chapter1 Flashcards
Two empirical methods of ways of knowing:
Intuition
Science
Two non-empirical methods of ways of knowing:
Authority
Logic
Define authority:
Believe something because expert source told you it is true
The limitations of authority:
1 authorities are often wrong
2 source may not be truly authoritative
3 source biased by a particular point of view
Define logic:
Formal rules of correct and incorrect reasoning
The limitations of logic:
Statement can be logically valid and still not true.
ex: men cannot read; Bob is a man; so he cannot read
Define intuition:
Spontaneous prediction that is not based in reasoned mental steps; based on experiences
Define common sense:
Practical intelligence shared by a large group of people
The limitations of intuition:
1 numerous cognitive and motivational biases
2 standards differ based on culture, time, place and attitude
3 pragmatic rather than theoretical, so cannot do prediction
What is science?
A way of obtaining knowledge by means of objective evaluation(observation)
What do you mean by objective?
Everyone will see the same thing while looking over the scientists’ shoulder in observation.
Cannot be verified by one observation
The 5 working assumptions of science:
Realism Rationality Regularity Discoverability Determinism
Define realism:
The philosophy that objects perceived have an existence outside the mind
Define rationality:
A view that reasoning is the basis of solving problems
Define regularity:
Phenomena exist in recurring patterns that conform with universal law
Define discoverability:
The belief that it is possible to learn solutions to questions posed
Define determinism:
The doctrine that all events happen because of preceding causes
Two goals of science:
Discovery of regularities
Development of theories
Define law:
Statement that certain events are regularly associated with each other in an orderly way.
relation does not have to be perfect
Does not have to state cause-effect relationship
Define theory:
Statements explaining one or more laws which usually includes one indirect concept that needed to explain the relationship
Three roles of theories:
1 Organize knowledge and explain laws
2 predict new laws
3 guides research
Two things that a good theory must have:
1 have falsifiability
2 can make risky predictions
The goal of discovering regularities can be considered in three ways:
1 the description of behavior
2 the discovery of lawful relationships among aspects of behavior
3 the search of causes
7 characteristics of science:
Empirical Objective Self-correcting Progressive Tentative Parsimonious Concern with theory
Explain the relationships between science and nonscience:
Logic and common sense have importance roles in science. We are not reject other ways of knowing. What makes scientists different is their willingness to change those beliefs based on objectively obtained empirical evidence derived from their method of inquiry.
Define hypothesis:
Statement assumed true for purpose of testing its validity.
Can take form of if-then statement
Explain the role of hypothesis in scientific inquiry:
A hypothesis about a law involves certain assumptions about the theory underlying the law. It is a way to test theory.
Define operationism:
Scientific concepts are defined in terms of objects operations
Define operational definition:
A statement of the precise meaning of a procedure or concept within an experiment
Two types of operational definitions:
1 measured - dependent variable
How observations are to be made and what to observe
2 experimental - independent variable
How experimental procedures are to be followed
Define converging operations:
Using different operational definitions to arrive at the meaning of a concept
5 characteristics of a good operational definition:
Empirical Quantitative Reliable Valid Sensitive
Define paradigm:
A set of laws, theories, methods and applications that form a scientific research tradition; Kuhn’s concept
The role of common sense in science:
Scientific knowledge often contradicts common sense, but ultimately it rests on a certain kind of common sense
Define temporal precedence:
Something that occurs prior to anther thing
Define elimination of alternative explanation:
No explanation for an effect other than the purported cause if possible
Define co-variation of cause and effect:
When the cause is introduced, the effect occurs
The reason why description of behavior is important:
It defined the subject matter for which laws are to be sought and theories developed;
Description can be thought of as creating the subject matter of science
The feature of operational definition:
Theoretical term is equated with procedure used to measure or produce it
What is Falsifiability:
The ability to be disproof
