Classes 1-3 Flashcards
Define: Empirical Methods
Approaches to inquiry that are tied to actual measurements and observation.
Define: Hypothesis
A logical idea that can be tested.
Systematic Observation
The careful observation of the natural word with the aim of better understanding it. Observations provide the basic data that allows scientists to track, tally, or otherwise organize information about the natural world.
What is a glaring problem with Freud’s theory of mental illness?
It is not falsifiable.
Who pioneered the concept of falsifiability?
Karl Popper
Define: Inductive Reasoning
A form of reasoning in which a general conclusion is inferred from a set of observations.
Define: Deductive Reasoning
A form of reasoning in which a given premise determines the interpretation of specific observations.
What is the difference between a Type 1 error and a Type 2 error?
A Type 1 error is when you incorrectly observe a relationship between 2 variables when there is none. A Type 2 error is when you incorrectly observe that there is no relationship between variables, when there actually is!
What is Accurate Detection?
When the data shows, correctly, that there is either a relationship between the variables, or no relationship.
Levels of Analysis
The idea that a single phenomenon may be explained at different levels simultaneously.
Empirical
Concerned with observation and/or the ability to verify a claim.
Null-hypothesis significance testing
A statistical test created to determine the chances that an alternative hypothesis would produce a result as extreme as the one observed if the null hypothesis were actually true.
Confounds
Factors that undermine the ability to draw causal inferences from an experiment.
Longitudinal study
A study that follows the same group of individuals over time.
Operational definitions
How researchers specifically measure a concept.
