features of science

Question 1

paradigms and paradigm shifts

Answer 1

• Thomas Kuhn suggested that what separates scientific disciples from non-scientific disciples is a shared set of assumptions and methods (a paradigm)
• suggested that social sciences lack a universally accepted paradigm and are best seen as pre-science, distinct from natural sciences such as biology
• natural sciences characterised by having principles at their core such as evolution in biology
• psychology marked by too much internal disagreement, too many conflicting approaches to qualify as a science
• according to Kuhn, progress within a science occurs when there is a scientific revolution
• a handful of researchers begin to question the accepted paradigm, this begins to gather popularity and then a paradigm shift occurs when there is too much contradictory evidence to ignore
• for example, phrenology - used to think that the shape and size of your brain depicted your personality, we now know it is controlled by various brain regions and also shaped by experiences

Question 2

theory construction and hypothesis testing

Answer 2

• theory is a set of general laws and principles that can explain certain events or behaviours
• theory construction occurs through gathering evidence via direct observation
• for example, may have a hunch that STM has a limited capacity based on observation of people struggling to remember much when bombarded with info, and then experiments reveal that the capacity is around 7 items
• essential component of theory is that it can be scientifically tested
• should suggest a number of possible hypotheses
• hypothesis can then be tested using systematic and objective methods to determine whether it’ll be supported or refuted
• process of deriving new hypotheses from an existing theory is known as deduction

Question 3

falsifiability

Answer 3

• Karl Popper argued that key criterion of a scientific theory is its falsifiability
• genuine scientific theories should hold themselves up for hypothesis testing and the possibility of being proven false
• Popper believed that even when a principle had been successfully and repeatedly tested, it was not necessarily true, it just has not yet been proven false
• drew a clear line between good science, where theories are constantly challenged and potentially falsified, and ‘pseudosciences’, which couldn’t be falsified / prescience
• theories that survive most attempts to falsify them are strongest
• this is why an alternative hypothesis is always accompanied by a null hypothesis
• for example, Skinner’s research is very falsifiable because it has been replicated many times, and it uses standardised procedures, observable behaviour change
• Freud’s research is low in falsifiability as you cannot test concepts such as fixation, three parts of personality etc. little hans case study is completely subjective and unreliable, lack of control etc.

Question 4

replicability

Answer 4

• important element of Popper’s theory is replicability, if the findings are shown to be repeatable across different contexts and circumstances
• replication is important in determining validity
• by repeating a study we can see to what extent we can generalise findings
• in order for replicability to become possible, psychologists must report their investigations with as much precision and rigour as possible, so that other researchers can verify their work and their findings

Question 5

objectivity and the empirical method

Answer 5

• researchers must strive to maintain objectivity, must keep a ‘critical distance’ during research
• must not allow personal opinions or biases to affect data or influence behaviour of participants
• methods that are associated with greatest level of control tend to be most objective
• objectivity is basis of empirical method, emphasises importance of data collection based on direct, sensory experience
• experimental and observational methods are good examples of empirical method

methods used to maintain objectivity -
- randomisation / counterbalancing
- good control (extraneous variables)
- standardised procedures
- single and double blind methods

• Maguire’s study on taxi drivers had good control because they used brain scan techniques to measure grey matter
• they also used a single blind trial, Maguire did not do the brain scans herself and she didn’t analyse them, the other researcher who analysed them would not have known the aim of the study