features of science

Question 1

Main features of science:

Answer 1

• Replicability
• Paradigm shifts
• Falsification
• Hypothesis testing
• Objectivity
• Theory construction

Question 2

Paradigm:

Answer 2

• General theory
• Accepted by the majority of scientists
• Not fixed
• Kuhn: Purpose is to provide researchers with a framework which provides guidelines for assumptions, concepts and methodological techniques
• These should be considered by researchers when conducting their own research and the directions and goals it has

Question 3

Paradigm shifts:

Answer 3

• Due to new evidence over time, another paradigm replaces the original
• Over time there have been changes in the predominant paradigm

Question 4

Example of a paradigm:

Answer 4

• Emergence of the behavioural approach in the 90s
• Appeared because it could test hypotheses experimentally because previous approaches were unable to
• Taken over by Biological and then cognitive neuroscience

Question 5

Theory construction:

Answer 5

• Theory = a set of general laws that explain particular events or behaviours
• For a theory to be scientific it must have a set of organised rules to follow that explain what causes a behaviour

Question 6

Replicability:

Answer 6

• The extent to which a scientific procedure can be replicated by other researchers
• When you have a theory, you should be able to replicate it across different contexts and circumstances
• Replicability is important in determining the validity and the reliability of findings
• Replication can assess the validity as by replicating it in different circumstances we can see whether findings are generalisable
• Easy to replicate: Lab studies and repeated measures

Question 6

Hypothesis testing:

Answer 6

• Theories should suggest a number of possible hypotheses
• A hypothesis should then be tested using systematic and objective methods to determine whether i can be supported or rejected
• The process of dining new hypothesis from existing theories is known as deduction

Question 7

Examples of replicability in psychology:

Answer 7

• Strange situation done by Ainsworth (Replicated over different cultures)

Question 8

Falsifiability:

Answer 8

• Popper = argued that the key criterion of a scientific theory is falsifiability
• genuine theories should allow for hypothesis testing and the possibility of being wrong
• Popper believed that even if a scientific principle had been successful and repeatedly tested it wasn’t 100% true
• Instead it just hasn’t been proved false
• The more attempts to be falsified that a theory survives, the stronger it becomes
• This means that an alternative hypothesis should be accompanied by a null hypothesis (allows for falsification)

Question 9

Objectivity:

Answer 9

• Researchers must maintain objectivity as part of their investigation
• This means they need to keep a ‘critical distance’
• researchers must not allow for personal opinions and biases to influence the data or behaviour of the participants
• Lab experiments are seen as most objective

Question 10

Empirical method:

Answer 10

• Emphasises the importance of data collection based on direct, sensory experience
• This means that findings shouldn’t be based off speculation or personal beliefs
• E.g. Experimental method and observational method
• Locke = Knowledge us only determined by experience and sensory perception