Features of science Flashcards
What is a theory?
A theory is a general law or principle that is used to explain something
What are the 2 ways theory construction can happen in?
Inductive methods or deductive methods
What are inductive methods?
A psychologist will gather evidence from direct experience or observations. Once a substantial amount of data has been collected the psychologist will take a step back and look for patterns in the data. If patterns are identified, they will develop a theory that can explain the patterns
Data → Patterns → Theory
What are deductive methods?
A psychologist starts with a theory that interests them and then they test this theory with data. They set out to gather evidence to support or challenge their theory. Psychologists look at previous research and theory and then test the
hypotheses from those theories.
Theory → Analyse data → Accept/ reject hypothesis
What are deductive methods typically associated with?
Scientific (and psychological) investigations
What are the features of science?
Hypothesis testing, Empirical methods, replicability, objectivity, falsification and paradigm & paradigm shifts
What is hypothesis testing?
An important feature of theories is they can be tested in a scientific way.
Every theory should have both a null hypothesis (a statement of no effect) and an alternative hypothesis (a statement of effect). Psychological research can be carried out to support or challenge these hypotheses and then one of these hypotheses is accepted and one is rejected.
What happens if the alternative hypothesis is supported?
The theory is strengthened
What happens if the alternative hypothesis is rejected?
The theory will need to be revisited or revised
What is the process of developing a new hypothesis from an existing hypothesis called?
Deduction
What does empirical mean?
That data must be collected through direct observations or experiments
What is empirical researched based on?
Must have tangible evidence to support - not based on arguments or opinion
What is research and theory not based on empirical methods or supported by empirical data?
Not scientific
What is replicability?
Whether a research method and its findings can be repeated
What does it mean if a study is replicable and the results are the same each time?
We can be sure of the reliability
What could be the issue with unrepeatable studies that produce different results?
May have issues with the methodology - there may be a lack of control or flaws in the methods used
What happens with studies that aren’t replicable?
These studies are of limited use in theory construction and in contributing to our understanding
What does objectivity mean?
That all sources of vias are minimised and that personal or subjective ideas are eliminated
What research methods are known to be the most objective?
Lab experiments
What tests can be used to increase objectivity by reducing the chances of bias?
Single-blind and double-blind tests
What is falsification?
Falsification works by finding evidence that disproves theories
What happens to the theories that survive most attempts to falsify?
They tend to become the strongest and most convincing theories, not because they are necessarily true, but because despite the best efforts of researchers, they have not been proven false
What does the process of falsification believe?
That in order to be more scientific, you should not always look for evidence and examples that fit your theory, but you should look for things that don’t
When can a theory not be falsified?
If a theory is based on abstract concepts (ones that are not ‘concrete’) they cannot be falsified and are not scientific
What is a paradigm?
A paradigm consists of the shared set of basic assumptions, ways of thinking, and methods of study that are commonly accepted by members of a discipline or group
What is a paradigm shift?
A paradigm shift occurs when the old paradigm does not have enough sufficient evidence to be believed by the majority of people &/or a new belief is put forward that better reflects reality than the old paradigm
