Chapter 2: Psychology as a science Flashcards
2 core scientific beliefs about the world
1) The universe operates according to certain natural laws
2) Such laws are discoverable and testable
Deductive Reasoning
- Deductive reasoning: reasoning proceeding from broad basic principles applied to specific situations.
- Francis Bacon was one of the first to question the deductive reasoning approach. He felt deductive reasoning was too susceptible to the thinker’s biases.
- Beging with theory
- Prediction
- Observation/Experiment
Inductive Reasoning (Empirical Observations and Theories)
- Inductive Reasoning: reasoning process proceeding from small specific situations to more general truths.
- Bacon believed this type of reasoning would avoid biases from deductive reasoning.
- Here thinkers use controlled direct observations to generate broad conclusions, and over time such conclusions are combined to achieve non-biased truths about the laws of the universe.
- Scientists using inductive reasoning would begin the search for natural laws by making EMPIRICAL, or objectively testable, obstervations of mental processes and behaviours. Their cumulative ovservations would in turn lead them to develop THEORIES, or big ideas about the laws that govern those processes and behaviours.
- Begins with observation/experiment
- Prediction
- Theory
Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
- process of modern science where scientists begin with an educated guess, perhaps based on previous research, about how the world works, and then set about designing small controlled observations to support or invalidate that hypothesis.
- To build on the best of both deductive and inductive reasoning approaches.
- This process begins with identifying a hypothesis.
- Psychologists then set out to create controlled observations that will (or will not) support their hypotheses.
- Most researchers use this approach.
- Begins with hypothesis
- Observation/experiment
- Hypothesis supported or not supported: theory built.
Hypothesis
- a general statement about the way variables relate that is objectively falsifiable (they can be disproved).
Steps in a Scientific Approach
1) Make observation
2) Develop Hypothesis
3) Test Hypothesis
4) Build a theory
The Idea Behind Psychological Research
- ISOLATE the relative contribution of such factors
- Think about how these factors COME TOGETHER across different situations to influence human behaviour
Thoughts vs Behaviours
- thoughts cannot be observed directly, but behaviours can.
- thus, psychologists can be more certain about the romantic feelings through behaviours observed.
Values and the Application of Psychology - Genetic Research
- The field of genetic research introduced the idea of selective breeding. This perspective contributed to a perspective known as DARWINISM and the field eventually known as EUGENICS.
- Today, the field of genetic research sparks concerns and debate about food practices, stem cell research, human cloning, and other such issues.
Misrepresentation of Psychology - Pseudopsychology vs Psychology
- pseudopsychology or pop psychology is not based on the scientific method, yet it takes on the appearance of science.
- A fundamental difference between pseudopsychology and psychology is that psychology does not claim to address all human issues, whereas pseudoscientists argue that psychological principles can provide the answers to all of life’s major questions.
How do Psychologists Conduct Research?
1) State a hypothesis
2) Choose participants
3) Pick a Research method
- State a Hypothesis - variable, independant variable, dependant variable, operationalize
- when stating a hypothesis, you are saying that one thing results in another thing. The two things are known as VARIABLES.
variables - condition, event, or situation that is studied in an experiment.
independant variable - condition or event that is thought to be a factor in changing another condition or event.
dependant variable - condition or event that you expect to change as a result of variations in the independant variable.
operationalize - to develop a working definition of a variable that allows you to test it.
- Choose Participants - sample, random selection
sample - the group of people studied in an experiment, used to stand in for an entire group of people.
random selection - identifying a sample in such a way that everyone in the population of interest has an equal chance of being involved in the study.
- researchers prefer using random selection to obtain their samples because it minimizes SAMPLING BIAS (inadvertently selecting a group that is especially likely to confirm your hypothesis).
- truly random selction can be elusive (hard to find).
- Pick a Research Method - DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH METHODS, case studies, naturalistic observations, Hawthorne effect, surveys.
descriptive research methods - studies that allow researchers to demonstrate a relationship between the variables of interest, without specifying a causal relationship. Observe, collect, and record data.
These include:
- case studies: (study focusing on a single person)
- naturalistic observation: (study in which researchers directly observe people in a study behaving as they normally do)
- surverys: (study in which researchers give participants a questionnaire or interview them)
Pros/Cons Case studies
pros:
- good resource for developing early ideas about phenomena
cons:
- it can be affected greatly by researcher bias (when researchers see only what they expect to see in their studies)
- researchers cannot confidently generalize to other situations from the study of a single person
