is a law, give an example of a law.
a statement that cer- tain events are regularly associated with each other in an orderly way
Define a theory both in broad and strict terms.
(strict) A theory must be
-falsifiable
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According to Sir Karl Popper can a theory be proven true? Why or why not? What may be an adequate response to this issue from a scientists perspective
No, because there are many false theories that can predict any given outcome. No matter how many times a theory predicts the expected results, there may be a theory out there that is actually true.
We can never prove the theory to be true for certain, but we gain more confidence in the theory the more tests it survives
What are the roles theories play in science?
(1) organizing knowledge and explaining laws,
(2) predicting new laws, and
(3) guiding research. (p22)
What is a hypothesis? How is a hypothesis related to a theory? Give an example.
A hypothesis is a statement that is assumed to be true for the purpose of testing its validity. It serves to make statements by the theory testable.
What is operational definition?
operational definition: a to define learning is called an operational definition of learning. The state-
statement of the precise meaning of a procedure or concept within an experiment
Define convergent operations
converging operations:
using different operational definitions to arrive at the meaning of a concep
What is a paradigm?
a set of laws, theories, methods, and applications that form a scientific research tradi- tion; for example, Pavlov- ian conditioning (p26)
What is the role of description in the discovery of regularities? Provide an example that illustrates the importance of this step.
Define your terms.
