Features of Science Flashcards
What are the 4 things that make psychology a science?
The FORE things:
Falsifiable.
Objectivity.
Replicability.
Empirical Methods.
What are empirical methods?
Methods of gaining knowledge which rely on direct observation or testing.
What do empirical methods say about assumptions?
You cannot make the, you must be testing in a lab where you can get results.
What are 3 examples of people that used empirical methods?
Loftus, Baddeley and Milgram.
What is objectivity?
When the measurement of data is not affected by the expectations of the researcher.
What should you avoid in order to achieve objectivity?
No bias coming from your interpretation.
Who is an example of someone that has bad objectivity?
Freud.
Who is an example of someone that has good objectivity, why?
Milgram, nothing subjective about whether they pressed a button.
What is replicability?
Recording procedures carefully in order for it to be repeatable.
What do you need to make sure your study is in order to get replicability?
Operationalised, specific and organised.
What does replicability allow you to test?
Reliability, it is reliable if the results of a repeated test are the same, and for the results to be able to be repeated, the experiment must be repeatable, which is what replicability is.
What is an example of a test that had replicability?
Miller repeated Jacob’s study.
What is falsifiable?
The possibility that a statement or hypothesis can be proved wrong.
Why do you want a test to be falsifiable?
If you can prove it wring it means you can test it properly.
Why are Freud’s theories not falsifiable?
Because you cannot prove them wrong, therefore they are bad science.