Features of Science

Question 1

What is a paradigm?

Answer 1

• Thomas Kuhn (1962)
• A Paradigm is set of shared assumptions & agreed methods within a scientific discipline

Question 2

What did Kuhn suggest about paradigms?

Answer 2

• A set of shared assumptions & agreed methods within a scientific discipline
• Suggested that social sciences (including psychology) lack a universally accepted paradigm & are probably best seen as ‘pre science’ as distinct from natural sciences such as biology or physics
• Psychology is marked by too much internal disagreement & has too many conflicting approaches to qualify as a science & therefore is a pre-science (although this view has been challanged)

Question 3

What is a paradigm shift?

Answer 3

• An important change in the basic concepts & experimental practices of scientific discipline
• It is a change from one way of thinking to another & is also referred to as scientific revolution

Question 4

What is a theory?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What is theory construction?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

What is hypothesis testing?

Answer 6

• A key feature of a theory is that it should only produce statements (hypotheses) which can then be tested
• Only in this way can a theory be falsified

Question 7

What is falsifiability?

Answer 7

• Karl Popper - Argued that the key criterion of a scientific theory is its falsefiability:
  The principle that a theory cannot be considered scientific unless it admits the possibility of being untrue (false)

Question 8

What is replicability?

Answer 8

• The extent to which scientific procedures & findings can be repeated by other researchers
• If a scientific theory is ‘trusted’ (falsefiable) the findings from it must be shown to be repeatable across a number of different contexs & circumstances

Question 9

What is objectivity?

Answer 9

• Where all sources of personal bias are minimised so as not to distort or influence the research process
• Scientists must not allow their personal opinions or biases to influence data they collect or influence the behaviour of the ppts they are studying

Question 10

What is the empirical method?

Answer 10

• Scientific approaches that are based on the gathering of evidence through direct observation & experience

Question 11

What did Karl Popper argue?

Answer 11

• Argued that the key criterion of a scientific theory is its falsifiability
• Popper suggested genuine scientific theories, shld hold themselves up for hypothesis testing & possibility of being proven false
• Believed that even when a scientific principle had been successfully & repeatedly tested it was not necessarily true
• Instead it had simply not been proven false
• This became known as the theory of falsification
• Those theories that survive most attempts to falsify them become the strongest - not because they are not necessarily true- but because despite the best efforts of researchers they have not been proved false (which provides them w some strength)

Question 12

What was another important element of Popper’s hypothetico-deductive method?

Answer 12

• Replicability
• If a scientific theory is to be ‘trusted’, the findings from it must be shown to be repeatable across a number of different contexts & circumstances
• Replication has an important role in determining the validity of a finding
• Replication is also used to assess the validity of a finding-by repeating a study, as Popper suggests, over a number different contexts & circumstances then we can see the extent to which the findings can be generalised
• In order for replicability to be possible, it is vital that psychologists report their investigations w as much precision & rigour as possible, so other researchers can seek to verify their work & verify the findings they have established

Question 13

Why must researchers strive to maintain objectivity as part of their investigations?

Answer 13

• Must keep a ‘critical distance’ away from research & must not allow their personal opinions or biases to ‘discolour’ the data they collect or influence the behaviour of the ppts they are studying
• Objectivity- All sources of personal bias are minimised so as not to distort or influence the research process

Question 14

What were John Lockes ideas about the features of science?

Answer 14

• Empiricism – Locke argued that all knowledge comes from experience & sensory observation. This is a fundamental feature of science, as scientific methods rely on empirical evidence.
• Blank Slate– He believed that humans are born without innate knowledge, & our understanding develops through experience. This idea supports scientific approach of learning through observation & experimentation. (Tabula Rasa)
• Objectivity – He emphasized that knowledge should be based on observable & measurable evidence rather than personal beliefs or intuition.
• Testability – Locke’s approach supports the idea that scientific theories should be tested against real-world observations, which aligns with falsifiability & Popper