Chapter 1 The scientific method Flashcards
Critical thinking
a form of precise thinking in which a person reasons about relevant evidence used to support a claim, being fair and unbiased when examining conflicting claims and drawing reasonable conclusions based on the evidence at hand (Bensley 2008)
Scientist practitioner model
the idea that professional psychologits should be trained in both clinical and practical research
evidence based practice
the idea that any treatment or intervention that you apply as a treating practitioner is based on a convincing body of well-conducted scientific research
Authority
whenever we accept the validity of information from a source, we judge it to be expert
Priori method
A way of knowing proposed by charles pierce, in which a person develops a belief by reasoning and reaching agreement with others who are convinced of the merits of the reasoned argument
Empiricism
A way of knowing that relies upon experience and observation
Belief perseverance
Unwillingness to accept evidence that contradicts a strongly held view
confirmation bias
The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of ones existing beliefs
availability heuristic
Social cognition bias, in which vivid or memorable events lead people to overestimate the frequency and occurrence of these events
determinism
The assumption made by scientists that all events have causes
discoverability
The assumption made by scientists that the causes of events can be discovered by applying scientific methods
statistical determinism
The assumption made by research psychologists that behavioral events can be predicted with a probability greater than chance
objectivity
Said to exist when observations can be verified by more than one observer
introspection
Method used in the early years of psychological science, in which an individual completes a task and then describes the events occurring in conciousness while completing the task.
data-driven
Describes the belief that any findings about behaviour should be supported by data collected scientifically.
pseudoscience
A field of inquiry that attempts to associate with true science, relies exclusively on selective anecdotal evidence and is deliberately too vague to be adequatly tested
Phrenology
The detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities
graphology
Inference of character from a person’s handwriting
anecdotal evidence
Evidence from a single case that illustrates a phenomenon; when relied on exclusively, as in pseudoscience, faulty conclusions can be easily drawn
application
Applying principles of behaviour learned through research
