Features of a science - A-level

Question 1

objectivity definition

Answer 1

all sources of personal bias are minimised so as not to distort or influence the research process

Question 2

empirical method

Answer 2

scientific approaches that are based on gathering of evidence through direct observation and experience

Question 3

replicability definition

Answer 3

extent to which scientific procedures and findings can be repeated by other researchers

Question 4

falsifiability definition

Answer 4

principle that a theory cannot be considered scientific unless it admits the possibility of being proved untrue

Question 5

theory construction definition

Answer 5

process of developing an explanation for the causes if behaviour by systematically gathering evidence and then organising this into a coherent account (theory)

Question 6

hypothesis testing definition

Answer 6

key feature of a theory is that is should produce statements (hypotheses) which can them be tested. only in this way a theory can be falsified

Question 7

paradigm definition

Answer 7

set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a scientific discipline

Question 8

who suggested what distinguishes a scientific discipline from a non scientific discipline is a paradigm (paradigm and paradigm shifts)

Answer 8

Kuhn

Question 9

what is a paradigm (paradigm and paradigm shifts)

Answer 9

shared set of assumptions and methods

Question 10

what did Kuhn suggest about social sciences (including psychology) (paradigm and paradigm shifts)

Answer 10

lack a universally accepted paradigm and are best seen as a pre-science which are distinct from natural sciences

Question 11

why is psychology seen as a ‘pre-science’ (paradigm and paradigm shifts)

Answer 11

has too much internal disagreement and too many conflicting approaches to qualify as a science

Question 12

when does Kuhn think a scientific revolution happen (paradigm and paradigm shifts)

Answer 12

causes progress within an established science as a handful of researchers begin to question the accepted paradigm and this critique begins to gain contradictory evidence to ignore

Question 13

theory (theory construction and hypothesis testing)

Answer 13

set of general laws or principles that have the ability to explain a particular events or behaviours

Question 14

how does theory construction occur (theory construction and hypothesis testing)

Answer 14

through gathering evidence via direct observation

Question 15

what is an essential component of a theory (theory construction and hypothesis testing)

Answer 15

it can be scientifically tested

Question 16

how is a hypothesis tested (theory construction and hypothesis testing)

Answer 16

using systematic and objective methods to determine whether it will be supported it refuted

Question 17

what happens if a tested hypothesis is supported (theory construction and hypothesis testing)

Answer 17

the theory is strengthened

Question 18

what happens if a theory is tested and refuted (theory construction and hypothesis testing)

Answer 18

theory may be revised or revisited

Question 19

what is the name of the process of deriving a new hypothesis from an existing theory (theory construction and hypothesis testing)

Answer 19

deduction

Question 20

who argued that the criteria for a scientific theory is falsifiability (falsifiability)

Answer 20

Popper who was a philosopher of science at a similar time to Kuhn (falsifiability)

Question 21

what did Popper think about genuine scientific theories (falsifiability)

Answer 21

should hold themselves up for hypothesis testing and the possibility of being proven false.

Question 22

what did Popper believe on testing of a scientific theory (falsifiability)

Answer 22

even when it had been tested successfully and repeatedly tested , it was not necessarily true it just hadn’t been proven false yet which is the theory of falsification

Question 23

how did Popper draw a clear line between types of science (falsifiability)

Answer 23

good science which theories are constantly challenged and can therefore potentially be falsified and ‘pseudosciences’ which cannot be falsified

Question 24

which theories are the strongest (falsifiability)

Answer 24

survive most attempts to falsify them become the strongest, this is not necessarily because they are true but because they have not been proved false

Question 25

what phrases do psychologists often try to avoid (falsifiability)

Answer 25

this proves and instead favour this seems to suggest

Question 26

why is the alternative hypothesis always followed by a null hypothesis (falsifiability)

Answer 26

allows for falsifying the hypothesis

Question 27

what is an important part of Popper’s hypothetico-deductive method (replicability)

Answer 27

replicability

Question 28

what happens if a scientific theory is said to be trusted (replicability)

Answer 28

findings will be shown to be repeatable across a number of different contexts and circumstances

Question 29

what does replication have an important role in (replicability)

Answer 29

determining the validity of the findings

Question 30

why is replication involved in validity (replicability)

Answer 30

Popper suggested by repeating a study over a number of different contexts and circumstances then we can see the extent to which findings can be generalised

Question 31

what needs to occur in order for replicability to become possible (replicability)

Answer 31

psychologists must report their investigations with as much precision and rigour as possible, so other researchers can seek to verify their work and verify the findings they have established

Question 32

why must researchers try to maintain objectivity in investigations

Answer 32

must not allow personal biases or opinions to discolour the data they collect or influence the behaviour of the participants they are studying

Question 33

what methods are associated with the greatest amount of control

Answer 33

lab experiments so tend to be the most objective

Question 34

what is objectivity the basis of

Answer 34

the empirical method

Question 35

what do empirical methods emphasis the importance of

Answer 35

data collection based on direct, sensory experience

Question 36

what are good examples of the empirical method

Answer 36

experimental method and the observational method

Question 37

how did early empiricists see knowledge

Answer 37

determined only by experience and sensory perception

Question 38

who was an early empiricist

Answer 38

Locke

Question 39

how did Locke claim a theory could be scientific

Answer 39

if it has been empirically tested and verified